“poignant”

The first syllable “poign” rhymes with “coin” and “join”; the “g” is silent. The “a” in the final syllable is like the “a” in “china”. Between the first “n” and the following “a” a new sound is inserted. It is the sound “y” as in “yet”, “yes”, and “yen”. The main stress is on the first syllable. When you refer to a film as being “poignant” what you mean is that it was deeply moving, and made you feel extremely sad.

Here are a few examples. *The sudden death of the dog was a poignant experience for the entire family. *The movie brought back poignant memories of his childhood.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, September 2, 2003

“Cowboy”

Remember those old classic westerns? A cowboy was usually someone who took care of cattle — branding them, feeding them, and moving them from one place to another. The word has taken on an additional meaning. Nowadays, anyone can be called a cowboy. Even ordinary folks like you and me. When you refer to someone as being a cowboy, what you mean is that he is not an honest person; he is reckless and ignores rules that most people obey. He is not only unqualified, but also incompetent. People who drive very fast, disobeying traffic rules are often called cowboys.

Here are a few examples. *The taxi driver who drove me to the airport was a real cowboy. *I wouldn’t buy anything from those builders. They are a bunch of cowboys. *Jai’s first job was with a bunch of cowboy solicitors.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, September 2, 2003

“to put a spoke in someone’s wheel”

When you put a spoke in someone’s wheel what you are doing is trying to make things difficult for him. You are attempting to interfere with or obstruct the progress of something.

Here are a few examples. *When the students came to know what the Registrar was trying to do, they tried to put a spoke in his wheel. *By telling the press everything, Karthick put a spoke in Anand’s wheel. *Laxman put a spoke in his son’s wheel when he refused to increase his allowance.

This expression has been part of the English language for well over 400 years. You may wonder how putting a spoke in a wheel will impede anyone’s progress. After all, a bicycle wheel is full of spokes, putting another one in is unlikely to slow things down. What you must remember is that the wheel referred to here is the ancient wheel — the solid wooden wheel, one which didn’t have any spokes. These wheels, however contained a hole, and whenever someone wanted to stop the wheel from moving, he inserted a spoke into the hole. The spoke or pin acted as a brake and thus impeded movement.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, September 2, 2003

“downplayed”

When you downplay something what you are trying to do is to make it appear to be less important than what it actually is. You tend to treat the matter or issue as not being very serious. The word has the same meaning as “to play down”.

Here are a few examples. *The Government tried to downplay the significance of the issue. *Gayathri always downplays her role in saving the hospital. *To keep his parents from worrying, Shyamraj downplayed the dangers of his job.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, September 2, 2003

“all right” and “alright”

According to careful users of the language, the word “alright” doesn’t exist. The correct way to spell the word is “all right”. But the fact remains that many people spell it as one word. While you may get away with “alright” in informal contexts, you may not be so lucky in formal ones. So don’t push your luck. Most dictionaries do not list “alright” as an alternative.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, September 2, 2003