April 2015-1

Know your English - April 5, 2015

What are you doing here? Isnt that important meeting with your boss today?
It was! But the cunning man wrong-footed us by having the meeting yesterday.
Wrong-footed? Is it okay to say wrong-footed?
Yes, it is. When you wrong-foot someone, you catch the person unawares. You surprise him and
catch him off balance. This may ...
By doing this, youre probably putting the person in a very difficult position.
A difficult or an embarrassing one. Heres an example. Be very careful. The person who is
interviewing you is known for her ability to wrong-foot her guests.
The company was wrong-footed by the sudden fall in the price of gold.
Good one! Now then, do you ...
Did you take part in the Keep our Beach Clean campaign during the weekend?
I certainly did. I didnt expect it to be so tiring, though. My body is still aching! Why werent you
there? I thought young people ...
I helped clean up the beach between six and eight in the morning. See, heres a picture of me
holding the garbage.
Thats pretty impressive. You were there, I guess. I stand corrected.
Stand corrected'? What does it mean?
The expression is mostly used in speech. When you say that you stand corrected, what you mean is
that something that youd said earlier was wrong. Youre ...
In other words, youre willing to admit that you made a mistake!
Exactly! Heres an example. Youre right, Vikas! Australia has won the World Cup five times and not
four. I stand corrected.
Ive been insisting all along that you were at Rahuls party. I stand corrected. It wasnt you, it was
your brother.
Well, what do you know! Ive been maintaining all along that the Academic Council meeting is
tomorrow. It is, in fact, next week. I stand corrected.

April 2015-2
Talking about meetings. Todays meeting at the club stands cancelled. At least, thats what the note
said.
Stands cancelled is an Indianism. Native speakers do not use this expression.
Then what do they say? The meeting has been cancelled?
Thats right! They dont use stand with cancelled. The class has been cancelled. And not, the class
stands cancelled.
I see. Tell me, did your friends help in cleaning up the beach?
Some did. But quite a few of my friends thought it was infra dig to pick up trash.
Infra dig? Never heard that expression before!
It literally means beneath ones dignity.
I see. So, when you say that picking up trash is infra dig, you mean that it is beneath you to do it. It
is not appropriate for someone of your status to do it.
Very good! There are many men in India who believe it is infra dig to wash dishes.
Why only limit it to India? There are men who think doing housework is infra dig.
You have a point there. The former superstar thought it was infra dig to be doing such a small role.
He should be happy that someone is giving him a role!
******
Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places.
Joseph Crossman

http://www.thehindu.com/books/know-your-english/know-your-english-april-52015/article7068492.ece

April 2015-3

Know your English - April 12, 2015

What is the meaning of swashbuckler?
(SA Faizal, Kottayam)
This is an example of how the meaning of a word has changed over the years. Nowadays, when we
think of a swashbuckler, the person that immediately comes to mind is Captain Jack Sparrow a
character in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. Swashbuckler is mostly used now to refer to
someone who is cocky and is always on the lookout for adventure. He is skilled at using weapons and
travels the world looking for hidden treasure. Originally, the word was used to refer to a loud bully.
The word swash meant to move about in an arrogant manner, and buckler referred to the small
shield that a fighter held in one hand to protect himself. The original swashbuckler was a bully who
made a lot noise by banging his sword against his buckler. But thanks to Hollywood and Bollywood
movies, our notion of a swashbuckler has changed completely.
*In many of his movies, he played the role of a dashing swashbuckler.
How is the word disparate pronounced?
(K Laxmikanth, Erode)
The vowel in the first syllable is like the i in bit, sit and kit, while the a in the next two syllables
sounds like the a in china. The final e is silent. The word is pronounced DIS-pe-ret with the stress
on the first syllable. Some people tend to drop the vowel in the second syllable and pronounce the
word DIS-pret. The word comes from the Latin disparatus meaning to divide or separate. In
English, disparate is mostly used to mean very different. When you say that two objects are
disparate, you are suggesting that it will be impossible to compare them for they are very different
from each other they belong to different groups, and are very dissimilar.
*Getting the disparate groups to work together is proving to be impossible.
What is the meaning and origin of to chomp at the bit?
(RV Seetha, Chennai)
Most of us get rather restless when we are made to wait for someone or something. To become
impatient is one of the meanings of the expression chomp at the bit. It can also be used to mean to
be anxious to do something.
*The players were chomping at the bit to enter the field.
It is possible to say champ at the bit as well. The expression comes from the world of horses. The
bit refers to a horses mouthpiece; the metal piece that a rider puts in the mouth of the animal in
order to direct and control it. When you chomp or champ on something, you chew or munch on it
rather nosily. When a horse gets restless or impatient, it begins to chomp on the bit.

