81. What is the meaning and origin of ‘pull up your socks'?
This is an expression mostly used in British English; the idiom
is seldom heard in America. When you tell someone to pull up his socks, you are
asking him to put a greater effort into what he is doing. You want him to shape
up and do a better job because you are rather unhappy with what he has done so
far.
*If you want to work with Madhu, you'd better pull your socks
up.
*Ganesh needs to pull up his socks if he wants to be the captain
of the team.
According to some scholars, the expression refers to the
pre-race ritual that many athletes go through before they take up their
position. They do some deep breathing, stretch their arms and legs, and
...you've guessed it...pull up their socks.
82. Can the word ‘invite' be used as a noun?
Quite a few people have been using the verb ‘invite' as a noun
for some time now. When used as a noun, the word is pronounced IN-vite with the
stress on the first syllable. It is not uncommon to hear both native and
non-native speakers of English say, ‘I got an invite from a friend' and ‘Did
you get an invite?' Although such sentences are heard frequently, not everyone
approves of them. Careful users of the language prefer the use of ‘invitation'
in such contexts. Dictionaries which include the use of invite as a noun claim
that the word is used in this manner only in informal contexts. Don't be too
surprised if ‘invite' replaces ‘invitation' in all contexts in the course of
the next ten years.
83. How is the word ‘righteous' pronounced?
The word consists of two syllables. The first syllable rhymes
with the words ‘hi', ‘bye', and ‘die'. The ‘t' sounds like the ‘ch' in
‘church', ‘cheese', and ‘chips', and the ‘eou' sounds like the ‘a' in ‘china'.
The word is pronounced ‘RYE-ches' with the stress on the first syllable, and it
has several different meanings. One of them is ‘morally upright'. When you say
that someone is ‘righteous', you are implying that the individual can be
trusted because he will scrupulously follow all moral and religious codes. When
such people get angry, their anger is morally justifiable.
*The villagers do what Ramani wants them to because they regard
him as a righteous and holy man.
84. Does the expression ‘black lie' exist?
Common sense suggests that it should exist and that its meaning
should be the opposite of ‘white lie'. A ‘white lie', as we all know, is a
harmless lie which we end up telling when we do not wish to hurt the feelings
of someone. When someone shows you a shirt that he has bought and asks you for
your opinion, you invariably compliment him on his great taste — it doesn't
really matter whether you like the shirt or not. We all resort to white lies
every now and then. The expression ‘black lie' does not figure in any
dictionary. Although it does not exist, when asked, native speakers define it
as a lie which is told to ruin the reputation of an individual or hurt his
feelings. You could say that it's the kind of lie that we can expect from our
politicians.
“She tells enough white lies to ice a wedding cake.” — Margot Asquith
85. What is the difference between ‘lectern' and ‘podium'?
A ‘lectern' is usually a tall piece of furniture with a sloping
top on which a speaker places his notes or books at conferences and seminars.
The word comes from the Latin ‘lectrum' meaning ‘to read'; it is from this that
we get the word ‘lecture'. A ‘podium', on the other hand, is a raised platform
on which someone stands so that he can be seen by the audience. Athletes who
have won a medal get a chance to stand on a podium. The word comes from the
Latin ‘podium' meaning 'raised platform'. People usually stand ‘behind'
lecterns and ‘on' podiums.
* The speaker is extremely short. You need to place the podium
behind the lectern for tomorrow's \talk.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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