Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 97
454. "Hi, come on in. Would you like something to drink? You look bushed." "What are you talking about? I don't look anything like Bush." "That's funny. I didn't say you looked like Bush. I said that you are looking bushed. In other words, you are looking exhausted." "Exhausted! Is that what 'bushed' means? I thought you were making fun of my looks." "Why would I do that? I've got better things to do. Sujatha was bushed after jogging a mile." "That's understandable. Sujatha is out of shape. After playing two sets of tennis, I felt bushed."
455. "Good example. Is that the reason you look so tired now?" "The reason I feel bushed right now is because thanks to the bus strike, I had to walk back from school." "In this terrible weather! Have a glass of cold water, then. By the way, I understand congratulations are in order." "Thank you. I didn't expect to do so well in the exam." "My next door neighbour was crowing over how well his daughter had done, but...." "....crowing over? What does it mean?" "....when someone 'crows over' his achievements, he brags about them. Here's an example. I hate talking to Jai. The only thing he does is crow over his achievements." "The members of the opposition were crowing over their victory." "That's a good example. It is also possible to say, `crow about'. It means the same thing as `crow over'. The producer was crowing about the success of his new film." "Sheetal was crowing about how well her daughter had performed in the interview." "In India a lot of people crow about Sachin's achievements." "I can tell you that I haven't been bragging about my marks. In fact, I haven't told anyone." "It's good to know that you are grounded." "Grounded? What are you talking about?"
456. "Well, when you say that someone is 'grounded' what you mean is that he is very sensible. Though the individual has everything, and has achieved many things, he behaves in a sensible fashion. This is one of the meanings of the word." "In other words, you are saying that the individual has his feet on the ground." "I guess you could say that. The kid's father is a business tycoon and his mother is a famous actress. You certainly can't expect him to be grounded." "Suresh has everything that one can ask for, but he seems fairly grounded." "The billionaire's wife makes sure that her children stay grounded. But tell me, if Suresh is grounded, then why do the others hate him so much?" "I guess it's because they are jealous about his achievements" "You are not 'jealous about' something, you are usually 'jealous of' something. For example, everyone is jealous of Hema's achievements." "There are many people who are jealous of Dravid's wealth."
457. "That's understandable, I guess. Some of our players are..." ".... similarly, you are 'jealous of' someone and not 'jealous about' someone, I suppose?" "Exactly! The two year old boy is jealous of his baby brother." "Many of the tenants are jealous of the landlord." "I believe he has written a book which is selling really well. Have you read it?" "Just the first couple of pages. It was full of jargons, so I ...." "....jargons! How many times have I told you...." "....sorry, sorry. The word 'jargons' doesn't exist. The plural of jargon is jargon. See, I remember." "You don't need to crow over something like that. Go home. You look bushed." "Older people shouldn't eat health food; they need all the preservatives they can get." — Robert Orben
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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