Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 50
246. What is the opposite of ‘comedian’?
A person who performs tragic roles on stage is usually referred to as a ‘tragedian’. The first ‘a’ is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’, and the following ‘e’ is like the ‘ee’ in ‘fees’, ‘bees’, and ‘sees’. The word is pronounced ‘tre-JEE-dien’ with the stress on the second syllable. Dilip Kumar, Sivaji Ganesan, and Sanjeev Kumar are some of our well-known tragedians. The two words ‘comedian’ and ‘tragedian’ are usually used to refer to male actors. An actress who specialises in comic/tragic roles is sometimes called ‘comedienne’/‘tragedienne’. In the case of these two words, the main stress is on the final syllable ‘enne’.
247. How is the word ‘guerdon’ pronounced?
The ‘uer’ in the first syllable sounds like the ‘ir’ in ‘birth’, ‘shirt’, and ‘bird’; the following ‘o’ is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. The word is pronounced ‘GER-din’ with the stress on the first syllable. This rather old fashioned word can be used as a noun and a verb. When used as a noun, it means a reward; a guerdon is something that is given to someone ‘in return for a service or an accomplishment.’ When used as a verb, it means ‘to reward’. In last year’s National Spelling Bee contest held in the United States, Sameer Mishra was crowned the champion when he succeeded in spelling the word ‘guerdon’ correctly. The headline in one of the papers read: National Spelling Bee winner takes the guerdon!
248. What is the difference between ‘infiltrator’ and ‘intruder’?
When you enter someone’s property without his consent, you become an intruder. This act may or may not be intentional. You may for example, walk into someone’s property without being aware of it. Perhaps you failed to see the ‘Keep Out: Private Property’ sign. The burglar who breaks into your house to steal is also an intruder: only in this case, the intrusion is deliberate. Both intruders are performing an illegal act; they are both breaking the law. The intruders were caught by the students and handed over to the police. An ‘infiltrator’ always makes use of stealth. He enters an organisation or a country without others being aware of it. The word has a very negative connotation. An infiltrator is usually very cunning and invariably plans everything in advance: one cannot become an ‘infiltrator’ by accident. In this case, you are breaking the law deliberately. The infiltrators were shot while they were attempting to cross the border.
249. What is the meaning of ‘play to the gallery’?
Most political parties in India have been accused of doing this. When you say that someone is playing to the gallery, you mean that instead of spending time doing things that are important, he’s busy trying to win the approval of those around him. The person, instead of doing his job, is keen on winning popularity. If you want the new Director to play to the gallery, then Bala is a bad choice. This idiom has been around for several hundred years. Originally, the word ‘gallery’ referred to the cheapest seats in a theatre. Since people who sat in the gallery were poor and not very sophisticated, any artist or writer who tried to win their approval was seen as doing something demeaning. He was trying to win approval by appealing to popular taste.
250. How is the word ‘adieu’ pronounced?
The ‘a’ in the first syllable is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’, and the following ‘dieu’ sounds like the word ‘due’. The word is pronounced ‘e-DUE’ with the stress on the second syllable, and it means ‘good bye’. Remember the song ‘So long, farewell’ from the movie ‘Sound of Music’? The word ‘adieu’ is used in it quite a few times.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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