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What is the meaning and origin of knuckle under? (S. Mukesh, Pune) When you knuckle under to someone, you end up doing whatever he wants you to. You willingly or unwillingly accept this individuals superiority over you, and do his bidding. His wish becomes your command. *Like most men, Venkat knuckled under to his wifes demands. As for the origin of this expression, people have different theories. Ill deal with only one here. When we think of the word knuckle nowadays, it is our hands that immediately come to mind. According to some scholars, the knuckle in the expression does not refer to the hands, but to ones knees. In the old days, this word was used to refer to the knee joint. Therefore, when a man knuckled under, he fell to his knees an act, usually seen as a sign of submission or defeat. How is the word chutzpah pronounced? (R. Shankaran, Trichy) The ch is like the h in hat, had and hiss, and the following utz rhymes with the uts in puts. The nal ah sounds like the a in china. The word is pronounced HUTS-pe with the stress on the rst syllable. Sometimes, the word is spelt hutzpah. The word is of Yiddish origin and is mostly used to show approval. When you say that someone has chutzpah, you mean that the individual is extremely condent, sometimes, even arrogantly so. He is not afraid to do what he wants to; he is not afraid to speak his mind either at times embarrassing all those around him. *Rajeev had the chutzpah to tell his boss she was lying through her teeth. What is the difference between spokesperson and mouthpiece? (D. Harini, Nagpur) In terms of function, there is no difference between the two. Both can be used to refer to an individual who speaks on behalf of the government, an organisation or a group of people. Whenever there is a political debate on television, we usually have a spokesperson from the various political parties making an appearance. Spokesperson is a neutral term; you are not making a value judgment. Mouthpiece, on the other hand, is a loaded term; it is mainly used to show contempt. The word suggests that the individual merely parrots what the higher ups have said, and is incapable of any independent thinking. The function is the same, but which word is used is determined by how the individual is perceived. In India, many newspapers and TV channels are owned by politicians, and they do not provide unbiased news. They are nothing more than a mouthpiece for some political party. What is the meaning of friggatriskaidekaphobia? (P.N. Krishnamoorthy, Madurai) We know that phobia means fear. In Greek tris means three, kai means and, and deka means ten. If you add three and ten, you get thirteen! Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of the number 13. Frigga is the name of the old Scandinavian goddess after whom Friday is named. The word friggatriskaidekaphobia means the fear of Friday the 13th. Many people believe that bad things happen on this day. ****** If you want to sacrice the admiration of many men for the criticism of one, go ahead, get married. Katherine Hepburn
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What is the meaning and origin of dead ringer? (G. Deepa, Chennai) This expression of American origin is considered slang, and is mostly used in informal contexts. A dead ringer is an individual who looks exactly like someone else he is a duplicate. The expression can be used with things as well. *Your bike is a dead ringer for the one I had 20 years ago. *The hero in the lm is a dead ringer for my next door neighbour. Several explanations have been put forward as to the origin of this expression. Most people agree that it comes from the world of horse racing. In the old days, a few unscrupulous horse owners often had two horses which looked exactly alike one was invariably slow, and the other was fast. During the trials for a race, the slower horse was used, and as a result, the bookies were fooled into believing that the animal had little or no chance of winning. When the day of the actual race came, the owner switched horses, and made big money by winning the race. This second horse which looked like the rst was called a ringer. What is the meaning of panjandrum? (V. Madhusudan, Bangalore) First, lets deal with the pronunciation of this word. The a in the rst and second syllable sounds like the a in ant, pants and apple, and the u is like the a in china. The word is pronounced pan-JAN-drem with the stress on the second syllable. A panjandrum is a pompous individual who believes that he is a powerful and important person. The word is mostly used to show disapproval. It was coined by the English dramatist Samuel Foote, and it appears in the few nonsense sentences that he wrote to test the memory of an actor who claimed that he had the ability to reproduce anything after hearing it once. *A panjandrum of the oil industry was present at the party. What is the difference between await and wait? (M. Munavar Basha, Chennai) In terms of meaning, there is no difference between the two. Await means wait for. Of the two, await