26. What is the meaning and origin of ‘the bum's rush'?
When you ‘give someone the bum's rush', you get rid of the person as quickly as possible; often using force. You make it clear to the individual that he is not wanted. In most cases, you grab hold of the person and throw him out. It is also possible to say, ‘get the bum's rush'; the expression is American in origin.
*I think
Sangeeta and Sajida are up to something. I got the bum's rush when I walked
into their apartment.
*When the
well-known artist walked into the club wearing slippers, he was given the bum's
rush by the two security guards.
The ‘bum' in
the expression has nothing to do with one's backside. In American English, this
word is also used to refer to a homeless person who makes his living by
begging. When such a person enters a shop or a hotel, what is it that the
owners do? They promptly catch hold of the individual, and rush him out the
door. Hence the expression, ‘the bum's rush'.
27. What is
the difference between ‘stagger' and ‘totter'?
Both words
mean ‘to walk unsteadily'. Most people use the two words interchangeably, but
careful users of the language maintain a distinction between the two. When you
stagger, you walk with difficulty, and in the process may end up losing your
balance. You manage to recover and do not actually end up falling. Someone who
is extremely sleepy or who has had too much to drink may stagger. The use of
the word ‘totter' suggests that the individual is likely to fall down soon: the
fall is imminent. In this case, the person is walking in an unsteady manner
because he is either very old or very weak. Both ‘totter' and ‘stagger' can be
used with things as well.
*The old man
managed to totter back to the sofa.
*The young
couple staggered into the hospital looking dazed.
28. How is the
word ‘suave' pronounced?
The ‘su' is
like the ‘sw' in ‘swim', ‘swish' and ‘swan', while the following ‘a' sounds
like the ‘a' in ‘path', ‘bath', and ‘ask'. The final ‘e' is silent. This
monosyllabic word is pronounced ‘SWAAV' and it comes from the Latin ‘suavis',
meaning ‘agreeable'. In English, the word is mostly used to refer to men who
are charming and sophisticated.
*The seasoned
actor, as expected, gave his usual suave performance.
The word is
frequently used to show disapproval: it carries with it the suggestion that the
charm and the politeness of the individual are merely an act; the individual is
not at all being sincere.
29. What is
the difference between ‘up to' and ‘until'?
‘Until' and ‘till' are usually used with time. In
terms of meaning, there is no difference: ‘until' is considered to be the more
formal than ‘till'.
*There are no tickets available until/till
September.
‘Up to', on the other hand, is used to refer to
distance, and not time.
*The students walked up to the gate and started
throwing stones.
The word can also be used to talk about quantity.
*You can earn up to Rs.10, 000 sitting at home.
30. What is the meaning and origin of
‘the boot is on the other foot'?
This is an expression which is used in
everyday contexts to mean the situation is the opposite of what it was earlier;
the tables have turned. It is also possible to replace ‘boot' with ‘shoe'.
*When I joined the company five years
ago, Jai was my boss. Since my recent promotion, the boot is on the other foot.
Nowadays, even a little child can easily
identify which shoe he should wear on his left foot, and which on his right.
The shoe for each foot has been designed differently. Before the 18 {+t} {+h}
century, however, the idea of having a shoe specially designed for a specific
foot did not exist. A shoe was designed to fit either foot. You could wear a
shoe either on your left or right foot. The shoe you wore on your left
yesterday could be on your right foot today. As you can imagine, it wasn't very
comfortable walking in such shoes.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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