A while back, I wrote a LinkedIn post about the language of the modern developer — how the vocabulary we use to describe what we’re doing has quietly shifted. We don’t make things anymore. We architect them. We don’t think, we ideate. We don’t do, we action.

I didn’t know then that a tiny spinning circle would give me the perfect sequel.

The Funny Little Circle

If you’ve used Claude Code — Anthropic’s CLI agent — you’ve watched it think. Or rather, you’ve watched it tell you that it’s thinking, through a spinner in your terminal. A little animated dot cycling endlessly while the model processes your request.

That spinner doesn’t just spin silently. It pairs the animation with a rotating verb: Computing… Brewing… Sculpting…

It’s a small detail. A UX flourish. But recently, the source code for Claude Code was briefly accessible online, and someone with good taste made note of something delightful buried in constants/spinnerVerbs.ts: 187 loading verbs, each one hand-picked to keep you company while the AI does its thing.

I collected them. And reading through all 187 felt less like auditing a codebase and more like reading a small, strange dictionary of what we think computation actually feels like.

A Vocabulary in Motion

The list starts predictably. Accomplishing. Computing. Processing. Generating. Sensible, functional, honest. These are the verbs of work.

Then things get culinary. Baking. Brewing. Caramelizing. Fermenting. Julienning. Flambéing. Sautéing. Marinating. There are more cooking verbs in this spinner than in some recipe apps. Whoever wrote this clearly believes that thinking and cooking share a fundamental rhythm — both are about applying the right kind of heat, for just the right amount of time, and waiting.

Then the list goes somewhere else entirely.

Boondoggling. Dilly-dallying. Lollygagging. Gallivanting. Frolicking. Moseying. Puttering.

These are words for doing nothing productively. Words your grandparents might have used to gently scold you. The spinner uses them unironically to describe an AI doing its most intensive work. I find that genuinely funny.

The Coined Words

Here’s where it gets interesting. Tucked among the real dictionary words are 22 invented or non-standard entries — verbs that don’t technically exist, or exist only in the loosest sense:

  • Clauding — “Doing what Claude does.” The only self-referential entry. Coined specifically for this AI. There’s something endearing about a model having its own verb.
  • Combobulating / Recombobulating — The reverse of discombobulate, which is itself a wonderfully absurd word. These don’t exist in any dictionary, but they feel right.
  • Gitifying — Making something git-compatible. Pure tech slang elevated to loading-screen philosophy.
  • Hyperspacing — Moving through hyperspace. A sci-fi metaphor for thinking really fast.
  • Quantumizing — Applying quantum-level thinking. Vague, impressive-sounding, perfect.
  • Shenaniganing — The verb form of shenanigans. A legitimate move.
  • Tomfoolering — Clowning around, derived from tomfoolery. A word that should exist.
  • Whatchamacalliting — Doing that thing whose name you can’t remember. Perhaps the most honest description of what LLMs occasionally do.
  • Flibbertigibbeting — Behaving in a silly, flighty way. Seventeen letters. Used in a terminal spinner. Respect.
  • Symbioting — Forming a mutually beneficial relationship. Coined from symbiosis.
  • Beboppin’ — Jazz-inflected, contraction intact. The apostrophe is doing real work here.
  • Wibbling — Wobbling slightly. British informal. Delightfully specific.

Reading these, you realize this wasn’t a task handed off to a script or a random word generator. Someone sat down and decided that an AI loading screen deserved invented words, borrowed jazz slang, and British informalism. That’s a creative decision, made by a human, about how a machine should speak.

The Full Cast

All 187, if you want the complete picture:

