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AWADmail Issue 788 - ExtraThis is a continuation of the compilation of readers’ responses to the question what you city would be if it became a word in the English language. See other responses at AWADmail 788.
From: Betty Nelson (tennnels gmail.com) Subject: Place to verb To Nashville someone would be to give them a guitar, a drawl, and some glitter. Betty Nelson, Hendersonville, Tennessee From: Howard Kessler (andyjuil aol.com) Subject: In other words Trinidaded or going to Trinidad: Trinidad, Colorado, is called the "Sex Change Capital of the World". I believe the article in Wikipedia could explain it best, but there are many other such articles on this. It is quite a lovely restored and prosperous town in what would normally be a poor and religiously conservative area of the country. It is amazing just how much god is accepting of such "goings on" when it is in the crusader cause of profit and favorable economic conditions. If it is money that was the educating factor that persuades people to see all people as equals, then perhaps it's worth every penny spent. Howard Kessler, New York, New York From: Stephanie Carels (carelss ctt.com) Subject: Orlandoize One can Orlandoize an area by adding the maximum possible number of theme parks, thrill rides, game arcades, hotels, sports facilities, shops, and other tourist attractions. Stephanie Carels, Apopka, Florida From: Nathan Horwitz (n_horwitz yahoo.com) Subject: Albanize To "Albanize" (after Albany, NY) a city would mean to destroy the city's architectural history: "In 1962, one of the most massive urban renewal projects in American history sterilized the cultural and ethnic heart of Albany, New York. An arrangement made by first-term Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller and longtime Albany Mayor, Erastus Corning the 2nd, displaced almost eight percent of the city's diverse population, razed more than a thousand buildings, dislodged 3,600 households, and closed 350 businesses." (source) And the legacy of destruction of historic architecture continues in Albany to this day. Nate Horwitz, Slingerlands, New York From: Marlene Caroselli (msmccpd gmail.com) Subject: To Rochesterize To Rochesterize would mean to foster entrepreneurship on a grand scale. The rationale behind this verb: George Eastman and Kodak Chester Carlson and Xerox Robert Wegman and Wegmans grocery stores Bausch and Lomb and optics Fanny Farmer and candy R.T. French and mustard There are others, but you get the idea. Marlene Caroselli, Rochester, New York From: Raja Khuri (rkhuri7 gmail.com) Subject: Sarasotize Sarasota, Florida, a medium-sized town on Florida's west coast, is considered one of the best places in the US to live in. It has beautiful beaches, a class-act opera house, museums, restaurants, and more. So, if a town wants to improve itself and adopt some of the great qualities of Sarasota, would they want to Sarasotize? Raja K. Khuri, Sarasota, Florida From: Danielle Austin (danielle13 san.rr.com) Subject: My city as a verb Sandiegoize: To render bliss. After San Diego, CA, where people become blissful enough to ignore the cost of living. Danielle Austin, San Diego, California From: Anne Swenson (thepub elyecho.com) Subject: Town/area words Elyite-ize: to take on, emulate one's perception of the Minnesota northwoods Elyite residents by dressing as if leaving on a wilderness canoe trip, using braggadocio, and expressing superiority over the lowly locals. Living on the edge of the boundary waters with Canada, we find some confusion about leaving the technical modern world behind and challenging oneself to spend time away from all or most modern trappings. Anne Swenson, Ely, Minnesota From: Bill Topazio (btzena hotmail.com) Subject: Zenafied Zena is one of the outlier hamlets of Woodstock, NY. It sometimes feels like an orphan. We pay property taxes to one town, school taxes to another, and our mail is delivered from the farthest of 3 available post offices in Kingston (all the other hamlets have their own small post office). So I guess zenafication is the state of underservice, like the forgotten child. Perhaps it's just zenaphobia. But they might think a little differently if Xena lived here. Bill Topazio, Zena, New York From: Fran Decker (via website comments) Subject: Key Waste Many tourists (and locals) get drunk while visiting the many bars on Duval Street in Key West, FL, so you could accurately describe your vacation by saying "Man, I got Key Wasted on that Duval Crawl last night." Fran Decker, Key West, Florida From: David Isaacson (david.isaacson yahoo.com) Subject: Place name becoming a verb I live in Kalamazoo, MI, a city especially arts-minded, so "to Kalamazoo" as a verb would mean to "embrace the arts". David Isaacson, Kalamazoo, Michigan From: Scott Leff (scottleff2 yahoo.com) Subject: Verbs from place names Pittsburgh: to transition successfully from stale and outmoded to vibrant and contemporary economic and cultural structures. "Detroit is trying to move beyond its industrial routes and pittsburgh into the 21st century." Scott Leff, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania From: Courtney Andresen (cdandresen13 