Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 121
526. What is the meaning of "himbo"?
The word "himbo" was coined in the 1980s; it is a combination of two words — "him" and "bimbo". The word "bimbo" has been around for a long time and it is normally used to refer to a beautiful woman who has little or no intelligence. A "himbo" is the opposite of a "bimbo". It refers to a goodlooking guy who has little or nothing upstairs. Other than his looks, this individual has no quality worth mentioning. By the way, did you know that the word "bimbo" was originally used to refer to men? *How could Savitri leave Bala for a himbo like Kapil? *They are the ideal couple. He's a himbo and she's a bimbo.
527. Is it okay to say, "The words she uses are unintelligible for me?"
No, it isn't. Something is intelligible or unintelligible "to" and not "for" someone. When you say that something is unintelligible, what you mean is that it is incomprehensible; it is difficult to understand. The word has nothing to do with intelligence. *The teacher used a lot of jargon which was unintelligible to the students. *What Chandu said was intelligible to the audience. "Coffee in England always tastes like a chemistry experiment." — Agatha Christie
528. How is the word "carte blanche" pronounced?
The first word is pronounced like the word "cart"; the "a" in "blanche" is like the "o" in "lot", "got", and "pot". The final "che" is pronounced like the "sh" in "ship", "sheep", and "sheet". When you give someone "carte blanche" you are giving the individual the authority or unrestricted freedom to do whatever he thinks is right. It has the same meaning as "blank check". *Lavanya was given carte blanche with the remodelling of the house. *The captain was not given carte blanche to choose the players he wanted. "Carte blanche" comes from French and it literally means, "white card". The term was first used in the military. When two armies fought and one of them surrendered unconditionally, the commander of the losing army was made to sign on a blank sheet of paper. The commander of the victorious army would then proceed to write whatever he wanted; he dictated his own terms. By signing the blank paper, the losing commander was giving the victorious army the freedom to dictate the terms of surrender.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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