Is versing a real word?
Is versing, meaning “competing against someone,” a real verb? In the past thirty years, this term has grown in popularity because versus, when spoken, sounds like a conjugated verb. So youngsters especially will talk about one team getting ready to verse another.
What is another word for Versus?
What is another word for versus?
| against | contra |
|---|---|
| in competition with | v. |
| vs | opposing |
| opposed to | in opposition to |
| with | resisting |
How do you write versus correctly?
In general, abbreviations for “versus” are more informal than spelling the word out. If you need to take a formal tone, you should use the entire word. It’s also never wrong to spell out “versus.” If you can’t remember which abbreviation is correct for your situation, spelling it out is always a good choice.
Is a verse a line?
The literary device verse denotes a single line of poetry. The term can also be used to refer to a stanza or other parts of poetry. Generally, the device is stated to encompass three possible meanings, namely a line of metrical writing, a stanza, or a piece written in meter.
Which songs has two sections which are the same?
The verse-chorus form is a songwriting structure built around two repeating sections: a verse section and a chorus section. The chorus, which typically anchors the song, contains the song’s signature melodic motifs along with lyrical refrains that tend to be the same throughout the tune.
How short can a chorus be?
Choruses are typically 8 bars long, although again this is a general guideline. Here again, a relatively common practice would be to have the first chorus 8 bars long and then have subsequent choruses as what is sometimes called ‘Double chorus’ – the chorus repeated twice.
When capitalizing words in titles and headings which words should and should not be capitalized?
Capitalize the first and the last word. Capitalize nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs, adverbs, and subordinate conjunctions. Lowercase articles (a, an, the), coordinating conjunctions, and prepositions. Capitalize words with four or more letters (including conjunctions and prepositions).
How many lines is a chorus?
4
What is another word for poet?
Synonyms of poet
- bard,
- minstrel,
- muse,
- poetaster,
- rhymester.
- (also rimester),
- versifier.
What is another word for rather than?
What is another word for rather than?
| instead | alternatively |
|---|---|
| alternately | as another option |
| by way of an alternative | in preference |
| on the other hand | by contrast |
| on second thoughts | then again |
What is another name for a verse in a poem?
1. Verse, stanza, strophe, stave are terms for a metrical grouping in poetic composition.
What does verse mean?
Verse is writing arranged in lines that have rhythm and that often rhyme at the end. I have been moved to write a few lines of verse. Synonyms: poetry, poems, lyrics, rhyme More Synonyms of verse.
Are prepositions capitalized in titles apa?
In title case, major words are capitalized, and most minor words are lowercase. minor words: Short (i.e., three letters or fewer) conjunctions, short prepositions, and all articles are considered minor words.
Can you say verse instead of Versus?
Versus is a preposition meaning “against,” while its homophone verses is the plural form of the noun “verse,” such as a line from a song or poem. “Versus” has many variants and shorthands, like “vs.” and “v.”, but “verses” is not one of them.
Are prepositions capitalized in titles MLA?
Do not capitalize the following parts of speech when they fall in the middle of a title: Articles (a, an, the, as in Under the Bamboo Tree) Prepositions (e.g., against, as, between, in, of, to, as in The Merchant of Venice and “A Dialogue between the Soul and Body”)
What’s another word for VS?
What is another word for versus?
| counter | opposite |
|---|---|
| against | contrariwise |
| conversely | contrarily |
| contrary to | in opposition to |
| at variance with | in defiance of |
How do you shorten vs?
In legal contexts, the abbreviation «v.» is used. Elsewhere, the most common is «vs.». In formal contexts (e.g. scientific papers), it is probably best to have the period at the end of the abbreviation.
What’s the meaning of VS?
versus protection
Is versing a real word?
Is versing, meaning “competing against someone,” a real verb? In the past thirty years, this term has grown in popularity because versus, when spoken, sounds like a conjugated verb. So youngsters especially will talk about one team getting ready to verse another.
Who was at fault?
In most states, the party at the tail end of the car accident is considered responsible for the accident. Therefore, the majority of fault falls on the driver of the last car involved in the accident.
Whose or who’s in a sentence?
Whose is a possessive pronoun that you should use when you’re asking or telling whom something belongs to. Who’s is a contraction made up of the words “who” and “is” or “who” and “has”.
What does it mean to fault someone?
verb. English Language Learners Definition of fault (Entry 2 of 2) : to criticize (something) : to blame or criticize (someone)
What are the 3 fault types?
