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RELAX REFRESH YOUR ENGLISH KNOWLEDGE - 20

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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