31 July 2011

utopia - an imagined perfect place or state of things.
Some people want to bring utopia in the world but ....

`shovel down’ and `shovel into’

When you `shovel something down’, you take a huge bite of something and gulp it down very quickly. It is an expression that is mostly used in informal contexts.
Listen, you don’t have to shovel your sandwich down. We have plenty of time.

When you `shovel something into something’, you make use of a shovel to put something into something else.
The old gardener spent a lot of time shovelling gravel into the wheelbarrow.

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

‘Lead someone up/down the garden path’

When you lead someone down the garden path, you are cheating or deceiving the individual.
This is an informal expression commonly used in American English.
Examples:  My uncle doesn’t trust people. He feels that the person advising him is trying to lead him down the garden path. * Latha told Pradeep that she loved him. What the fool didn’t realise was that she was leading him down the garden path. She needed help with her project.

It is also possible to say, `up the garden path’.
Example: The mechanic led us up the garden path about the cost — the repairs turned out to be really expensive.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 19, 2006

Sponge something from someone

When you sponge something from someone, you beg or borrow something from them.

Examples:  Whenever my cousin loses money in stock market, he sponges from his parents. * My brother sponged a thousand rupees from my parents. * My cousin has been sponging food from her relatives for a year now.

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 19, 2006

27 July

skirt (verb) - to lie on or along the border of
Peace talks pick up pace as India, Pak skirt roadblocks.

ticks off - to scold or reprimand
Krishna ticks off Pak over Hurriyat meet 


tranche - a portion of something (especially money)

26 July 2011

quagmire 

• Land with a soft muddy surface.
• A difficult or precarious situation;

Usage : Jailed former telecom minister A Raja on Monday sought to drag Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and home minister P Chidambaram into the political-legal quagmire of the spectrum scam, saying they were party to the decision to allow telecom firms that got 2G licences to sell equity for large profits.

‘Bottom fishing’

‘Bottom fishing’ is a term used in the stock market. When you go bottom fishing, you look for shares whose prices have dropped very low because of a crash in the market.
The term has acquired a broader meaning. When you go bottom fishing, you try to buy something at the cheapest possible price. And in the process are willing to settle for products of poor quality.

Examples:  ”I have a cousin who thinks that bottom fishing will always get you something of value”. ”I don’t think bottom fishing is always wise. There is a reason why the seller is willing to sell something at such a low price.”

Source: ‘Know Your English’ ( The Hindu) – June 19, 2006