Verbable noun wanted

[Joy Beeson]

When I clean my teeth with a brush, I brush them.

When I clean my teeth with thread, I floss them -- and many dental
threads really are floss.

But what am I doing when I clean my teeth with a fuzzy toothpick? They
are interdental brushes, but fuzzy toothpicks are not the only form of
interdental brush.

G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name. There *is* another brand of fuzzy tooth
picks, but I saw it only once a long time ago, and don't remember what
the brand name is.

"I am fuzzy toohpicking" ain't got that swing.

[Steve Hayes]

On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:14:51 -0500, Joy Beeson

Post by Joy Beeson
When I clean my teeth with a brush, I brush them.
When I clean my teeth with thread, I floss them -- and many dental
threads really are floss.
But what am I doing when I clean my teeth with a fuzzy toothpick? They
are interdental brushes, but fuzzy toothpicks are not the only form of
interdental brush.
G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name. There *is* another brand of fuzzy tooth
picks, but I saw it only once a long time ago, and don't remember what
the brand name is.
"I am fuzzy toohpicking" ain't got that swing.

Picking your teeth, by analogy with picking your nose?

[Hibou]

[...] picking your nose?

Yes, people do, don't they. Is it just a repulsive kind of fidgeting, or
is it driven by evolution and biologically advantageous?

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nose_picking#Medical_risks_and_benefits> :

"Researchers at Griffith University have discovered a connection between
bacteria and Alzheimer's disease. [...] The intrusion of the bacteria is
enhanced by nose picking. [...] Some scientists claim that mucophagy
provides benefits for the human body. Friedrich Bischinger, an Austrian
doctor specializing in lungs, advocates using fingers to pick nasal
mucus and then ingesting it, stating that people who do so get 'a
natural boost to their immune system' [...] A study in the Netherlands
published in 2023 found that healthcare workers who picked their nose
were about three times more likely to contract COVID-19. [...]"

It seems we can just pick what we want to believe.

[lar3ryca]

Post by Steve Hayes
On Mon, 30 Dec 2024 22:14:51 -0500, Joy Beeson

Post by Joy Beeson
When I clean my teeth with a brush, I brush them.
When I clean my teeth with thread, I floss them -- and many dental
threads really are floss.
But what am I doing when I clean my teeth with a fuzzy toothpick? They
are interdental brushes, but fuzzy toothpicks are not the only form of
interdental brush.
G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name. There *is* another brand of fuzzy tooth
picks, but I saw it only once a long time ago, and don't remember what
the brand name is.
"I am fuzzy toohpicking" ain't got that swing.

Picking your teeth, by analogy with picking your nose?

Hey, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you
really shouldn't pick your friend's nose.

[Aidan Kehoe]

[...] Hey, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you
really shouldn't pick your friend's nose.

My sixteen-month-old has started attempting to pick my nose in the last couple
of weeks. Plenty of time in the future to educate her out of this!

[jerryfriedman]

Post by Aidan Kehoe

[...] Hey, you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but

you

really shouldn't pick your friend's nose.

My sixteen-month-old has started attempting to pick my nose in the last couple
of weeks. Plenty of time in the future to educate her out of this!

I feel that a nose that works--makes a noise when pressed--
is all a toddler can reasonably expect.

(No, I don't have children. Why do you ask?)

--
Jerry Friedman

--

[Joy Beeson]

On Tue, 31 Dec 2024 08:12:07 +0200, Steve Hayes

Post by Steve Hayes
Picking your teeth, by analogy with picking your nose?

Already taken.

[Hibou]

Post by Joy Beeson
When I clean my teeth with a brush, I brush them.
When I clean my teeth with thread, I floss them -- and many dental
threads really are floss.
But what am I doing when I clean my teeth with a fuzzy toothpick? They
are interdental brushes, but fuzzy toothpicks are not the only form of
interdental brush.
G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name. There *is* another brand of fuzzy tooth
picks, but I saw it only once a long time ago, and don't remember what
the brand name is.
"I am fuzzy toothpicking" ain't got that swing.

'Toothpicking' seems ambiguous and pretty ugly - but then
'pickpocketing' is ugly too, yet seems to have caught on. Picking
pockets, voyons !

Declarting one's teeth? That has a ring to it ('clart' in Scots is dirt,
grime, muck...).

I think we have to accept that our language is not orthogonal, and not
every noun can be turned into a satisfying verb.

[Janet]

Post by Joy Beeson
When I clean my teeth with a brush, I brush them.
When I clean my teeth with thread, I floss them -- and many dental
threads really are floss.
But what am I doing when I clean my teeth with a fuzzy toothpick? They
are interdental brushes, but fuzzy toothpicks are not the only form of
interdental brush.
G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name. There *is* another brand of fuzzy tooth
picks, but I saw it only once a long time ago, and don't remember what
the brand name is.
"I am fuzzy toohpicking" ain't got that swing.