Different types of faults include: normal (extensional) faults; reverse or thrust (compressional) faults; and strike-slip (shearing) faults.
What does magnitude mean?
Magnitude is defined as large in size or very important. An example of magnitude is the depth of the Grand Canyon. An example of magnitude is the size of the problem of world hunger. … 36): each increase of one magnitude represents an increase of 2.
What does nice to a fault mean?
phrase. If you say that someone has a particular good quality to a fault, you are emphasizing that they have more of this quality than is usual or necessary. [emphasis] Jefferson was generous to a fault.
Is honest to a fault meaning?
Honest to an extreme or excessive degree; more honest than is usual or necessary. Jim wouldn’t even tell a white lie—he’s honest to a fault.
What does loyal to fault mean?
Loyal (adjective) to a fault means extreme level of loyalty to a person which is likely to make you blind to the shortcomings of that person. Loyal to a fault may cause harm than good as the object of this type of loyalty wouldn’t realise his/her short comings.
What does it mean to be too nice for your own good?
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishtoo nice/clever etc for your own goodtoo nice/clever etc for your own goodused to say that someone has too much of a good quality so that it may be a disadvantage Stephen can be too generous for his own good.
Can being too nice ruin a relationship?
People who are ‘too nice‘ often avoid sharing their ideas due to fear of rejection, judgement, or the (false) belief that it’s selfish or controlling to do so. When the relationship is deprived of that creative energy it slowly starves over time, becoming stagnant, dull & lifeless. It also leads to disconnection.
How do you tell if you’re being too nice?
The Ten Signs That You‘re Too Nice
- You end up doing things you don’t want to.
- When people want something, they come to you.
- You always put others before yourself.
- You tend to agree with people; you‘re compliant.
- You find yourself adopting other people’s styles, clothes, language.
- You really want to fit in and for people to like you.
Is being too nice a disorder?
Like I said, there is no textbook condition or diagnosis for being too nice. But there are a few “symptoms” or trademark descriptors that connotate being a people pleaser (in the negative sense). The first and most obvious is self-neglect. We’ve already discussed how people pleasers are incredibly nice people.
Why being too nice is bad?
You will develop unrealistic expectations of others. According to the Power of Positivity, when you are being too nice to others, you develop unrealistic expectations for them to do the same. When they do not meet these expectations, you may become angry and resentful.
Is being too nice a toxic trait?
It actually is a desirable human trait. However, some people (for various reasons) are overly nice; they will be at the beck and call of everyone, put up with abuse and disrespect, and always put their well-being aside for others. Being overly nice has tremendous and long-lasting negative effects.
Why is pleasing bad?
People Pleasers spend so much time and effort in taking care of others. Unfortunately, they often do not establish good social support for themselves. They also find it hard to give up control and let other people take care of them. While taking care of others in noble and rewarding, it can also be toxic and unhealthy.
How do I stop being nice to everyone?
5 Ways To Stop Being A People Pleaser
- Realize That You Do Have A Choice. In life, you will always have a choice. …
- Set Your Priorities. …
- Let Go Of People Who Take Advantage Of Your People Pleaser Tendencies. …
- Accept The Fact That You Will Feel Guilty Saying No. …
- Take Care Of Yourself.
What makes someone kind hearted?
A kind—hearted person sees — and insists on seeing — the good in others. They motivate, inspire, and encourage others to live significant lives. They will inspire others to stay positive in negative situations. As a result, the recipients of their kindness believe in themselves, too.
Ron M. wrote,
“The phenomenon of using the word ‘verse’ instead of ‘versus’ seems relatively recent, but to this 56 year old’s ears, it’s driving me nuts. I first started hearing this about 15 years ago when my sons were interested in Wrestlemania. They and their friends would be talking about who was wrestling who and would use the word ‘verse.’ I would gently correct them and tell them the correct word is ‘versus’ … Latin for ‘against.’ It seems like suddenly this mis-usage is rampant. I’m actually hearing professional sportscaster making this error!”
Jackie also provided an example. She wrote,
“Before a soccer game … my kids say, ‘we are versing’ such and such team. I would love to know what kid started using the verb form of ‘versus,’ but it certainly stuck!”
Versing: It Starts with the Children
When I first started getting questions about “versing” to mean “playing,” I thought it might be a regionalism, like how people are more likely to say “spendy” in Oregon than in Florida; so I surveyed people the Grammar Girl Facebook page, and what I found instead is that it’s an age-related phenomenon. People say “versing” everywhere, but they’re nearly always kids. Although it’s not unheard of among older people, my Facebook followers reported hearing it most often from elementary school kids.
