Dear Geist,

Did I really hear someone utter this sentence at a conference? “We want to data this for a few more weeks.” Data as a transitive verb?!?!? Geist Advice for the Lit-Lorn is easygoing about crude new uses of words and phrases, but surely this one made you flinch.

—Sandra Caprese, Dauphin MB

Dear Sandra,

It sure did! But we tend to leave such neologisms alone unless they could be harmful. It's no use trying to stamp out a word or expression, but we do keep certain eyebrow-raisers on the radar.

—The Editors