is considered to be formal. People wait for someone or something; they await someone or something. The word await is not followed by for. *The students are waiting for/awaiting the Registrars reply. *The long awaited sequel will be released next week. How is the word cynosure pronounced? (Md. Imdaduallah, Melvisharam) The British pronounce the cyn like the word sin, and the following o like the a in china. The s is like the z in zip and zoo, and the nal ure sounds like the ure in pure, and cure. The word is pronounced SIN-e-zyue with the stress on the rst syllable. This rather literary word which is mostly used in formal contexts comes from the Greek kunosoura meaning dogs tail; a term used to refer to Ursa Minor, the constellation which contains the pole star. In the old days, sailors used this star as a guide to determine which direction they were sailing at night. A cynosure is an individual or an object which attracts the attention of others. *At the banquet, Aparna was the cynosure of all eyes. ****** The only thing that stops God from sending another ood is that the rst one was Nicholas useless. Chamfort
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What is the difference between relinquish and surrender? (P. Ravikiran, Kochi) When you surrender to someone or something, you admit defeat; you are saying that there is no way you can win. When people surrender, they do so involuntarily; people are usually compelled or forced to give up something that belongs to them. Relinquish, on the other hand, is a neutral term. It is pronounced ri-LING-kwish with the stress on the second syllable. It means to give up. Unlike the word surrender, the giving up in this case can be voluntary or involuntary. For example, an old king may decide to hand over his kingdom to his eldest son; he may choose to relinquish his throne. *Under no circumstances am I going to surrender to you. *I do not intend to relinquish my hard earned title any time soon. What is the meaning and origin of tilt at windmills? (K. Mrinalini, Chennai) This is an expression which is not heard very much these days. When you tilt at windmills, you are ghting enemies who dont really exist. You are doing battle with imaginary things. The expression can also be used to mean to waste ones time ghting over trivial issues; you may be ghting in vain against something or someone. *Trying to root out corruption in politics is tilting at windmills. The idiom comes from Cervantes well-known novel Don Quixote. It is about the exploits of an elderly knight and his faithful servant Sancho Panza as they travel through the countryside trying to ght injustice. Tilt in this context means to joust; that is, to ght someone with a lance while riding a horse. In the novel, the slightly eccentric Don Quixote thinks that the windmills he sees are hulking giants, and like any true knight attempts to slay them with his lance. How is the word gratuitous pronounced? (L. Yamini, Chennai) The a and the nal ou are pronounced like the a in china. The tu in the second syllable sounds like the tu in Tuesday, and the following i like the i in bit, hit, and pit. The word is pronounced gre-TYUU-i-tes with the stress on the second syllable. It comes from the Latin gratuitus meaning done without pay, voluntary. Nowadays, the word is mostly used to mean unwanted or unnecessary. For example, a friend may constantly advise you on how you should behave in the workplace, and what shares you should buy. If this advice is unsought, then you can call it gratuitous it is uncalled for. People often talk about the gratuitous violence in lms and childrens video games. In this context, they mean that the violence is unwanted, excessive and inappropriate. *Teenagers loved the gratuitous violence and nudity in the lm. *I am sick and tired of Anamikas gratuitous advice. What is the meaning of criticaster? (C.T. Jyothi, Hubli) The word consists of critic and aster. The sufx aster was borrowed from Latin into English to mean inferior. The word criticaster is used to refer to an inferior critic; someone who is petty and incompetent at his work. Criticaster, poetaster (a person who writes bad poetry), philosophaster (a pretentious philosopher) and politicaster (a petty, contemptible politician) are seldom heard these days. ****** Be a politician, no training necessary. Will Rogers