It seems to be especially common in Australia and New Zealand. It could just be a statistical blip because I have fewer followers in those countries than in the U.S., but Keryn from eastern Australia wrote, “‘Verse’ is a very common formulation here, especially among TV sports journalists. I even saw it on a billboard outside our local football stadium—Team A ‘verse’ Team B.”
Kids say ‘versing’ everywhere. (Red=a person reported hearing “versing.” Blue=a person reported they had never heard “versing.”) See the whole international map.
Versing: How Old Is It?
“Versing” is not as new as many people think, although we’ll get to the reasons that it might be spreading in a minute.
As Ron noted, his kids were using “versing” 15 years ago. The oldest report of hearing it comes from Bob P., who says his sister used it more than 30 years ago in New York when she was in middle school. He wrote, “She would almost exclusively use it in the past tense, as in ‘We versed Mrs. Smith’s class in a spelling bee.’ It was also typical for her to use it when forms of the verb ‘to play’ seemed wrong—you wouldn’t really ‘play’ another class in a spelling bee, but you would ‘play’ them in kickball, which is what she would say.”
Versing: I Thought My Kid Made It Up
A lot of parents who commented seemed to think that their kid made it up; they didn’t realize that it is widespread. [One possibility is that 20 and 30 years ago, kids did occasionally make it up by mistaking the preposition “versus” for a verb.
It’s actually quite logical for kids to think that if “Sue dances with Joe” goes with “Sue is dancing with Joe,” and if “Squiggly sees Aardvark” goes with “Squiggly is seeing Aardvark,” that “Mrs. Smith’s class versus Mr. Javier’s class” leads to “Mrs. Smith’s class is versing Mr. Javier’s class.” “Versus” sounds like a verb to them, not the preposition that it is.
So it’s reasonable to think that every once in a while, kids did make this mistake and used “versing” for a while until someone corrected them or they got older and realized it was wrong.
Versing: The Video Game Connection
Anecdotal evidence seems to point to “versing” making its way to the mainstream through video games that came out in the ’90s.
Ben Zimmer noted in a post to an American Dialect Society discussion group that you could find comments that used “versing” to mean “playing” on gaming newsgroups back in the mid-1990s. For example, one gamer offered this advice on a Sony video game list in 1995: “When versing the black car, remember that the first is a warmup lap…” A couple of my Facebook commenters noted that their kids started saying “versing” when they started playing Pokemon, and Pokemon was created in the ’90s.
The first entry for “versing” showed up on the Urban Dictionary site in 2004 and reads “Derived from the common term ‘vs.’ in video games where choices are either 1 Player or 2 Player (commonly listed as ‘vs.’).” Martie on my Facebook page said her boys use it and “I tried to correct them, but learned it’s the gaming lingo.”
My theory is that either kids were exposed to phrases like “A versus B” much more often because of video games, and they started making the verb mistake themselves more often and in groups where it got reinforced, or that some of the games that came out in the ‘90s actually used “versing” as a verb. Either way, it spread, became more accepted, and eventually also made its way into sports.
Versing: Slang
At this point, “versing” falls into the category of slang. It seems similar to “woot,” which also has roots in gaming. Older people might not have heard it before, but most kids know what it means. It has a place in niches like gaming and maybe even sports in some regions or countries, but it would seem wrong to most adult Americans if they saw it in USA Today or on CNN.
Versing: The Old Meaning
“Versing” actually was a verb about poetry before kids started using it the way they do today. The Oxford English Dictionary has it being used as far back as the year 10001 to mean “to compose or make verses.” My favorite example is a sentence from 1909: “He began to verse extemporaneously in her ear.”
Other Video Game Terms: Pause
“Versing” isn’t the only gaming term that has made it into real life. Two people reported that their kids say “pause” or “pause game” when they need a break when they’re playing outside.
Versing: Are We Reversing?
Finally, I’ll leave you with this joke from Janice C. She asked, “[If kids say ‘versing’ to mean playing another team, If they play them again, are they reversing?”
If you or your kids play a game that actually uses “versing” as a verb, if the game says something like “You are now versing player 2,” please leave a comment and let me know.
Update
Ben Zimmer e-mailed after this article was published to point me to a later post to the American Dialect Society group that I had missed: In 1984, the New York Times noted the word “versing” and called it New York “high school slang meaning to compete against another school’s team.”
1984 is much earlier than the other examples, and one would think “versing” must have been quite widespread to merit a mention in the Times (although it could also just be that the writer’s kids and friends were using it a a lot).
