In vim, I often perform searches to hop to a word or phrase instead of navigating there with h/j/k/l. Then I hit n to hop between occurrences.

Say I've got this text:

Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana. - Groucho Marx

I type /an arrow and hit enter. That phrase is highlighted, and I jump to it.

Now I want to visually select that text, maybe to change it or delete it. (Yes, I'm aware of the :s substitution command.)

Since my cursor is at the letter "a" at the beginning of "an arrow," I can hit v, then press e a couple of times to highlight the entire phrase. But I have a feeling there's a shorter and more semantic way. After all, I've already specified the text I'm interested in.

How might I compose a command to say "visually select the current search selection?"