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What is the meaning of hogwash? (Renjith, Bangalore) This is a word which is mostly used in informal contexts in American English to mean nonsense. It is also used to describe insincere talk and bad writing. *As expected, the Ministers answer was pure hogwash. *Many M. Phil and Ph.D dissertations are nothing more than hogwash. A hog is a male pig which has been castrated, and the wash refers to swill the liquid containing waste food from ones kitchen. In the old days, people who raised hogs, used to feed them on kitchen scraps and leftovers. Since the scraps of food didnt have any nutritional value, any form of writing or talk which lacked substance began to be called hogwash. What is the difference between in camera and on camera? (L. Anuradha, Pune) The expression on camera is mostly used in the world of television and lms. When someone says that you are on camera, it means that the cameraman has you in his sights; his camera is focussed on you. When you are no longer a part of what is being lmed or shot, you are said to be off camera. *The DIG didnt realise he was on camera when he made those comments. In camera literally means in the room. When you hold a meeting in camera, it is held in a room; it is a private or a secret meeting. When a judge says he would like to meet the two lawyers in chambers, he wants to meet them in camera. *If it is a matter of national security, the trial will take place in camera. What is the meaning and origin of hot on the heels of? (A. Venkata Rao, Visakapatnam) When you are pursuing someone and you are hot on his heels, it means that you are very close to the individual. Chances are you will catch him or overtake him soon. Other expressions which have the same meaning are hard on the heels and in hot pursuit. *The young detective was hot on the heels of the thief. According to scholars, the word hot has been used in the expression to suggest that the pursuer is on track; in other words, he is not lost, and the trail has not gone cold. He is so close to his prey that he is able to feel the heat generated by the animal/individual. What is the meaning of the term Kafkaesque? (Arjun Menon, Ernakulam) First, lets deal with the pronunciation. The rst a is like the a in cat and bat, and the second like the a in china. The nal esque is pronounced like the esk in desk. The word is pronounced kaf-ke-ESK with the stress on the third syllable. It comes from the name of the well-known Czech-German writer Franz Kafka. In his writings, he created a world in which there was little or no sunshine. It was very impersonal, mysterious, and menacingly complex, and the characters in them were always full of despair. In the books he wrote, there was always a sense of doom. When you say that something is Kafkaesque, you mean that it is like the work of Kafka in other words, a world in which sinister and impersonal forces control human affairs. *How did Anand get into this Kafkaesque situation? ****** Never get married in college; its hard to get a start if a prospective employer nds youve already made one mistake. Elbert Hubbard
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Why are you still in your gym clothes? Arent you getting late for ofce? I will be working from home today. I see. My friend Dileep goes to the same gym as you. Dileep? You mean the workout impostor? What is that supposed to mean? A workout impostor is someone who wants to create the impression he exercises. Youll see him/her walking around in gym clothes, but the person seldom works out. The clothes and the other accessories are merely for show. Exactly! My neighbour is a workout impostor. Right now, you look like a workout impostor. Anyway, how is the annual report coming along? I havent started yet. I have been overcome by perfectionist paralysis, Im afraid. What kind of paralysis is that? Its the inability to start work on anything because you are scared that the nished product may not be perfect. And as a perfectionist, you want the product to be perfect too. Exactly! Bala never got around to writing the paper because he had perfectionist paralysis. Perfectionist paralysis isnt very common among Indians. You have a point there. We dont mind if our work... I understand Suchi came to you for advice. What did you tell her? Absolutely nothing! The poor thing. Why didnt you say something that... She didnt give me a chance. She spoke non-stop. I was merely a word receptacle. A word receptacle? Isnt a receptacle a container? Yes, thats right. Its a container into which. So when you say you are a word receptacle, you mean you are a container into which people put words. In other words, you are merely a listener. Very good! A word receptacle is someone who is at the receiving end of a one way conversation. He/she is forced to listen to what the other person is saying. The listener doesnt contribute to the conversation. Whenever Im in the company of Laxman, Im often reduced to a word receptacle. You cant blame poor Laxman. Hes a word receptacle when hes at home. Thats true. How was the party last night? Did the people laugh at your jokes? I made sure they did. I took my joke insurance with me. Joke insurance? Is there such a thing? Of course, there is! When you tell a joke, what do you want people to do? You want them to laugh. If they dont, you end up feeling pretty silly. Exactly! To ensure that at least one person laughs, you take joke insurance with someone. Whenever you tell a joke, this person will immediately start laughing. And you will probably laugh when he tells a joke. Exactly! For the party, I had joke insurance with Ganesh. Ganesh? He doesnt even understand jokes! ****** The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest perhaps they are too old to do it. Ann Bancroft
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