Although two anecdotes aren’t enough to let us draw meaningful conclusions, the Times mention combined with Bob P.’s story about his sister using “versing” around the same time in New York makes me wonder if “versing” got a regional start in New York. It could have spread from there or arisen elsewhere independently for the reasons I cited in the original article above.
Another Update (2019): Ben has pointed me to an even earlier example from 1981.
1. Note: I said “the 1600s” in the audio podcast, but when I double-checked later I found much older examples.
Other Maps
Spendy
Needs Washed
Bow Up
Related Articles
“Verses” Vs. “Versus” (on Neal Whitman’s blog)
Is “Conversate” a Word? (QDT, explains backformation)
Each week, we chat about the quirks & anomalies of the English language. This week, we’re up against it with an exploration of “versus”…
Q: Hi AWC, I keep hearing kids say “versing”. As in, “our team is versing your team this weekend”. Surely that’s not a “thing” is it?
A: Haha, welcome to the English language! Take a seat.
Q: I’d prefer to stand.
A: Okay, well what you’re hearing is slang and apparently very common with kids these days. It is thought to have been picked up through video game terminology, but also through the ambiguous sound of the word “versus”.
Q: Don’t you mean “verses”?
A: No way. “Verses” doesn’t refer to “against” or “in opposition to”.
Q: Right, sorry about that – I’m clearly not versed in all things language related.
A: Aha, so you’ve just used the one legitimate way to say “versed” – when referring to learning something, e.g. “I’m not well versed-in this subject” or “I’m versing myself in the complete works of Shakespeare”.
Q: But kids say “when we versed your team, we won 26-18″…
A: Yes they do, and no, it isn’t proper usage. What they are doing with this and “versing” is thinking that the original “versus” is a verb, when it’s in fact a preposition.
Q: A preppy what?
A: A preposition is a word that shows a noun or pronoun’s relationship with another word in a sentence. The common ones are things like: on, in, above, through, below and before.
Q: Australia versus New Zealand. Okay, so that is easy enough. Why would they think it was a verb?
A: Imagine a reporter saying: “coming up, Australia versus New Zealand”. Now, to read it, it’s clear. But it’s also possible for those still learning the language (e.g. children) to mishear it as “coming up, Australia verses New Zealand” just like it could be “coming up, Australia plays New Zealand”.
Q: Ahhh. Okay, so they think that if “play” can have “playing” and “played” then so can “versus”.
A: Yep, and probably explains why many grow up thinking the base word is “verses” because that’s how it would go if that were possible.
Q: But it’s still wrong for kids to say “versing”, yeah?
A: Absolutely. And typically they will grow out of it. Worryingly, it does seem to be appearing in adult usage more and more.
Q: Must be just a fad. I’ve only heard it in the past few years.
A: Well, I hope you’re sitting down for this.
Q: Nope, I decided to stand, remember?
A: Okay, well the incidence of “‘versing” has been around for over 30 years – first documented in the early ’80s in New York.
Q: Wow, who knew…
A: We did.
Q: True. So, one final thing, when using it as an abbreviation, is there a correct way to write “versus”?
A: Great question. Of course writing it in full is fine, but if you feel it would be better shortened, then there seem to be four options – or just two that depend on where you live. So if it’s related to an actual legal case (i.e. Roe v Wade) then just “v” is the method – Americans will put a full stop after it, British (and Australia) tend not to bother. For everything else – e.g. sports or elections or gangster rapping, then it’s “vs” – and again, the Americans go with “vs.” while it’s more common in Australia to just go with “vs” without a full stop. Lower case throughout is fine.
Q: Thanks for the explanation. I wasn’t feeling all that versed, but now it’s the reverse!
Depending on context, versus may be spelled out or abbreviated. In other contexts, the word versus and abbreviation vs. are not italicized. In British usage, the period after vs. is omitted.
Hereof, what is the correct way to abbreviate versus?
3 Answers. In legal contexts, the abbreviation «v.» is used. Elsewhere, the most common is «vs.». In formal contexts (e.g. scientific papers), it is probably best to have the period at the end of the abbreviation.
Subsequently, question is, do you put a period after street abbreviations?
St with or without a period is a standard abbreviation for Street. Technically, a period (in American English) is the more correct, formal rendition. But it appears without the period everywhere, perhaps more often than with the period (at least on cards).
Does v Mean versus?
Versus, meaning “against, opposed to” or “in contrast to,” is often abbreviated to vs. in sports coverage and to v. in legal documents.