Accomplishing, Actioning, Actualizing, Architecting, Baking, Beaming, Beboppin’, Befuddling, Billowing, Blanching, Bloviating, Boogieing, Boondoggling, Booping, Bootstrapping, Brewing, Bunning, Burrowing, Calculating, Canoodling, Caramelizing, Cascading, Catapulting, Cerebrating, Channeling, Channelling, Choreographing, Churning, Clauding, Coalescing, Cogitating, Combobulating, Composing, Computing, Concocting, Considering, Contemplating, Cooking, Crafting, Creating, Crunching, Crystallizing, Cultivating, Deciphering, Deliberating, Determining, Dilly-dallying, Discombobulating, Doing, Doodling, Drizzling, Ebbing, Effecting, Elucidating, Embellishing, Enchanting, Envisioning, Evaporating, Fermenting, Fiddle-faddling, Finagling, Flambéing, Flibbertigibbeting, Flowing, Flummoxing, Fluttering, Forging, Forming, Frolicking, Frosting, Gallivanting, Galloping, Garnishing, Generating, Gesticulating, Germinating, Gitifying, Grooving, Gusting, Harmonizing, Hashing, Hatching, Herding, Honking, Hullaballooing, Hyperspacing, Ideating, Imagining, Improvising, Incubating, Inferring, Infusing, Ionizing, Jitterbugging, Julienning, Kneading, Leavening, Levitating, Lollygagging, Manifesting, Marinating, Meandering, Metamorphosing, Misting, Moonwalking, Moseying, Mulling, Mustering, Musing, Nebulizing, Nesting, Newspapering, Noodling, Nucleating, Orbiting, Orchestrating, Osmosing, Perambulating, Percolating, Perusing, Philosophising, Photosynthesizing, Pollinating, Pondering, Pontificating, Pouncing, Precipitating, Prestidigitating, Processing, Proofing, Propagating, Puttering, Puzzling, Quantumizing, Razzle-dazzling, Razzmatazzing, Recombobulating, Reticulating, Roosting, Ruminating, Sautéing, Scampering, Schlepping, Scurrying, Seasoning, Shenaniganing, Shimmying, Simmering, Skedaddling, Sketching, Slithering, Smooshing, Sock-hopping, Spelunking, Spinning, Sprouting, Stewing, Sublimating, Swirling, Swooping, Symbioting, Synthesizing, Tempering, Thinking, Thundering, Tinkering, Tomfoolering, Topsy-turvying, Transfiguring, Transmuting, Twisting, Undulating, Unfurling, Unravelling, Vibing, Waddling, Wandering, Warping, Whatchamacalliting, Whirlpooling, Whirring, Whisking, Wibbling, Working, Wrangling, Zesting, Zigzagging.

What This Is Really About

In my LinkedIn post, I was poking at how developer vocabulary has inflated — how simple acts get dressed up in grander language, sometimes to signal sophistication, sometimes just out of habit.

But this spinner list is something different. It’s not inflated language. It’s playful language. It’s the language of people who took a mundane UX problem — how do we tell the user we’re busy? — and decided to treat it as an opportunity for delight.

Schepping through your codebase. Osmosing context. Recombobulating after a bad merge. Clauding in the general direction of your problem.

The funny circle keeps spinning. And now you know every word it might say.

You can customize the spinner verbs yourself — Claude Code supports a spinnerVerbs setting that lets you replace or extend the list. Personally, I’m keeping Flibbertigibbeting.

