Xerox would NOT be happy to hear you claiming they've been genericized.
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like xerox and kleenex.
Now, they haven't been genericized in Britian (typing 'over here' doesn't actually help much, Am-Chau!) but other things have. Do you know what a hoover is?
So I looked up 'skivvy' on M-W, to see which option they would list. Their choice? Neither:
Main Entry: skiv·vy
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: circa 1902
British : a female domestic servant
Well, billytea, my Concise Oxford agrees with you, and the others too:
skivvy n. 1 (colloq., derog.) Female domestic servant. 2. Thin-high necked long-sleeved garment (in pl., underwear of vest and underpants). [20th cent. origin unknown.]
but the darling Cassel Dictionary of Slang (Green), offers these options:
skivvies, pl. n. 1. men's underwear, esp. underpants 2. a vest, esp. in the forn of a skivvy shirt 3. a pair of light slippers [ety. unknown (3) ? link to skivvy, n, i.e. typical Japanese footwear]
skivvy, n. [late 19th cent.] a derog. term for a Japanese person [presumably var. on skibby, n., although citations put dates at variance]
skivvy n., [20th cent.] maid of all work [? slavey, see also ety. for skibby]
So there you have it. Well, more of it, anyway.
Xerox would NOT be happy to hear you claiming they've been genericized.
I know they fight vigorously to maintain their trademark, but in practice, a helluva lot of people have used their name generically for a long time.
Well, we have a Sharp copier, but I "xerox" on it, not "sharp"
And in England, mostly we 'photocopy'. Which sounds much less exciting.
I know they fight vigorously to maintain their trademark, but in practice, a helluva lot of people have used their name generically for a long time.
I suspect their lawyers hate it, but their management loves it. I mean, no one say "Ricoh me a copy"
Xerox needs to hold onto the mass copier position, since all of their attempts to branch out have not done well.
Xerox needs to hold onto the mass copier position, since all of their attempts to branch out have not done well.
Hee. Must drive 'em nuts, finding it so hard to replicate their successes. Oh, the irony.