Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 59
286. How is the word ‘spaghetti’ pronounced?
The ‘a’ in the first syllable is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’, and the following ‘ghett’ is pronounced like the word ‘get’. The final ‘i’ is like the ‘i’ in ‘it’, ‘bit’, and ‘kit’, and the stress is on the second syllable. The word is pronounced ‘spe-GET-i’. It comes from the Italian ‘spago’ meaning ‘thin string’ or ‘twine’. I guess eating twine or little strings is better than eating ‘little worms’: which is what vermicelli means!
287. What is the meaning of ‘add insult to injury’?
There are times when things don’t go according to the way we had planned. We feel bad about it, and in order to snap out of the terrible mood we are in, we pay a visit to our friends hoping that they will cheer us up. Sometimes, instead of helping us overcome our depression, they succeed in getting us even more upset. The idiom ‘add insult to injury’ means to make a situation that is already bad, worse. First of all, he was driving on the wrong side of the road, and then to add insult to injury, he proceeded to abuse me for driving slowly!
288. What is the meaning of ‘duh’?
First, let’s deal with the pronunciation of this word. The ‘u’ is like the ‘u’ in ‘cut’ and ‘but’ and the final ‘h’ is silent. When someone says something, and you respond by saying ‘duh’, you are telling the person that what he has just said is obvious. You are being sarcastic. It’s your way of saying, ‘tell me something I don’t know’. The word, which is considered slang, is frequently used in informal contexts in American English.
289. What is the meaning of ‘pencil in’?
When we write with a pencil, we know it is something that can be erased; it is not permanent. If you ‘pencil in’ an appointment for someone, you are making a temporary appointment for that individual. It is not definite; the appointment can be changed to a later date. *The dentist said he would pencil me in for next Thursday.
290. How is the word ‘gaseous’ pronounced?
There are different ways of pronouncing this word. Some people pronounce the ‘a’ like the ‘ay’ in ‘may’, ‘bay’, and ‘gay’. Others pronounce it like the ‘a’ in ‘ant’, ‘pants’, and ‘apple’. The ‘e’ is like the ‘i’ in ‘it’, ‘bit’, and ‘kit’, and the final ‘ou’ is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. No matter how you pronounce the ‘a’, the stress is on the first syllable. The word, meaning ‘consisting of gas or gases’, can be pronounced GAY-si-es or GA-si-es’. *The teacher told us that steam is water in its gaseous form.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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