(A favorite verb of mean-spirited pundits is animadvert, adding a snarling animus to the turning-to, meaning "to note with a sneer.")

"Advert" is one of his favorite verbs, and in its etymological root - advertere, to turn toward - it yields the best description of his critical disposition.

The favorite current parliamentary verb is "to decimate," seemingly meaning "to destroy utterly," as in "The Government is attempting to decimate the British trades union movement."

Lowe tweeted the news late Wednesday afternoon, qualifying it with every gossip's favorite verb, "hearing:"

The drag queen's favorite comic verb is "accessorize"; to transform "cop" into jewelry gear, we risk becoming accessories after the fact.

He upbraided his listeners with a warning that they must "modernize" - Mr. Blair's favorite verb these days - or expire.

This has long been a favorite verb of grammarians.

Though it is terse and punchy, its judgmental appearance in a headline is to be (to use the favorite verbs in headlinese) assailed and decried.

His favorite verb, noun and adjective - usually repeated several times a page - are forms of a certain four-letter word.

But somebody should tell Ed Gordon, who did anchor duty on MSNBC yesterday, that his favorite transitive verb, "efforting," is not yet English.