“be up to scratch” / “come up to scratch”

When you say that something is “up to scratch” or “comes up to scratch” what you are implying is that it meets the standards required. In other words, it meets with the minimum requirements.

Here are a few examples. * I have to get this project up to scratch before I can ask for a raise. *Sorry Sadhana, your performance isn’t up to scratch * Naresh’s paper wasn’t up to scratch, so I failed him.

As kids whenever we raced our friends, the first thing we did was to draw a line on the ground to indicate that it was the starting point. Such lines are used in various sporting events. It is this line that is referred to as “scratch” in the expression “up to scratch”. According to some scholars such a line was drawn in boxing rings as well. In the old days, a “scratch” was drawn in the middle of the ring.

Whenever a boxer was knocked down by an opponent, he had to get up and walk to the “scratch” in the middle of the ring. He had to do this within a specified time in order to show that he was still in control of his faculties. By coming up to the mark, the boxer was showing the referee and his opponent that he was ready to continue the fight. Other expressions which have more or less the same meaning are “up to snuff” and “up to par”.

Here are a few examples. *Harish, your performance hasn’t been up to snuff. *The boss said that the report wasn’t up to par.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, July 08, 2003

“dog’s breakfast”

When you make a dog’s breakfast of something, you make a complete mess of it. This is an informal expression mostly used in British English.

Here are a few examples. *Deepa made a bit of a dog’s breakfast of the essay. *Jai made a real dog’s breakfast of painting the kitchen.

I understand that dogs have the habit of getting up early and going out. And when they do go out, they eat

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, July 08, 2003

“Oration”

An “oration” is usually given on a ceremonial occasion; An oration is a public speech given by an individual who is generally well-known. The speech tends to be formal in nature. The subject matter chosen tends to be serious and the language used is very formal.

Here are a few examples. *The Minister gave an oration on the importance of not smoking. * I attended a lengthy funeral oration, and boy, was it boring. * The audience listened to the Professor’s skilled oration.

The stress, by the way, is on the second syllable “ra”.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, July 08, 2003

CAN “FURTHER” be used to refer to distance?

Careful users of the language point out that the word “farther” should be used when talking about physical distance.

For example, *The arrow travelled fifty yards farther. *Renu lives farther down the road. *Twenty miles is the farthest distance that Shilpa has walked.

But there is a tendency nowadays to use “further” and “farther” interchangeably in this context — when talking about physical distance. So don’t be too surprised if you find some people replacing “farther” with “further” in the above sentences. It is not uncommon to hear people say, *We walked further down the road. *What’s the furthest distance you have walked?

The word “further” can be used in the sense of “additional” and “greater extent”.

*Amrit warned me not to take the subject any further. *If you don’t accept our terms, Anjali, there will be further delays. “Farther” cannot be used in this sense.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, July 08, 2003