All 187 Verbs & Meanings

# Word Meaning
1 Accomplishing Achieving or completing a task
2 Actioning Taking action on something (informal gerund)
3 Actualizing Making something real or concrete
4 Architecting Designing the structure of a system
5 Baking Cooking in dry heat; metaphor for processing
6 Beaming Transmitting or radiating outward
7 Beboppin’ Playing/dancing to bebop jazz (contracted)
8 Befuddling Confusing or perplexing
9 Billowing Swelling outward in large waves
10 Blanching Briefly boiling then cooling; whitening
11 Bloviating Speaking at length in an inflated, pompous way
12 Boogieing Dancing energetically
13 Boondoggling Wasting time on trivial or pointless work
14 Booping Lightly poking/touching (internet slang)
15 Bootstrapping Starting something with minimal resources
16 Brewing Preparing by steeping; letting something develop
17 Bunning Forming into a bun shape (non-standard)
18 Burrowing Digging or tunneling through something
19 Calculating Performing mathematical computations
20 Canoodling Cuddling or showing affection
21 Caramelizing Heating sugar until it browns
22 Cascading Falling in successive stages like a waterfall
23 Catapulting Launching with great force
24 Cerebrating Using the brain; thinking
25 Channeling Directing or focusing energy/information
26 Channelling British spelling of Channeling
27 Choreographing Planning and arranging movements or steps
28 Churning Agitating vigorously; processing intensely
29 Clauding Doing what Claude does (coined from the AI’s name)
30 Coalescing Coming together to form a unified whole
31 Cogitating Thinking deeply and carefully
32 Combobulating Putting together/organizing (coined — reverse of “discombobulate”)
33 Composing Creating or arranging elements
34 Computing Performing calculations or processing data
35 Concocting Creating by combining ingredients or ideas
36 Considering Thinking carefully about options
37 Contemplating Deeply thinking about something
38 Cooking Preparing by heating; metaphor for processing
39 Crafting Making something skillfully
40 Creating Bringing something new into existence
41 Crunching Processing large amounts of data
42 Crystallizing Forming into a clear structure; solidifying
43 Cultivating Nurturing and developing over time
44 Deciphering Decoding or interpreting something complex
45 Deliberating Carefully weighing options before deciding
46 Determining Figuring out or deciding
47 Dilly-dallying Wasting time; dawdling
48 Discombobulating Confusing and disorienting someone
49 Doing Performing an action
50 Doodling Drawing aimlessly; informal brainstorming
51 Drizzling Falling lightly and steadily
52 Ebbing Receding or gradually decreasing
53 Effecting Bringing about or causing something
54 Elucidating Making something clear by explaining it
55 Embellishing Adding details or decoration
56 Enchanting Delighting or charming
57 Envisioning Forming a mental picture of something
58 Evaporating Converting to vapor; dispersing
59 Fermenting Undergoing chemical transformation; developing
60 Fiddle-faddling Wasting time on trivial things
61 Finagling Obtaining something through trickery or cunning
62 Flambéing Cooking by igniting alcohol over the food
63 Flibbertigibbeting Behaving in a silly, flighty, frivolous way
64 Flowing Moving smoothly and continuously
65 Flummoxing Bewildering or completely confusing
66 Fluttering Moving lightly and rapidly
67 Forging Creating or shaping through effort and force
68 Forming Shaping or bringing into being
69 Frolicking Playing or moving about cheerfully
70 Frosting Applying a coating; icing
71 Gallivanting Going about from place to place for enjoyment
72 Galloping Moving rapidly like a horse at full pace
73 Garnishing Adding finishing touches or decoration
74 Generating Producing or creating output
75 Gesticulating Making expressive gestures
76 Germinating Beginning to grow or develop
77 Gitifying Making something git-compatible (coined — tech slang for version control)
78 Grooving Moving smoothly; being in a good flow state
79 Gusting Blowing in strong bursts
80 Harmonizing Bringing elements into agreement or harmony
81 Hashing Computing a hash/checksum of data
82 Hatching Emerging; developing a plan
83 Herding Gathering and directing toward a goal
84 Honking Making a loud noise; metaphor for signaling
85 Hullaballooing Creating a noisy commotion (informal gerund of hullabaloo)
86 Hyperspacing Moving through hyperspace (coined — sci-fi metaphor for fast processing)
87 Ideating Generating and forming new ideas
88 Imagining Forming mental images or concepts
89 Improvising Creating spontaneously without preparation
90 Incubating Carefully developing something over time
91 Inferring Drawing conclusions from evidence
92 Infusing Filling something with a quality or element
93 Ionizing Converting atoms into ions; energizing
94 Jitterbugging Dancing the jitterbug; moving erratically
95 Julienning Cutting into thin matchstick strips (cooking)
96 Kneading Working dough by pressing and folding
97 Leavening Causing to rise; adding lift to something
