‘to throw in the towel’ / `throw in the sponge’

When you thrown in the towel, you decide to stop doing what you have been attempting to. You decide not to pursue the matter. You just give up. In other words, you quit doing what you were doing.
Examples:  Although Nadal lost the first two sets, he didn’t throw in the towel.* Amru has been working on the problem for two days now. He refuses to throw in the towel.

It is also possible to say, `throw in the sponge’. Example: When things didn’t go according to plan, she threw in the sponge.

The idiom `throw in the towel’ comes from the world of boxing. During a fight, the boxer’s trainer/manager stays with him. In between rounds, he gives the fighter water, tells him what his opponent is doing, wipes the sweat and blood off the boxer’s face, and he uses a sponge or a towel to do this. If he feels that his fighter is taking too much punishment, he may decide to call the fight off. This is to prevent any serious injury. In order to stop the fight, what the trainer/manager does is to throw the towel or sponge into the ring. This is a signal to the referee that he wants the fight to be stopped.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 03, 2006

“Verbal diarrhoea”

A person who has verbal diarrhoea talks continuously. Talks non-stop.
Siddhu has verbal diarrhea. * If you ask me, many of our politicians have a serious case of verbal diarrhoea.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 03, 2006

How is the word `poignant’ pronounced?

The `oi’ is like the `oy’ in `boy’, `toy’, and `joy’; the following `g’ is silent. The first syllable `poign’ therefore rhymes with the word `coin’. The sound following the `n’ is like the `y’ in `yes’, `yell’, and `yellow’. The `a’ that follows is like the `a’ in `china’, and the main stress is on the first syllable.
When you say that something is `poignant’, what you mean is that it affects you very deeply and makes you feel rather sad.

Please change the channel. I am not in the mood to watch a poignant love story.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 26, 2006

”you are a toast”

When you tell someone that he’s toast, what you mean is that he’s in big trouble.
Examples: When Jai’s mother found out that he had broken her favourite flower vase, he was toast. ”When the Principal walked into the classroom looking really angry, I knew we were toast.”

When somebody says, `I failed to complete the project’,  you may respond by saying, `You’re toast, my friend’.
The expression is used in informal contexts.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – July 03, 2006

`idiot box’ (and ‘idiom’ )

It is not the box which is the idiot, but the people watching it. Have you ever observed people watching their favourite programme? Their eyes remain glued to the television set, and on most occasions they have no clue what is going on around them. When you ask them questions, they either tell you to keep quiet, or don’t take the trouble to answer you. The only time they come alive is during the commercial break; otherwise, they remain passive. They keep staring at the `box’ as if they were a bunch of idiots; the TV turns them into one.
By the way, did you know that the words `idiot’ and `idiom’ are related? Both come from the Greek `idios’, meaning `peculiar’. Why is an idiom peculiar? Because the meaning of an idiom is not the sum of the meaning of all the words of the idiom. For example, whenever it rains heavily, we say, `It’s raining cats and dogs’. It doesn’t mean that cats and dogs are actually falling from the sky.
Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 26, 2006

`buy someone off’

When a policeman stops us for a traffic violation, what is it that we normally do? We try to talk our way out of paying the fine. Sometimes we plead with the officer, at other times, we try to bribe him so that we don’t have to pay the full penalty. This act of bribing someone so that he turns a blind eye to the wrong that we have done is referred to as `buying someone off’.

The businessman succeeded in buying off some of the income tax officials.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 26, 2006

“How are you?” and “How do you do?” ( and ‘hi’)

In British English, `How do you do?’ is normally used when you are introduced to someone for the first time. It is a way of greeting someone, and the standard response to this expression is, `How do you do?’ You normally use this expression only once with a person. The next time you meet him, you can say, `How are you?’ This expression is used with people you already know. Unlike `How do you do’, `How are you’ is intended to find out how the individual is doing — both emotionally and physically. `How do you do?’ does not carry this meaning.

Did you know that the word `hi’ is actually from `how are you’? When `how are you’ is said very fast, it sounds like `hiya’. So instead of saying, `how are you’, people started saying, `hiya’. Later on, `hiya’ was reduced to `hi’. Therefore when you meet someone and say, `Hi, how are you?’, what you are actually saying is, `How are you? How are you?’.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 26, 2006