21. That's true. By the way, why are you home so early? Not well or something?”
“I'm fine. I've taken a
couple of days off.”
“You've taken a couple of
days off! That's rather unusual. What do you plan on doing?”
“I'll probably be kicking
it at home.”
“Kicking it? Looks like the World Cup fever has got to you too. You'll be kicking the ball around...”
“No, no, no! When you say
you'll be kicking it, you mean you'll be relaxing.”
“In other words, you'll be
chilling at home.”
“I guess you could say
that. For example, after a hectic two weeks, the champion kicked it on the
beach with his family.”
“My friends and I are
kicking it at the mall tomorrow. Would you like to join us?”
“You must be joking.
Arvind's new job doesn't allow him to kick it in the mornings.”
“That's too bad.”
“Yes, it certainly is.”
22.
How is the word ‘baton' pronounced?
If
you are thinking of the stick that is passed from one runner to another in a
race, there are two different ways of pronouncing the word. The British
pronounce the first syllable like the word ‘bat' and the second like the word
‘on'. They pronounce the word ‘BAT-on' with the stress on the first syllable.
The
Americans, on the other hand, pronounce the ‘a' like the ‘a' in ‘china' and the
‘o' like the ‘a' in ‘father', ‘path', and ‘bath'. They pronounce the word
‘be-TAAN' with the stress on the second syllable.
23.
What is the meaning and origin of ‘keep tabs on someone'?
When
you keep tabs on someone, you monitor or keep track of what he is doing. You
are constantly watching the individual, and as a result you know what he is up
to. It is possible to use the expression with things as well.
*I
keep telling my wife she needs to keep tabs on our bank balance.
*Raju
feels that his wife is keeping tabs on his every move.
As
for its origin, the only thing that people are certain about is that the
expression was first used in America. According to some scholars, in the mid-19
{+t} {+h} century, bartenders started using a slate to write down the number of
drinks each customer had consumed. Another name for the slate was ‘tablet', and
it is from the shortened form of this word that we get ‘tab'. Since the
bartender had to watch each customer carefully to keep track of the number of
drinks he had consumed, the expression ‘keep tabs on' began to mean ‘to
monitor'.
24.
What is the meaning of ‘dead letter'?
In
the old days, when snail mail was the primary means of staying in touch with
someone, it was important to write the address of the recipient correctly.
Sometimes, the writer of the letter didn't do this. When the address was
incorrect, it became more or less impossible to deliver the letter.
A
letter that remained unclaimed or undelivered was called ‘dead letter'. And
where were such letters stored? In the ‘Dead Letter Office', of course! People
who use email are probably familiar with the term ‘dead letter directory'.
25.
What is the difference between ‘disguise' and ‘guise'?
A
celebrity often wears a disguise when he wishes to go unnoticed. In order to
make sure that nobody recognises him, he makes a conscious attempt to alter his
looks. He may decide to sport a wig, wear the kind of clothes that he normally
doesn't, etc. By changing his appearance, he is pretending to be someone that
he is not. People usually wear a disguise in order to fool or trick others.
*In
many of our old movies, the King always used to disguise himself as a beggar.
The
word ‘guise' has a negative connotation as well: it suggests that the
individual is pretending to be something that he is not. In this case, he
doesn't necessarily alter his appearance; he changes his manner or behaviour.
He puts on a front.
*She
got him to tell her all his secrets under the guise of friendship.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
Thank you Sir
ReplyDelete