Is it O.K to ask someone, “Would you like a cool drink?”

Native speakers of English do not refer to a cola as a “cool drink”. Instead they use “soft drink”, “soda” and “soda pop”. They would normally ask, “Would you like a soft drink?” or “Would you like a soda?” So is it wrong to ask someone if he wants a “cool drink”? Not in the Indian context. In India everyone would understand what you mean.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 24, 2004

“hangdog expression”

The term “hangdog” is normally used to refer to one’s expression; an expression that suggests that one is ashamed of what one has done.

Here are a few examples. *When Kanthi was arrested, she had a hangdog expression about her. *The hangdog air suggested that she had done something seriously wrong.

During medieval times, it was common practice among Europeans to put not only human beings on trial, but also animals. Whenever an animal did something wrong, it was put on trial and if found guilty it was sentenced to die by “hanging”. For example, if a dog bit a man and he died of rabies, the dog was put on trial for murder. In 1487 in France, beetles were formally charged for destroying a vineyard! The expression “hangdog” was initially used to describe the look on someone’s face who was considered fit to be hanged, like a dog, for his crimes. Nowadays, the word is being used to mean “shamefaced”.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 24, 2004

How is the word “Lieutenant” pronounced?

The Americans and the British pronounce this word differently. The English pronounce the “lieut” like the word “left”. The “e” that follows is pronounced like the “e” in “ten”, “pen” and “hen”, and the final “a” sounds like the “a” in “china”. The main stress is on the second syllable. The Americans, on the other hand, pronounce the “ieu” in the first syllable like the “oo” in “pool”, “cool”, and “school”. They pronounce the remaining two syllables like the British. The main stress once again remains on the second syllable. Indians tend to follow the British pronunciation.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 24, 2004

“Slouch” / “no slouch”

`slouch’ means to walk about with one’s shoulders and head bent. The word refers to one’s posture.”

Examples, “The young programmer was slouched over the computer.”* “Last night Sujatha slouched past me with her hands in her kurta.” * “Sujata slouches even when she is sitting down.”

“When you say that someone is `no slouch’ at something, what you mean is that the individual is very good at it. It’s an expression mostly used in informal contexts. ”

“My neighbour is no slouch at painting.” * “My tennis partner is a pretty huge guy. But he is no slouch at the net.”

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 17, 2004

“Guzzle”

“When you guzzle something what you are doing is eating or drinking it very quickly. You greedily gulp it down.

Examples: “Mehta guzzled gin and tonic all evening.” * “The kids guzzled down all the gulab jamuns in about five minutes.” *”Sujatha guzzled coffee all night long in order to complete the project.”

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 17, 2004

Raise (someone’s) hackles

“Hairs on the neck of a dog are called hackles. Similarly, the feathers on the neck of a domestic cock are called hackles.” “I believe when a dog becomes angry or agitated, the hair on its neck stands up and when a cock gets agitated, the feathers on the back of its neck stand up.” “So when you say that someone’s hackles are raised, what you mean is that the person is very angry.”

Examples: “The photographs of the Iraqis being tortured raised my hackles.” * “I could see my chemistry teacher’s hackles raising as she heard the principal outline his plan.” “The kids expected the article to raise a few hackles. But nothing happened.”

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 17, 2004

`farm out’

“When you `farm out’ work to someone, what you are doing is getting the person to do it.” “So if I have too much work, I can farm some of it out to a colleague or to an outsider.”

Examples: “The new company that my dad works for farms out a lot of work to consultants.” * “When I become the boss, I am going to farm out all my work.”

It is also possible to farm out people. When you do this, you are sending someone to work for somebody else.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 17, 2004

What’s the meaning of “He’s become a vegetable”?

This is an offensive term used to describe people who have been declared brain dead by doctors. Sometimes after a serious accident, the only thing that a victim can do on his own is breathe. The person cannot think, speak or move. A person who slips into a coma is said to be a vegetable. Other than the breathing, there are no indications that the individual is alive.

Here is an example. *The young boy has been a vegetable for the past six months. An individual who leads a very boring, monotonous existence can also be said to lead the life of a vegetable.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 10, 2004

“gourmet” and “gourmand”

The “gour” in the first syllable of “gourmet” sounds like the “ure” in “sure”, “cure”, and “pure”. The following “met” is pronounced like the word “may”.

The first syllable of “gourmand” is pronounced like the first syllable of “gourmet”. The “a” in the second syllable is like the “a” in “china”. This is one way of pronouncing the word. The stress in the case of both words is on the first syllable. The two words are related to food. A “gourmet” is a connoisseur of good food and vintage wines. He is an authority on the selection and preparation of good food. If you take a gourmet to a restaurant, he will not only order the food for you, but will also tell the chef how he wants the dishes to be prepared. Since he is very fond of his food, he is very particular about the quality. “Gourmet food” is supposed to be much more sophisticated than ordinary food, but is also a lot more expensive.

A “gourmand” is an individual who enjoys eating and drinking a lot. Unlike a gourmet, a gourmand is more interested in the quantity of food rather than quality. He is a glutton. The word is often used disapprovingly to describe someone.

Here are a few examples. *The food in the new restaurant will satisfy the gourmands, but not the gourmets. *On their honeymoon the young couple had a gourmet dinner. *When he took Vasantha to dinner, he realised what a gourmand she was.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 10, 2004

“Ditzy”

First let’s deal with the pronunciation. The “i” and the “y” are pronounced like the “i” in “bit”, “pit”, and “sit”. The “z” sounds like the “s” in “sit” and “sip”; the main stress is on the first syllable. “Ditzy”, or “ditsy” as it is sometimes spelt, is a word that is usually used in American English in informal contexts. The word is normally used with women. When you refer to a woman as a “ditz” or “ditzo” what you mean is that she is very scatterbrained. She is quite silly and is not very well organised.

Here are a few examples. *Hey Rahul, it’s that ditzo Jaya on the phone. Do you want to talk to her? *My ditsy cousin forgot to post the invitations.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, May 10, 2004