“Achilles’ heel”

The “a” is like the “a” in “china”, while the following “ch” is like the “k” in “kiss” and “kite”. The “i” in the third syllable sounds like the “i” in “it” and “kit”; while the final “e” is like the “ee” in “peel”, “feel”, and “kneel”. The “s” sounds like the “z” in “zip”.

When you talk about someone’s Achilles’ heel, you are talking about a weakness or a flaw in his character. It is the individual’s weak spot; something that other people can attack or take advantage of.

Here are a few examples. * Rohini’s Achilles’ heel is pressure. She just can’t handle it. * Udita’s vanity is her Achilles’ heel.

Achilles was a famous warrior. As soon as he was born, his mother Thetis took him to the river Styx and dipped him in it. She did this in order to make him invincible. Legend has it that once someone was dipped in the river, nothing could harm him.

Unfortunately for Achilles, when his mother dipped him in the river, she held him by the heel. As a result, the water never touched that portion of his foot. The only way of killing him was to injure his heel; the heel became Achilles’ weak spot. Ultimately that’s how he died in the Trojan War; an arrow pierced his heel.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, August 19, 2003

Is the word “data” singular or plural ?

Data is the plural of “datum”; people who remember this fact insist that the word should be followed by a plural verb.

* The data show that we need to be investing more money in education. * Your data do not support your conclusions.

But more often than not, people treat the word “data” like the word “information” — as an uncountable noun followed by a singular verb.

* The data hasn’t been analyzed as yet. * This data is unlikely to support your hypothesis.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, August 19, 2003

“advice” and “advise”

In British English “advice” is the noun, and “advise” is the verb.

Here are a few examples. * The advice that Shyam gave Vidya was useless. * Please don’t give Achala bad advice. * I don’t need any advice from you, Naresh.

The “c” in the final syllable of “advice” is like the “s” in “see”, “sip”, and “sat”. Remember, the word “advice” is an uncountable noun. There is no word “advices”. As for the verb “advise”, the “s” is pronounced like the “z” in “zip”, “zero”, and “zoo”.

* The teacher advised the students to take the day off. * Kannan advised me to go to Mumbai and meet the client. * Didn’t I advise you not to see her?

In American English, this distinction between the two words is not always maintained.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, August 19, 2003

“panacea”

The “a” in the first syllable is like the “a” in “cat”, “pat”, and “fat”, while the following vowel is like the “a” in “china”. The final “ea” is like the “eer” in “beer”, “deer”, and “peer”. The main stress is on “cea”.

When you refer to something as being a panacea, what you mean is that it is the solution to all problems. The word is often used disapprovingly.

Here are a few examples. * The introduction of computers is not the panacea for all the school’s problems. * There is no panacea for the problems that we have in our country. * Mohan was desperate to find a quick panacea.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, August 19, 2003