Hearting Inside

It's only been in the last couple of years that "I heart you" became a common term of endearment. It means (sometimes in equal parts, although that complicates the argument later) that the first person has affection for, has a great(ly) positive attitude to, is highly inclined to roll around on the floor with, the second person. It can, of course, mean other things as well.

But that's not the point. What gets me is that some people resent the conversion of (what is to them) a noun into a verb. In grouchier moods, I too feel a little of that resentment. Yet I can easily put it aside, reminding myself that if you can't stomach it, and you can't skin it alive or gut it, you can still eye it from a distance or hand it to someone else. It's not the first organ to be made into a verb; surely it will not be the last. (I have omitted some other organs because some verb forms are reserved mostly for undignified genres such as pornography or textbooks or both).

Are there any other 'organic' ways to convey one's deep appreciation of another person? Interesting question. "I liver you" sounds nice, but the opposite would intuitively be "I deliver you" which seems odd, since the latter is somewhat religious in tone and of positive semantic burden. We could try "I kidney you" but then the rejoinder is "I kidney you not" which seems more like an assertion of truth-telling than a statement of lack of affection.

What about "I lung you"? Sounds good, but "lunging you" sounds as if a preposition is missing (when it's probably a proposition that's about to be made) in a duel. "I finger you" is probably either gross or offensive (and can be grossly offensive). And "I brain you" is certainly not conducive to harmony. Some figures of speech are just too violent.

So what could possibly suffice to convey affection as deeply as "I heart you"?

I guess nobody nose.