gmail.com) Subject: Raleigh I can't think of a clever verb to make out of Raleigh (suggestions, anyone?). But without a doubt, the meaning would have to be something akin to: to forget all of one's previous driving experience and education and begin to break/crucify/disparage any driving law or standard upon moving to Raleigh, NC, to the extent that an inch of snow or rain can lock up the entire city for hours. Courtney Andresen, Raleigh, North Carolina From: Christopher Craig (ccraig laurellodge.com) Subject: Places that become verbs I'm from Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, a little town with a rich and colorful history. If something is Harpers-Ferried, it might be: 1. Shaped out of wilderness into a place of industry, transportation, and innovation (from its early days of ferries, canals, railroads, and armory). 2. Forcibly taken and subjected to violence for a cause (from the 1859 John Brown raid). 3. Surrendered to a foe (from the largest surrender of US troops prior to WW II, in R.E. Lee's Maryland campaign of 1862). k. Transformed from a dying backwater town into a Mecca (another place name!) for historical and outdoor tourism. Chris Craig, Harpers Ferry, West Virginia From: Sachin Lawande (sachin.lawande cenveo.com) Subject: Apropos birminghamize I'm sure this'll ring a bell with many Mumbaikars about the suburb of Ulhasnagar. Settled by Sindhis who emigrated from Pakistan, it became the hub of "imitation" items. In fact, there is this apocryphal story about products from Ulhasnagar being sold with a "Made in USA" tag, i.e., Ulhasnagar Sindhi Association. Sachin Lawande, Mumbai, India From: Kristen R Lindquist (kl9428 att.com) Subject: Two for your *Potential New Verbs from Places* file pacificast (puh-SI-fi-kast) noun: A weather forecast for a five-minute interval verb: To forecast the weather in five-minute intervals After Pacifica, CA, a coastal town infamous for sudden, frequent weather changes. Earliest documented use: 2010. "The pacificast is 70 deg. and sunny for several minutes, then 55 deg. and foggy, followed soon thereafter by 60 deg. and overcast and then 65 deg., breezy, and partially cloudy. So, no, don't leave your sweater in the car!" pacificate (puh-SI-fik-ate) verb tr.: To pacify with warm clothing or a warm beverage verb: To equivocate in an attempt to pacify 1. After Pacifica, CA, where a warm, sunny day can become blanketed in thick, chilly fog in minutes, and beachgoers are wise to carry warm clothing. Earliest documented use: 2017. 2. After Pacifica, CA, noted for city council meetings in which council members (often unsuccessfully) attempt to silence dissension among attending citizens by making vaguely self-contradictory statements rather than taking a firm stand. Earliest documented use: 2016. "A dense fog bank was rapidly forming and would soon obliterate the sun, so she pacificated her out-of-town friend by offering a warm sweater and a thermos of hot tea." Anon., Tales of the Beach, 2017. "Though it's public record that the new council members won their seats due to substantial backing by out-of-town real estate interests, the council -- apparently still believing it could keep citizens in the fog -- pacificated 'til the wee hours about the proposed Vallemar development ordinance, which citizens largely oppose for several reasons (including the protection of the land as the only habitat of several threatened species of frogs and snakes)... A related victory, however, is that -- thanks to the persistence of the Pacifica Progressive Alliance -- a new law will prevent large campaign contributions in future elections." Anon., City Council Defers Vote on Proposed Vallemar Development, 2017. Kristen Lindquist, San Francisco, California From: Bob Walthers (bobwal q.com) Subject: Porttownsendize In our little artsy Victorian seaport town of Port Townsend, Washington, we have a saying, immortalized on local bumper stickers and T-shirts, that "We're all here because we're not all there." To be "porttownsendized" therefore means we're all a bit eccentric, off-base, artsy-fartsy, and extraordinary. And, to paraphrase Garrison Keillor, our kids are above average. Bob Walthers, Port Townsend, Washington From: Dawn Hurwitz (dawnho hawaii.rr.com) Subject: Puna I reside in an area of the Big Island of Hawaii known as Puna. It is the last place in Hawaii that is financially accessible to most people. There are few beaches here, a rocky coastline of lava rock, and an active volcano, to mention a few challenges. Most people who relocate here do so because of that advantage, it keeps out less rugged individuals and provides a haven for freethinkers and cannabis growers and consumers. Thus denizens of our area have become to be known as Punatics. Dawn Hurwitz, Puna, Hawaii From: Lucy Kashangaki (lkashangaki gmail.com) Subject: Princeton I would suggest that to "princeton" would mean to enhance one's prestige. Evidence -- apart from the obvious-- can be found in the many residential and office addresses on the border with neighboring towns. They always choose Princeton as opposed to, say, Plainsboro. Lucy Kashangaki, Princeton, New Jersey |
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