Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 96
451. What is the origin of, "Murder someone in cold blood"?
When you do something in "cold blood" you do it without being emotionally involved; in other words, you are detached. The murder is thought of in advance and the plans are executed in a ruthless manner, without the display of any emotion. You act like a cold-blooded animal. *The child was killed in cold blood in front of his house.
452. Does the temperature of the blood in our body increase and decrease depending on our mood?
Not really, but people who lived some three hundred years ago believed that our frame of mind determined the temperature of the blood. The common belief was that when an individual became excited or angry, the blood within the body began to boil. When he remained calm, the blood became cool. These beliefs are reflected in everyday expressions like "hot-blooded" and "in cold blood". I understand in the 17th Century, the expression "in hot blood" was used to refer to murders committed with passion. For some strange reason "in hot blood" went out of use. Scholars believe that the expression "in cold blood" is a translation of the French "sang-froid". The expression "in cold blood" first appeared in print in 1711 in Joseph Addison's "The Spectator".
453. How is the word "manoeuvre," pronounced?
The "a" in the first syllable is like the "a" in "china"; the following "oeu" is like the "oo" in "fool", "cool", and "pool". The "r" is usually silent, and the final "e" sounds like the "a" in "china". The main stress is on the second syllable. "Maneuver" is how the Americans spell the word. Which is correct? One of my friend/friends? (Alexander Joseph, Port Blair) The correct answer is "one of my friends". You normally use the expression "one of" with a plural noun. It could be a group of people or things. "One of" informs the listener that you are talking about one member of the group. Since you are talking about only one member in the group, you use a singular verb after the plural noun. *One of my friends is going to America. *One of the books that I am planning to read is "Very Good Jeeves". You have many friends, but right now you are talking about only one of them. If you had only one friend, then you would have said, "My friend is going to America." Similarly, the second example suggests that you are planning to read many books and one of them happens to be "Very Good Jeeves". It is important to remember that the noun cannot immediately follow "one of". "Death and taxes are both certain. But death isn't annual." — Anonymous
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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