‘Wetware’

The human brain is sometimes referred to as ‘wetware’.
“The next time you meet Nandini, tell her that she needs to update her wetware”.

She doesn’t know anything about computers. In fact, there was nothing wrong with her computer. As you rightly said, it was a wetware problem.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 30, 2007 

What is the difference between ‘look’ and ‘see’?

Both words are used to talk about the different ways we use our eyes. ‘Seeing’ is a physiological process, it is something that our eyes do automatically. When you ‘see’ something, it is not intentional, but accidental. On your morning walk, you may see a cute little puppy, a man wearing a pink shirt, and an old motorcycle parked next to your new car. When you went for the walk, it was not your intention to see all these objects. You saw them because they came in front of you. You couldn’t avoid noticing them.

‘Looking’, on the other hand, is an intentional act. When you look at something, you pay attention. For example, if you look at a puppy, you observe it carefully. You begin to pay attention to its colour, size, etc.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 23, 2007

Can we say, ‘He is a faculty at Osmania University’?

The word ‘faculty’ is normally used to refer to all the teachers in a particular department or university. In this sense, it is like the word ‘staff’. Just as you cannot say ‘He is a staff’, you cannot say, ‘He is a faculty’. If you wish to refer to a particular individual, then you have to say, ‘He is a member of the faculty’ or ‘He is a faculty member.’

*Eminent faculty members from Harvard will be present at the conference. *I’d like all of you to meet the new member of our faculty.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 23, 2007

Is it OK to say, ‘Myself is Rajesh’?

No, it isn’t; you cannot begin a sentence with the word ‘myself’. The correct way of saying this is ‘I am Rajesh’ or ‘My name is Rajesh.’

You use ‘myself’ only when you have used the word ‘I’ earlier in the same sentence.
For example, ‘I did all the cooking myself’ and ‘I am not particularly fond of dosas myself.’ You cannot say, ‘Myself did all the cooking’ or ‘Myself am not particularly fond of dosas.’

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 23, 2007

What is the meaning of ‘akimbo’?

First, let’s deal with the pronunciation. The ‘a’ sounds like the ‘a’ in ‘china’; the following syllable is pronounced like the name ‘Kim’. The final ‘bo’ rhymes with ‘so’ and ‘no’, and the stress is on the second syllable ‘kim’.

The word is mainly used to refer to one’s arm position. When you stand with your arms akimbo, you have your hands on your hips and the arms are spread out with the elbows pointing outwards. It is a posture that generally indicates impatience, hostility, or contempt.

*The principal stood, arms akimbo, glaring at the students.*Standing behind the sofa with arms akimbo, Sheel told the painter what to do.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 23, 2007

What is the meaning of ‘wake up and smell the coffee’?

This is an expression that is mostly used in informal contexts. When you tell someone to ‘wake up and smell the coffee’, what you mean is that you want the individual to be more aware of what is happening around him. It has the same meaning as ‘get with it’.

*You don’t know what an iPhone is! Wake up and smell the coffee.*The company is in serious trouble. Wake up and smell the coffee.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 23, 2007

Difference between ‘cronyism’ and ‘nepotism’?

Both words are used to show disapproval. If you are accused of nepotism, then you use your position to promote or help the members of your family; it is favouritism based on kinship. The word comes from the Latin ‘nepos’ meaning ‘nephew’.
*Prema got the job because of nepotism — her father is the CEO of the company!

The word ‘crony’ (rhymes with ‘pony’ and ‘Tony’) is used to refer to a friend with whom you spend a lot of time. When you accuse someone of cronyism, what you mean is that the person is using his official position to help his friends.
*Bush and Cheney have often been accused of cronyism.
 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 16, 2007 

How is the word ‘sang-froid’ pronounced?

There are several ways of pronouncing this word. ‘Sang’ is often pronounced like the word ‘song’. The ‘fr’ is like the ‘fr’ in ‘from’, ‘French’, and ‘friend’; the sound that follows is like the ‘w’ in ‘wet’, ‘well’, and ‘wish’. The vowel is like the ‘a’ in ‘bath and ‘path’. The final ‘d’ is silent, and the stress is on ‘froid’. The word sounds like ‘song-frwaa’.

