Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 126
541. What is the origin of the word `duffer'?
We use the word `duffer' nowadays to refer to someone who is stupid or someone who is very bad at doing something. The word is considered to be rather old fashioned. *Reema told me that Ganesh was a duffer at football. *Please, not Sita! I don't want that duffer in my team.
When the word was first used, it had nothing to do with people who had little or no intelligence. In fact, the original duffer was someone who sold spurious goods. He was a cheat, a no good peddler of very low morals. With the passage of time, however, the meaning `no good' shifted from the seller to the naïve buyer. He was `no good' because he was stupid enough to be easily tricked into buying something questionable. In the late 19th Century, the word began to be used to refer to someone who was really bad at golf!
542. How is the word `soliloquy' pronounced?
The `o' in the first and third syllable is pronounced like the `a' in `china'. The `i' is like the `i' in `pit', `kit', and `hit', and the final `quy' is like the `qui' in `quit', `quiz', and `quick'. The main stress is on the second syllable. The tragedies of Shakespeare are famous for their soliloquies. A soliloquy is when a character in a play talks to himself or herself and in the process talks directly to the audience. In this case, the lines are meant for the audience and not for any of the other characters in the play. "Oh no! I overslept! I'm late for my nap." — Garfield
543. How is the word `niche' pronounced?
The word consists of only one syllable and it rhymes with `pitch', `ditch', and `stitch'. This is how some people pronounce the word. Others, however, pronounce the `i' like the `ee' in `see', `bee', and `fee', and the following `che' like the `sh' in `sheep', `she' and `sheet'. The word has many different meanings, and one of them is finding a job or activity that is perfect for you. *Ganeshan is extremely unhappy because he has been unable to find a niche for himself.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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