“cachet”

The “a” is like the “a” in “cat”, “bat” and “sat”. The final “et” is pronounced like the “ay” in “say”, ‘bay”, and “may”. The “ch” is like the “sh” in “should”, “sheep”, and “ship”. The main stress can be either on the first or the second syllable. The British put it on the first syllable, while the Americans tend to stress the second.

The word “cachet” refers to the special mark that is put on articles that are of very high value. When used with a person, it refers to the special quality that an individual has which wins him the respect and admiration of others. Tendulkar, for example, has a certain cachet; he has the respect and admiration of a lot of people because of his exploits on the cricket field. Here are a few examples. *Balu’s success as a movie producer has won him a certain cachet in the industry. *Driving a Rolls Royce has a certain cachet.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, February 02, 2004

“De facto” and “de jure”

When you say that someone is the de facto Chief Minister what you mean is that he is one who is making the decisions as to how the State should be run — this individual may or may not be the one who has been elected, but he is the person calling the shots. In other words, he may not be the legal Chief Minister, but acts like one. Here are a few examples. *Ramesh is the de facto president of the company. *His election was constantly challenged, but he continued to rule de facto.

Like “de facto”, “de jure” comes from Latin. In both the words, the “de” sounds like “day”. The “u” in “jure” is pronounced like the “ure” in “sure”, “cure”, and “pure”. The “re” in the second syllable, sounds like the word “ray”. Some people pronounce the “e” like the “i” in “sit”, “bit”, and “hit”. The main stress is on the first syllable of “jure”. What does the word mean? It means “by right, according to law”. While a “de facto” king may or may not be the actual king, a “de jure” king is in fact the legal king. In law, “de jure” is considered to be the opposite of “de facto”. Here are a few examples. *He is the de jure king of our country. *He is the Prime Minister de jure.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, February 02, 2004

“Bone of contention”

When people belonging to these two groups get together, they have big arguments, which very often lead to unpleasant situations. When you say that something is the “bone of contention” what you mean is that it is a source of trouble; it causes dissension. Individuals fight over something like several dogs fighting over a single bone. Here are a few examples. *The dam has always been a bone of contention between the two states. *The main bone of contention was deciding which Minister would be garlanded first.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, February 02, 2004

“Baloney”

This word comes from “bolognia” which is a smoked sausage made from several different meats. In American English it is spelt “baloney”, and the word is frequently used in informal contexts to mean “nonsense”. Here is an example. *The reason that he gave for going to war was pure baloney.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, February 02, 2004

“‘Moon phrases”

mooning around/around

When you “moon about” or “moon around” what you are doing is wandering about aimlessly or listlessly. You are wasting your time.

Examples: Ever since he lost his job, Arun has been mooning about at home* Listen you guys, we have a lot of work to do. Don’t just stand there mooning around.

Mooner  

“Well, mooning around means wasting one’s time. So is a person who moons around called a “mooner?” “Yes. You won’t find it in most dictionaries, though. It’s considered slang.

A mooner is a lazy fellow who wastes his time by keeping looking at the moon.

Examples: “I feel like being a mooner tonight.” * “I am sure Rahul will come up in life once he stops being a mooner.”

Moonlighting

The word has several different meanings. One of the meanings is to take up an additional job. A second job.”

“But why moonlighting?” “Because the second job is usually a night job.”

Examples: “ There are many people in our country who have to moonlight in order to earn enough money to feed their family.” *”If I don’t get my promotion soon, then I am afraid that I will be forced to moonlight. Finding it extremely difficult to make ends meet.”

Something is not all moonlight and roses

“When you say that something is not all moonlight and roses, what you mean is that it is not always pleasant.”

Examples: “Pretty soon you will learn that life is not all moonlight and roses.” * “My cousin tells me that living in America isn’t all moonlight and roses.”

Ask for the moon

The expression asking for the moon, means to ask for the impossible.

