the editors

Pumped

the editors

Dear Geist,
Where do you stand on superheated words? I mean
, etc. Is it natural to jack up perfectly good words?

Dear Janice,
In a word (ha ha), yes. Like any living thing, language changes constantly. Both of your examples have caught on because writers and speakers of English felt they were needed.
is bound to be weakened, or lost.
—The Editors