Word Games

Google's trying to keep its trademark from going the way of Kleenex and Brillo. They'd like you not to "Google" your love interest, but instead to perform a search on him in the engine known as Google. Boy, that's a mouthful.

The news comes just as journalists have started to mull privacy issues involved in "Googling," so one can see why the company might be paranoid about the word taking on unwelcome connotations.

But no matter how many cease and desists the company sends, I have a feeling that as far the spoken language is concerned, the verb form is here to stay. Ah, the struggles of success.