‘Sang-froid’ is a word of French origin and it means ‘cold blood’. When a person displays ‘sang-froid’ in a crisis, he remains very calm when things around him are falling apart.
*Though the crowd was extremely hostile, the visiting team showed remarkable sang-froid.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 16, 2007 

What is the meaning of “last but not least”?

The expression has been around since the 16th century. It means “finally, but not less importantly.” The expression can be used when you introduce a group of people to a friend. When you come to the last person in the group, you can say “last but not least, this is Suman”. What you mean by this is that though Suman is the final person to be introduced, it doesn’t mean she is less important than those introduced before her; she is as important as the others.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 16, 2007 

What is the meaning of “take pot shots at someone”?

In British English, the word ‘pot’ is used as a verb to mean “to shoot small birds and animals without taking careful aim.” The reason you don’t need to aim is because there are so many birds/ animals clustered nearby, that if you shoot in their general direction, you are bound to hit something. There is no way that you can miss. Hunters took pot shots because they wanted to put food on the table; their aim was to fill the cooking pot!

The opposite of ‘pot shot’, I understand, is ‘fair shot’; the kind of shot a ‘gentleman hunter’ prefers to take. In this case, the hunter decides which animal he wishes to kill, aims for it, and then shoots. As time went by, the term ‘pot shot’ began to be applied to any sort of blow – physical as well as verbal – that was difficult to avoid. The expression “take pot shots at someone” is now used to mean to criticise someone rather unexpectedly or unfairly.

*During the press conference, several reporters took pot shots at the aging actor.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 16, 2007

Difference between ‘stammer’ and ‘stutter’?

Both words are used to refer to a defect in an individual’s speech. We often meet people who have difficulty speaking; sometimes, they merely repeat the first sound or syllable of a word. They are unable to produce anything beyond that. Careful users of the language maintain that the word ‘stutter’ is used to refer to a person who has a chronic speech defect. ‘Stammering’, on the other hand, is considered temporary. All of us have ‘stammered’ sometime or the other. Human beings can stammer or stutter; machines only stutter. Speech therapists in Britain prefer to use ‘stammer’, while those in America and Canada prefer ‘stutter’. Aristotle, Aesop, Darwin, Napoleon, and Marylyn Monroe are some famous people who stuttered.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 09, 2007

What is the meaning and origin of ‘back to square one’ ?

When you have been working on a problem for a long time, and you are unable to find a solution, what is it that you normally do? Since you have not been able to make any progress, you go back to the beginning and start all over again. When you tell someone that you are ‘back to square one’, what you mean is that you’ve returned to the original starting point. In other words, you are going to begin all over again.

After three days of house hunting, I found one that I really liked. When I went to pay the advance the next morning, the landlord said that he had decided not to rent the house. So, it was back to square one.
According to some scholars, this expression was made popular by sports commentators of the BBC. Since football is a game that is difficult to follow on the radio, what some enterprising radio commentators did in the early 20th century was to divide the field into eight squares. The commentators informed the audience of what was happening on the field by telling them which square the ball was in. On the day of the game, most newspapers and sports magazines carried a drawing of the playing field with the squares clearly marked and numbered — this made it easy for listeners to follow the action. Square one was where the goalie stood. Others believe that the idiom has its origins in board games like Snakes and Ladders.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 09, 2007

Is there a sentence that includes all 26 letters of the alphabet?

A sentence which contains all the letters of the alphabet is called a ‘pangram’. There are many pangrams; in fact, if you are in the mood, you can create one of your own. The most famous pangram is the following: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lady dog.”

I understand that in the old days when typists wished to check if all the keys were in working order, they invariably typed this sentence.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 09, 2007

What is the meaning of ‘tour de force’?

This is an expression that comes from French, and is mainly used to show emphasis. When you call someone’s speech or performance a ‘tour de force’, what you mean is that it was outstanding; it was very well done. It is something that is unlikely to be equalled by others.

