‘Clock-watcher’

A clock-watcher is someone who keeps looking at the clock instead of doing his work. It needn’t be an employee. It could be anyone. A student could be a clock-watcher as well.

Examples:  “My father says that there are five clock-watchers in his department.” * “You stop being a clock-watcher when you are working on a crossword puzzle, though. You’ve been sitting with that one for two hours now”

Source: ‘Know Your English’ (The Hindu) – October 09, 2006.

‘Mickey Mouse course’

If you refer to a course as being a Mickey Mouse course, what you mean is that it’s a very simple course. It’s not at all challenging, and you end up learning absolutely nothing.

Example:  According to Sujatha most colleges offer only Mickey Mouse courses.

 Source: ‘Know Your English’ (The Hindu) – October 16, 2006.

‘retread’

“What’s wrong? You don’t look happy at all about something.”
“It’s the two new people in the Accounts Department. My boss… .”
“Oh yeah! You told me that you were hiring some new people. Young ones.”
“We asked for young people. But my boss decided to hire some tired retreads.”
“When you refer to someone as a retread, what you mean is that he’s burnt out. He has nothing to offer”.
“In other words, he’s very old.”
“Not necessarily. He’s a burnout. Nowadays, a lot of people burn out when they are relatively young.”
“That’s true. It happens in the corporate world quite a bit. So a retread is like a retread tyre?”
“I guess you could say that. He’s been made over and is unlikely to last for a long time.”
Example: “When the government does decide to hire new teachers, I hope they get young people. Not a whole bunch of retreads”. * Most people working for any government agency are either retreads or clock-watchers.
It’s important to remember that the word is mostly used in informal contexts. And you never tell someone that he is a retread to his face.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ (The Hindu) – October 09, 2006.

‘Capish’

Capish means `understand’. It’s a word mostly used in informal contexts.

Pronunciation:  The `a’ is like the `a’ in `china’; the following `i’ is like the `ee’ in `fees’, `bees’, and `knees’. The final `sh’ is like the `sh’ in `ship’, `sheet’, and `sheep’. The main stress is on the second syllable.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ (The Hindu) – October 09, 2006.

Is there a difference in meaning between “amuse” and “bemuse”?

Yes, there is a difference — a big difference. The two words are not synonymous, as some people believe.

When something “amuses” an individual, it makes him laugh or smile. He finds it funny or entertaining.
Example: The principal found the comments made by the students very amusing.

“Bemuse”, unlike amuse, has nothing to do with making people laugh. When you are “bemused” by something, you are bewildered by it. It leaves you confused or puzzled.

For example, when the stranger walked into the classroom, the children looked at her with a bemused expression.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ (The Hindu) – October 02, 2006.

‘cruciverbalist’

A cruciverbalist is someone who is skilled at doing crossword puzzles. A cruciverbalist can also be someone who just enjoys doing crossword puzzles. He/she doesn’t have to be good at it.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ (The Hindu) – October 09, 2006.

“lost in the shuffle”

This is an expression that comes from the world of card games and is mostly used in American English. When you shuffle a pack of cards, you mix them up; you don’t know where a particular card is. When a plan or an idea gets lost in the shuffle, it doesn’t get the attention that it deserves. The expression can be used with reference to people as well.

Examples: In refugee camps, orphans often get lost in the shuffle and are left without food for days.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ (The Hindu) – October 02, 2006.