Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 119
521. `Hi! Haven't seen you in a while. Were you out of town?' `No, I have been here all along.' `Really? Oh, I remember now. You said something about a new project. How is it coming along?' `Spinning its wheels.' `Wheels? What are you talking about? I asked you about the project. Not about your car.' `I was talking about the project. You know that I don't have a car. When you say something has been spinning its wheels, what you mean is that it has remained in the same position. Neither moving forward nor back.' `In other words, it's stationary. I guess it's like pedalling a bicycle while it is on its stand. The wheel keeps turning, but you go nowhere. You remain where you are.' `Exactly! Here's an example. You know that the main roads are being widened. But since it's a government project, you can expect it to spin its wheels for six months at least.' `It'll probably be spinning its wheels till the end of winter at least.' `The expression can be used with people as well. When you say that someone has been spinning his wheels, what you mean is that he has been wasting his time.' `How about this example? Some of our employees have been spinning their wheels all morning.'
522. `That's what government employees do all the time. My friend and I had a lot of things planned for the weekend. But we ended up spinning our wheels.' `Pradeep thinks that it's good to... .' `Pradeep? Are you referring to the eye candy that Sujatha likes so much?' `Eye candy? Is the expression used to refer to a handsome man?' `The expression is used to talk about anything that is pleasing to the eye. It could be a beautiful woman, a handsome man, or a beautiful object. For example, many people think that Madhuri is just eye candy. What they don't realise is that she is one smart cookie.' `I agree with you there. If I were you, I would buy the basic model. I don't think it's worth paying five thousand rupees extra for eye candy.' `That's a very good example. Now, here's another... .' `We have eye candy, do we have `ear candy' as well?' `Yes, we do. You can use it to refer to anything you enjoy listening to. It could be your favourite kind of music. It can also be used to refer to a voice or an accent.' `I see. My father thinks that Richard Burton's voice is ear candy.' `I agree with him completely. How about this example? The songs by the Beatles are ear candy.' `Sounds good. Of late, I have fallen in love with Jamaican English. It's ear candy.' `Really? I enjoy listening to Michael Holding.' `Oh yeah, he is a crackerjack commentator.' `Crackerjack commentator! Does crackerjack mean `excellent' by any chance?' `Exactly! When you say that someone is `crackerjack' what you mean is that he is very industrious and very good at what he does. The word is considered slang. Here's an example. His students say that Sanjay is a crackerjack teacher. But I heard that he is looking for a job that will pay him a better salary.' `I understand that Medini is a crackerjack batswoman. Her parents, however, don't want her to take up cricket as a profession.' `I think Prem will make a crackerjack accountant.' `He'll probably do a better job than the guy you have right now. Your present accountant is not only rude, but an eye sore. Prem, on the other hand, is eye candy.' `And unlike the present one, he wont be spinning his wheels.' `I am not so sure about that.'
`I have trouble reconciling my net income with my gross habits.' - Errol Flynn
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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