“impassive” and “impassioned”

When something bad happens and you remain “impassive” what you are doing is keeping a wooden face. You are not displaying an emotion of any kind. It could be you do not feel any emotion, or you have chosen to hide it. The heroes in many of our movies remain impassive in all situations. They are the strong silent men who remain unmoved.

*After killing the man with his knife, the hero looked on impassively at the sea.

“Impassioned”, on the other hand, means someone who is “full of passion”, an individual who displays intense feeling about something or someone.

*The impassioned speech by the Vice-Chancellor brought the audience to its feet.

S. UPENDRAN

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 24, 2005

“yellow journalism”

When someone accuses a newspaper of “yellow journalism” what they mean is that it presents the news in a biased manner. It distorts the facts and sensationalises the news in order to get the public to buy the paper. It attempts to increase its circulation, not by providing accurate news, but by appealing to the public’s curiosity. The term “yellow journalism” is no longer restricted to newspapers alone, it includes all other forms of media — television and radio.

*Some of the local newspapers are classic examples of yellow journalism.

The expression was popularised in the late 19th Century in the U.S. Two newspapers, “New York World”, owned by Joseph Pulitzer, and “New York Journal”, owned by William Randolph Hearst, were trying to become very popular among the public by printing sensational stories. Both newspapers specialised in muckraking. The “World” had a popular comic strip called “Hogan’s Alley” in which the character “Yellow Kid” appeared. Hearst played dirty and got “Hogan’s” creator, R. F. Outcault, to join his paper. The angry Pulitzer hired another artist and asked him to continue with the “Yellow Kid”. The competition between the two yellow kids led to an all out war between the two papers. There was a court battle over the copyright, and very often, street fights broke out between the delivery boys of the rival newspapers. The fight between Hearst and Pulitzer over the “Yellow Kid” began to symbolise everything that was wrong with American journalism.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 24, 2005

What is the meaning of “watchdog agency”?

Most people keep a watchdog in order to protect their house. When you refer to a group of people as being a “watchdog” committee or agency, what you are implying is that they are ensuring that your rights are being protected. They make sure that the companies, governments, etc, follow the letter of the law, and do not cheat the public. A watchdog agency looks after the interests of the public.

*We are hoping to set up an anti-drug watchdog agency soon.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 24, 2005

What is the past tense of “quit”?

Depending on the context, the word has two possible past tense forms — quit and quitted. When used to mean, “to leave” you can use both. For example, “Venu quit/quitted his job and moved to Chennai.”

The word “quit” can also be used to mean, “to stop”. We can, for example say, “Venu has quit gambling”. In this context, it is incorrect to use “quitted”. The word “quitted” is going out of fashion; it is mostly used in formal contexts.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 24, 2005

“ringside view”

When you have a “ringside view” of an event, you have an excellent view of it. It is also possible to say “ringside seat”. *Sheel was sitting on the terrace and had a ringside view of the accident.

There are many idioms that come from the sport of boxing, and “ringside view” is one of them. The “ring” refers to a “boxing ring”. If during a boxing bout you are lucky enough to have a seat close to the ring, you can see all the action very clearly.

S. UPENDRAN

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 17, 2005

“sob” and “weep”

In both cases, tears flow from the eyes. “Weep” is mostly used in writing, and is considered a literary word. When you say that someone is weeping, you are focussing on the tears, and not on the sounds that accompany it. Weeping is usually done silently, which is why you never talk about a baby weeping. Babies cry — a lot of noise accompanies the tears that flow from their eyes. One can weep for various reasons; we can weep with sorrow, and we can weep with joy. Sobbing is always done loudly; it is accompanied by a lot of noise. The heroines in our films sob a lot. Sobbing involves gasping for breath and this results in a lot of chest heaving. The word is usually associated with misery; unlike “weep”, one cannot “sob” with joy.

S. UPENDRAN

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 17, 2005

“on the qui vive”

the pronunciation: The first word “qui” is pronounced like the word “key”, and the “i” in “vive” is like the “ee” in “fee”, “bee” and “see”. The final “e” is silent. The main stress is on the second word.

I understand that soldiers in France who were on duty during the night used this expression. Whenever they saw a figure approaching or heard some noise, they used to shout “qui vive”, meaning, “Who goes there?” or “Long live who?” The person approaching was expected to respond by saying, “vive le roi”, meaning, “Long live the king”.

Since the sentinel on duty had to be alert, the expression “on the qui vive” is used to mean, “watchful” or “alert”.

*With the elections around the corner, the police have been asked to be on the qui vive.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 17, 2005

“scourge”

The “sc” is like the “sk” in “skin”, “skip”, and “skill”. The following “our” is pronounced like the “er” in “her”, “nerd” and “herd”. The “g” sounds like the “j” in “jam”, “jazz” and “jump”, and the final “e” is silent. A “scourge” is a whip normally used to flog people.

The word can also be used to refer to a person or a thing. When you refer to an individual as a “scourge”, what you mean is that he is someone who causes a lot of suffering for others — just like the whip!

*The President wants to put an end to the scourge of terrorism.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 17, 2005

“shimmy”

Some people when they walk, shake their hips and shoulders side to side. This is what we mean by “shimmy”; it is a word that is normally associated with dancing.

*As the singer shimmied across the stage, the audience went wild.

In American English, the word is also used in informal contexts to mean, “vibrate or shake”.  

*The front wheel of Velu’s scooter shimmied.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 17, 2005

Which is correct? “Clinic timings/timing”?

 I guess in the Indian context, “timings” would be the appropriate word. After all, everyone in our country talks about “school timings”, “bus timings” and “train timings”. A native speaker of English, however, would find both “timing” and “timings” unacceptable. He would prefer to say “Clinic hours”. The word “timing” has nothing to do with duration, and as for the word “timings”, well, you won’t find it listed in most dictionaries. It is a word that we Indians have coined.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, Jan 03, 2005