You need a water-pick.

Janet UK

[Snidely]

Post by Janet

Post by Joy Beeson
When I clean my teeth with a brush, I brush them.
When I clean my teeth with thread, I floss them -- and many dental
threads really are floss.
But what am I doing when I clean my teeth with a fuzzy toothpick? They
are interdental brushes, but fuzzy toothpicks are not the only form of
interdental brush.
G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name. There *is* another brand of fuzzy tooth
picks, but I saw it only once a long time ago, and don't remember what
the brand name is.
"I am fuzzy toohpicking" ain't got that swing.

You need a water-pick.
Janet UK

Water picks are more for gums then for jammed food or plaque removal.
What you say may be true, that Joy needs a water pick (no hyphen here,
but often no space and no 'c' in a common brand name), but it doesn't
serve the same purpose as a toothpick or interdental brush.

/dps

[Bertel Lund Hansen]

Post by Joy Beeson
G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name.

I call them "bottle cleaners", and I am understood in the shops where I
buy them. I would of course be completely misunderstood in certain other
shops.

Post by Joy Beeson
"I am fuzzy toohpicking" ain't got that swing.

I have no word for the process.

[Peter Moylan]

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen

Post by Joy Beeson
G.U.M. calls them "Soft Picks", but that brand name isn't suitable for
turning into a generic name.

I call them "bottle cleaners", and I am understood in the shops where I
buy them. I would of course be completely misunderstood in certain other
shops.

"Bottlebrush" is the term we use here. For the bottle cleaners, of
course, but it would be understood by the people who sell dental supplies.

Bottlebrush is also the name of a plant. There's a good example here

https://www.plantsforspaces.com.au/bottlebrush-red/

[Bertel Lund Hansen]

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen
I call them "bottle cleaners", and I am understood in the shops where I
buy them. I would of course be completely misunderstood in certain other
shops.

"Bottlebrush" is the term we use here. For the bottle cleaners, of
course, but it would be understood by the people who sell dental supplies.
Bottlebrush is also the name of a plant. There's a good example here
https://www.plantsforspaces.com.au/bottlebrush-red/

A well-chosen name, and a beautiful plant.

[Peter Moylan]

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen
I call them "bottle cleaners", and I am understood in the shops
where I buy them. I would of course be completely misunderstood
in certain other shops.

"Bottlebrush" is the term we use here. For the bottle cleaners, of
course, but it would be understood by the people who sell dental supplies.
Bottlebrush is also the name of a plant. There's a good example here
https://www.plantsforspaces.com.au/bottlebrush-red/

A well-chosen name, and a beautiful plant.

It's a very popular plant, because it survives well in Australian
conditions. (Conditions that tend to kill off cold-climate plants.) We
don't have any in our yard. Instead, we have a number of grevilleas.
Those have a flower that is roughly similar to a bottlebrush, but it
would be useless for cleaning bottles.

[Bertel Lund Hansen]

Post by Peter Moylan

Post by Bertel Lund Hansen

Post by Peter Moylan
Bottlebrush is also the name of a plant. There's a good example here
https://www.plantsforspaces.com.au/bottlebrush-red/

A well-chosen name, and a beautiful plant.

It's a very popular plant, because it survives well in Australian
conditions. (Conditions that tend to kill off cold-climate plants.)

I'll look forward to our climate being suitable for bottlebrushes.

[Mark Brader]

Post by Joy Beeson
When I clean my teeth with a brush, I brush them.
When I clean my teeth with thread, I floss them -- and many dental
threads really are floss.

I've never heard of "dental threads". The stuff is "dental floss" here
(or "dental silk" if you speak French):

Loading Image...

[Joy Beeson]

Post by Mark Brader
I've never heard of "dental threads". The stuff is "dental floss" here

It's "dental floss" here, too. I was attempting to include "floss"
that is other types of thread. All I've seen lately really is floss
-- but I haven't delved into the bag of spools I found while cleaning
drawers. I've been using "flossers" for years -- half an inch of
floss welded into a forked handle.

Well, it's a bag of cases; I presume that each has a spool inside.

[lar3ryca]

Post by Joy Beeson

Post by Mark Brader
I've never heard of "dental threads". The stuff is "dental floss" here

It's "dental floss" here, too. I was attempting to include "floss"
that is other types of thread. All I've seen lately really is floss
-- but I haven't delved into the bag of spools I found while cleaning
drawers. I've been using "flossers" for years -- half an inch of
floss welded into a forked handle.
Well, it's a bag of cases; I presume that each has a spool inside.

Heard yet another verbed part of speech, along with a nouned version of
the same word.

A TV article on the news spoke of 'thrifting', and the people who go
thrifting are called 'thrifters'.

In case there's a pondian difference, These are folks who frequent
'thrift stores', sometimes called 'second hand stores'.