Example: The ageing actor’s performance as the drunken father is a tour de force.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 09, 2007

What is the difference between ‘pain’ and ‘ache’?

Both words can be used to refer to any bodily discomfort that an individual may feel. Of the two, ‘pain’ is the more general term. The pain that you feel in some part of the body may be intense, or it may be mild; similarly, its duration could be either long or short. If you hit your thumb with a hammer, the pain could last for a few seconds, or for several days.

Usually, ‘pain’ implies something that comes on suddenly. When you bump into the wall, you feel ‘pain’ and not ‘ache’. The pain that you feel could be local — over a small area — or it could be widespread.
Ache, on the other hand, is usually associated with a particular part of the body; we often talk of a toothache, headache and stomachache. When we get any of these aches, they usually last for some time. They don’t disappear in a matter of minutes.

An ache, therefore, is usually long lasting. Another difference is that the discomfort that one experiences is not as intense as ‘pain’; some dictionaries define ‘ache’ as ‘dull pain’.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 25, 2007

What is the meaning of ‘excuse my French’?

Very often, when people get angry, they swear. They use many vulgar words which they wouldn’t normally use. When you say ‘excuse my French’, what you mean is that you are sorry that you have sprinkled your conversation with words which are considered impolite. You are apologising for swearing in the presence of those who might be offended by it. The expression ‘pardon my French’ has the same meaning. Why the French, and not the Germans or Russians? The answer is fairly simple. The English hated the French; they thought that the French were vulgar people who swore all the time. Therefore, when an Englishman says, ‘pardon my French’, what he means is that he is going to behave crudely like a Frenchman!

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 25, 2007 

What is the meaning of ‘hasta la vista’?

The expression is from Spanish and it means ‘see you later’ or ‘good bye’. ‘Hasta la vista’ became quite popular among native speakers of English thanks to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s blockbuster, ‘Terminator 2: Judgement Day’. In this sequel, Schwarzenegger, who plays a cyborg from the future, keeps saying ‘Hasta la vista baby’.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 25, 2007 

Is it ok to say, ‘I have a head-bath every Saturday’?

This is an expression that is commonly heard in India; not many dictionaries include ‘head-bath’ – the few that do, state that the word is mainly used in South Asia. Native speakers of English don’t use this word, and probably won’t understand what you mean by it. When a native speaker of English talks about taking a ‘bubble bath’, what he means is that he is going to get into a bathtub which is full of water and soap bubbles.
So when you tell him that you are going to have a head-bath, he might get the impression that you are going to get into a tub which is full of heads! Just kidding! Native speakers wouldn’t say ‘I have a head-bath every Saturday’; instead, they would say, ‘I wash my hair every Saturday.’

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 25, 2007 

What is the meaning of ‘diem’?

This is a word that comes from Latin, and it means ‘day’. The word is used in English in certain fixed expressions like ‘carpe diem’ and ‘per diem’.

Of the two, ‘per diem’ is much more common in India, especially in Government circles. It means ‘per day’; when employees of the government are sent on official duty to other places, they are paid a daily allowance. This is called per diem, and it is given to an individual to meet his daily expenses. Carpe diem means ‘seize the day’

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 18, 2007  

‘for Pete’s sake’

The expression ‘for Pete’s sake’ is mostly used in speech to indicate surprise, anger, or disgust. It has the same meaning as ‘for heaven’s sake’ ‘for goodness sake’, ‘for God’s sake’, ‘for pity’s sake’, etc.
*For Pete’s sake, don’t just stand there like an idiot. Give me a hand.
Nowadays, it is very common to hear people say, ‘god dammit’ or ‘what the hell’ when they are angry or exasperated.

 In the old days, people were not allowed to take the Lord’s name in vain; they were punished if they did so.
In order to avoid swearing, people began to make use of euphemisms — mild and less harsh sounding expressions. According to scholars, ‘for Pete’s sake’ is one such euphemism — it’s often referred to as ‘minced oath’. The ‘Pete’ refers to St. Peter.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 18, 2007