Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 10

46. What is the meaning and origin of ‘shot your bolt'?

When you say you have shot your bolt, you mean you have used up all your energy trying to perform a task. Although you have done everything you can to complete the task, you have been unable to as you have exhausted all your energy/resources. You haven't finished what you started.

*I have shot my bolt. I'm afraid I'm unable to come up with any more ideas.

The ‘bolt' in the expression refers to the short, heavy arrow used in a crossbow. I understand that once an archer had shot his ‘bolt', he was virtually defenceless because reloading his crossbow was a time-consuming process. The bolt was shot only when the archer was certain of hitting his target. Shakespeare was referring to the arrow when he used the expression in Henry V: “A fool's bolt is soon shot.”

 

47. How is the word ‘acquiesce' pronounced?

The ‘a' sounds like the ‘a' in ‘ant', ‘apple', and ‘sat', and the ‘qui' is pronounced like the ‘qui' in ‘quit', ‘quiz', and ‘quick'. The ‘e' is like the ‘e' in ‘set', ‘pet' and ‘bet', while the final ‘sce' sounds like the ‘s' in ‘sip', ‘sin' and ‘sit'. The word is pronounced ‘a-kwi-ES' with the stress on the final syllable. Acquiesce is mostly used in formal contexts to mean to reluctantly accept or agree to something. The word comes from the Latin ‘acquiescere' meaning ‘to become quiet'. One usually acquiesces ‘in' or ‘to' something.

*When the plan failed, the officers acquiesced in the cover-up.

 

48. What is the meaning of the word ‘gelotology'?

First, let's deal with the pronunciation of this word. The first syllable rhymes with the words ‘tell', ‘bell', and ‘sell', while the following ‘o' is like the ‘a' in ‘china'. The word is pronounced ‘je-le-TO-le-ji' with the stress on the third syllable. It comes from the Greek ‘gelos' meaning ‘laughter'. Gelotology studies the effects of laughter on the human body. I wonder how ‘gelotologists' react when someone tells them that their research is a laughing matter!

 

49, What is the difference between ‘fable' and ‘parable'?

Both are used to refer to short tales told to illustrate or teach a moral principle: the stories are told not necessarily to entertain the audience, but to teach them a lesson. The word ‘fable' comes from the Latin ‘fabula' meaning ‘to speak, say'. The main characters in a fable usually consist of animals behaving like human beings. Every story of Aesop's, for example, has a moral, and sometimes it is stated explicitly at the end. ‘Slow and steady wins the race' is the lesson that the story of the hare and tortoise teaches us. In the case of a ‘parable', the characters who appear in the story are all human beings facing some sort of moral dilemma.

The word comes from the Greek ‘parabole' meaning ‘comparison'. The reader/listener is meant to compare the characters in the story with those in real life, and is often asked to figure out the moral for himself. Religious texts frequently make use of parables.

 

50. Where does the expression ‘peeping Tom' come from?

A peeping Tom is someone who watches people secretly, and becomes aroused when they begin to undress. The story goes that Leofric III, Lord of Coventry, imposed heavy taxes on his poor tenants. When his wife, Lady Godiva, pleads with him to be more sympathetic, Leofric tells her he will lower the taxes, provided she rides through the town of Coventry, naked. In order to help the people, Lady Godiva decides to do the unthinkable. She informs the people of Coventry why she will be riding through the town naked, and requests them to keep their doors and windows closed as she passes through each street. She asks them not to peep.

On the appointed day, most people of Coventry respect her wishes and stay indoors with the doors and windows firmly shut. The only exception is the tailor, Tom. He peeps through the window and sees the naked figure of Lady Godiva. According to one version of the story, peeping Tom is struck blind as soon as he sees her.

 

A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper

Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above