idioms - Can I use “Etch A Sketch” as a verb to mean ‘flip flop one's words?’


Today I saw an instance of a proper noun (Google) being used as a verb in the following question on EL&U:



I read an article recently where the author used "substract" instead of "subtract". I'm more familiar with the latter word but after doing a bit of googling, it seems that both words are being used, …



This reminds me a bit of the story made by Mitt Romney’s campaign in March. He made a slip of tongue by likening the shift of his boss’s political tactics to an "Etch A Sketch."



“Despite Mitt Romney's big win in Illinois, his campaign is on the defensive after one of his senior advisers told CNN: "I think ... It's almost like an Etch A Sketch - you can kind of shake it up and we start all over again”. – NPR Mar 21, 2012



I saw the case of Blackberry being used as a verb too.


Can I use “Etch A Sketch” as a verb to mean ‘flip flop’ in such a way as “My boss always etches a sketch his words”? Is it understood by many or few Americans?



Answer



Most Americans know what an Etch-a-Sketch is, but I think very few would interpret the saying:



My boss always Etch-a-Sketches his words.



to mean that he changes his mind a lot. In fact, if I heard that saying, and had to venture a guess, I might think it means that he's not very eloquent. (It's easy to draw straight lines with an Etch-a-Sketch, but fluid curves are very difficult, which makes it very difficult to spell out even basic words.)


You could still use the toy as an analogy to flip-flopping, though – you'd just have to be more specific:



My boss changes his position as easily as an Etch-a-Sketch gets erased.



Such a sentence might even carry the connotation that he changes his mind under pressure (i.e., when he is shaken).


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