98 Levitating Rising or floating without visible support
99 Lollygagging Spending time aimlessly; loafing
100 Manifesting Making apparent; bringing into reality
101 Marinating Soaking to absorb flavor; letting ideas steep
102 Meandering Moving in a winding, indirect path
103 Metamorphosing Undergoing a dramatic transformation
104 Misting Spraying with a fine mist
105 Moonwalking Dancing like Michael Jackson; walking on the moon
106 Moseying Walking slowly and leisurely
107 Mulling Slowly thinking over; considering
108 Mustering Gathering or summoning resources/energy
109 Musing Thinking or meditating reflectively
110 Nebulizing Converting to a fine spray or mist
111 Nesting Building nested structures; settling in
112 Newspapering Doing newspaper-related work (non-standard; context: formatting/publishing output)
113 Noodling Casually improvising; thinking out loud
114 Nucleating Forming a nucleus around which growth occurs
115 Orbiting Moving in a circular path around something
116 Orchestrating Coordinating multiple elements toward a goal
117 Osmosing Absorbing gradually (informal; osmose is a rare verb)
118 Perambulating Walking about; strolling
119 Percolating Filtering through gradually; brewing
120 Perusing Reading or examining carefully
121 Philosophising Engaging in deep philosophical thought
122 Photosynthesizing Converting light energy into usable energy
123 Pollinating Transferring ideas/data like pollen
124 Pondering Thinking deeply and carefully
125 Pontificating Expressing opinions in a pompous, authoritative way
126 Pouncing Jumping suddenly to act on something
127 Precipitating Causing something to happen suddenly
128 Prestidigitating Performing sleight of hand; doing magic tricks
129 Processing Working through data or tasks
130 Proofing Testing or validating for correctness
131 Propagating Spreading or reproducing something
132 Puttering Doing minor tasks in an unhurried way
133 Puzzling Working through a difficult problem
134 Quantumizing Applying quantum-level thinking (coined — metaphor for complex computation)
135 Razzle-dazzling Impressing with brilliant display
136 Razzmatazzing Creating flashy excitement (coined from “razzmatazz”)
137 Recombobulating Putting things back in order (coined — humorous opposite of discombobulate)
138 Reticulating Forming into a network or grid pattern
139 Roosting Settling in; resting in place
140 Ruminating Thinking deeply; chewing over ideas
141 Sautéing Cooking quickly in a small amount of oil
142 Scampering Running with quick, light steps
143 Schlepping Carrying something heavy with effort (Yiddish-origin slang)
144 Scurrying Moving hurriedly in short quick steps
145 Seasoning Adding flavor; conditioning for use
146 Shenaniganing Engaging in mischief (coined from “shenanigans”)
147 Shimmying Shaking with small rapid movements
148 Simmering Cooking just below boiling; building slowly
149 Skedaddling Leaving in a hurry
150 Sketching Drawing rough outlines; drafting ideas
151 Slithering Moving in a sinuous, gliding way
152 Smooshing Squishing or pressing together (informal)
153 Sock-hopping Dancing at a 1950s-style sock hop
154 Spelunking Exploring caves; diving deep into something
155 Spinning Rotating rapidly; processing in a loop
156 Sprouting Beginning to grow; emerging
157 Stewing Cooking slowly; worrying or thinking slowly
158 Sublimating Converting directly from one state to another
159 Swirling Moving in circles or spirals
160 Swooping Moving in a fast sweeping curve
161 Symbioting Forming a mutually beneficial relationship (coined from “symbiosis”)
162 Synthesizing Combining parts into a unified whole
163 Tempering Moderating; hardening through controlled heating
164 Thinking Using mental processes to reason
165 Thundering Moving or acting with great force and noise
166 Tinkering Making small experimental adjustments
167 Tomfoolering Acting foolishly or clowning around (coined from “tomfoolery”)
168 Topsy-turvying Turning upside down or into disorder (coined from “topsy-turvy”)
169 Transfiguring Transforming into something more beautiful
170 Transmuting Changing from one form or substance to another
171 Twisting Rotating or contorting
172 Undulating Moving in a smooth wave-like motion
173 Unfurling Unrolling or spreading out
174 Unravelling Coming apart; solving something complex
175 Vibing Giving off or feeling a certain energy (slang)
176 Waddling Walking with a swaying side-to-side motion
177 Wandering Moving without fixed direction
178 Warping Distorting or bending out of shape
179 Whatchamacalliting Doing that thing whose name you can’t remember (coined from “whatchamacallit”)
180 Whirlpooling Forming a spinning vortex; circling rapidly
181 Whirring Making a rapid buzzing/humming sound
182 Whisking Moving quickly; mixing rapidly
183 Wibbling Wobbling or trembling slightly (British informal)
184 Working Performing work or labor
185 Wrangling Handling something difficult; herding
186 Zesting Adding zest; grating citrus peel
187 Zigzagging Moving in a sharp alternating direction