April 2015-4
Which is correct: Geetha went for a swim or Geetha took a swim?
(K Nandini, Chennai)
Both are acceptable. In the case of certain activities like swimming and walking, Americans tend to
say take, while the British use go.
*She goes for a walk/swim in the morning.
*I took a swim/walk in the evening.
******
Its a lot like nuts and bolts. If the riders nuts, the horse bolts. Nicholas Evans

http://www.thehindu.com/books/know-your-english/know-your-english-april-122015/article7093236.ece

Know your English April 19, 2015

What happened to your car? Where did you get the big dent?
It happened last night. I slowed down near an intersection, and an auto-rickshaw driver who had
been sitting on my tail, hit me.
A driver was sitting on your tail? I didnt know you had one.
Very funny! When someone sits on your tail, he follows you very closely. He doesnt maintain the
required distance between his vehicle and yours.
But thats the way people drive in India. When we drive, we always sit on someones tail!
Thats true! We usually sit on someones tail because we want to pass or overtake him.
I get terribly irritated when someone sits on my tail and keeps honking.
A lot of people find it irritating. But honking is something that what we all do!
I know! I do it too, sometimes. Tell me, how is your companys new product doing?
Its too early to tell. Our CEO is very bullish about the success of the product.
Very bullish? A bull is known for its stubbornness. So, does ...
It doesnt mean stubborn, but optimistic. When you say that someone is bullish, it means that the
individual is very confident about something. Sometimes, even aggressively so.

April 2015-5
Ravi Shastri was bullish about India's chances of defeating Australia in the World Cup.
He wasnt the only one. I think the entire country was in a bullish mood after we had won six games
in a row. Or was it seven?
Nobody cares about that now. Understand youve started taking the bus.
Its the company bus. I leave for office twenty minutes earlier than usual. But the good thing is, I get
my forty winks on the bus.
Forty winks? You wink at the people on the bus?
Of course, not! Do you think Im nuts? The expression forty winks is used in informal contexts to
refer to a very short nap that one takes during the daytime.
My grandmother usually has forty winks after her morning walk.
Thats a good example. The thing about forty winks is that you dont have to actually lie down on the
bed. You can have your forty winks while sitting.
Like my grandmother! She has forty winks while sitting in the rocking chair.
I read somewhere that Napoleon used to have forty winks while riding a horse.
That must have been very difficult to do. Anyway, what are your plans for the evening?
Nothing much, actually. I thought of cleaning my motorcycle. Then, I ...
How boring! Surely, there are more exciting things to do.
You know me. I dont like to go anywhere on weekdays. Why dont ...
A movie! Lets go for a movie, can we?
Its not can we but shall we?
What are you talking about?
The usual question tag for statements beginning with lets is shall we. Lets go for a movie, shall
we? And the standard reply is either Yes, lets or No, lets not.
I see. How about this example? Lets take part in next months marathon, shall we?
No, lets not! Lets sit at home and watch the marathon on TV.
Youre such a bore!

April 2015-6
******
Just taught my kids about taxes by eating 38 % of their ice cream. Conan OBrien

http://www.thehindu.com/books/know-your-english/know-your-english-april-192015/article7165036.ece

Know your English What is the difference between

sneer and jeer?
What is the difference between sneer and jeer?
(V.S. Niranjana, Chennai)
When you sneer or jeer at an individual, you are being very rude to him. A sneer is the
contemptuous look on your face that clearly shows that you have no respect for the person you are
talking to your expression says it all! This look is usually accompanied by a wounding remark. You
say something in a manner that hurts the individual.
*My uncle sneered when I told him my marks.
*How much does your useless husband make in a year? she sneered.
Jeering is what usually happens to people who are on stage a politician giving a speech, an actor
performing, a cricketer arguing with the umpire, etc. In all these cases, the spectators/members of
the audience show their contempt for the person by loudly booing him/her. Mocking a person,
shouting abuses at him, and laughing at him are all examples of jeering.
*Sandeep became nervous when the audience started to jeer at us.
*The spectators began to jeer the home team.
What is the meaning of joker in the pack?
(J. Mukherjee, Kolkata)
The joker in the expression does not refer to someone who entertains people by telling them jokes or
by doing funny things. In this context, it refers to the joker that is usually found in a pack of cards. In
certain card games, the joker can be assigned any value it can be used as an Ace, a Jack, a King,
etc. it can be anything that the player wants it to be. The value that the card will be given is
unpredictable. Similarly, when you say that someone is the joker in the pack, you mean that s/he is
an unknown entity. He or she is someone who is going to have a big impact on the events that follow.
The results of the persons influence, however, will be hard to predict they may be most
unexpected. The expression can be used with things as well.

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*The young voter was the joker in the pack in the last election.
*Dont say anything about abortion. It may be the joker in the pack that might help you win this
election.
How is the word cabal pronounced?
(Meena Nair, Kochi)
There are different ways of pronouncing this word. Some people pronounce the first vowel like the a
in china and the second like the a in ant, pants and apple. They pronounce the word ke-BAL
with the stress on the second syllable. Others pronounce the second vowel like the ar in park, dark
and shark. They pronounce the word ke-BAAL.
The word is mostly used in the context of politics to refer to a small group of people who work
secretly to usurp power either by overthrowing the existing government or by installing a puppet
regime.
*The cabal of dissidents within our party ensured we lost the election.
Is it okay to say, Rahul is doing this with a view to make more money?
(M. Vijay, Chennai)
The expression, with a view to meaning with the intent/aim to is usually followed by the ing form
of the verb. In this case, it should be making and not make.
*Hemant went to Nagpur with a view to starting his own business.
******
A new idea is delicate. It can be killed by a sneer or a yawn. Ovid

http://www.thehindu.com/books/know-your-english/know-your-english-what-is-thedifference-between-sneer-and-jeer/article7141565.ece