Examples: “President Bush wants democracy to spread all over the Middle East. Frankly, I think he’s asking for the moon.” * “We keep asking our politicians for a clean administration. Do you think we are asking for the moon?” * “My neighbour’s wife wants her husband to go on a diet and lose about twenty pounds. I think she is asking for the moon.”

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, January 26, 2004

“gobbledygook”

The “o” in the first syllable is like the “o” in “cot”, “hot”, and “got”; the following “e” is silent. The “y” is pronounced like the “i” in “it”, “pit”, and “sit”, and the final “oo” sound like the “oo” in “pool”, “cool”, and “tool”. The main stress is on the first syllable.

When you describe a piece of writing as being “gobbledygook” what you mean is that it is very complicated. The writer has used extremely long sentences with big words — the kind of language that bureaucrats normally use to confuse the public. As a result, when you read such a piece of writing you can’t usually make any sense of it. As far as you are concerned it is “gobbledygook”; it is nonsense. This word, which is mostly used in informal contexts, can be used to refer to someone’s speech as well.

Here are a few examples. *Whenever we asked a question, the answers came back in legal gobbledygook. *Don’t bother reading the article. It is nothing more than gobbledygook. *Talk to me in a language that I understand. I don’t want any of your gobbledygook.

According to some scholars “gobbledygook” is a word that was invented by a Congressman by the name of Maury Maverick. Apparently he became so disgusted with the language used by officials that he issued the following memo: “Be short and say what you are talking about. Stop “pointing up” programmes. No more “finalising”, “effectuating”, or “dynamics”. Anyone using the words “activation” or “implementation” will be shot.” If only some Minister would write such a note to our bureaucrats. Oh by the way, “gobble” is the sound that a turkey makes.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, January 19, 2004

“cite” and “quote”

When you quote someone what you are doing is repeating what he/she has said or written. You use the exact words that the individual has used; when you quote, you are reproducing and not paraphrasing.

Here are a few examples. *My father loves to quote Shakespeare. *I have a lousy memory. I find it extremely difficult to quote people. *In tomorrow’s test I expect you to quote some of the important lines from the poem.

When you are having a debate and you cite someone, you are not really reproducing what he/she has said. You are merely using what he/she has said as proof of what you are saying. In other words, you normally “cite” someone or something when you wish to support the point that you are making. You are using what these individuals have said to substantiate what you are saying. It is for this reason that when you cite, you normally cite those who are considered to be an authority on the subject.

*Anand cited the low turnout figure as evidence of voter apathy. *The young lawyer cited several cases to support his argument. *The Minister couldn’t cite a single legislation which could support his claim.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, January 19, 2004

“per se”

First, let’s deal with the pronunciation. The “per” is pronounced like the word “per” and the following “se” sounds like the word “say”. The main stress is on “se”. This is a Latin expression that means “of itself” or “by itself”.

Here are a few examples. *The tablet is not harmful per se, but when taken with alcohol it can be lethal. *Love, per se, will not always result in a happy marriage.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, January 19, 2004

“back burner”

The usual expression is “put something on the back burner”. Most gas stoves in our country have two burners. In the U.S., most stoves have four burners — two in the front, and two in the back. I understand dishes are normally put on the back burner when they don’t require the cook’s immediate attention. So, when you say that you are putting something on the back burner, what you mean is that you are postponing doing it. You are putting the work aside because it doesn’t require your immediate attention.

Here are a few examples. *Right now I am busy getting the plans for the house ready. I am afraid I’ll have to put my tennis lessons on the back burner. *Rohini has decided to put everything on the back burner till the end of the semester. *Bush’s plans for invading Syria have been put on the back burner.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, January 19, 2004

How is the word “tortoise” pronounced?

The “or” in the first syllable is like the “or” in “nor” and “for”. The “oi” in the second syllable is like the “a” in “china”. The final “e” is silent. The main stress is on the first syllable.

The Hindu- ‘Know Your English’ Series, January 12, 2004