From the Desk of Janet Barclay

Back in 2007, in response to a comment on one of my blog posts, I said, “I don’t think you can use meme as a verb.”

Barry Zweibel replied, “Sure you can, Janet. You can ‘verbify’ almost anything!!! (Google it, FedEx it, verbify it, ‘Barclay’ it … hmmm I wonder what that last one would mean?!)”

As a lover of words, I was intrigued, and decided I would explore that topic in a future post, but somehow it slipped off my radar until now. Today I’m going to contemplate what it might mean if someone were to say, “he Barclayed it.”

One of the things I take pride in is my ability to locate information. Of course, I have Google to thank, but knowing exactly what words to enter in the search box, and when and where to use apostrophes, has often helped me to find answers to obscure questions and solutions to seemingly impossible situations in minutes, if not seconds. So perhaps to “Barclay it” might refer to quickly and easily tracking down facts and figures, or being resourceful.

Many people have mentioned that I have a very calming presence, so maybe one might say “she Barclayed it” about a woman who stopped someone else from crying or having a panic attack.

On the other hand, maybe “to Barclay it” wouldn’t be a good thing at all. Maybe it means to take a silly idea and run with it until you have a blog post!

I’m curious – what popped into your mind when you read the title of today’s post?