Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 136
571. What is the difference between `anyway' and `anyways'?
As far as the meaning is concerned, there is no difference between the two words. `Anyways' is mostly used in American English and is considered non-standard. If you use it in informal contexts in your speech, you could probably get away with it. The word will not be accepted in writing. The word `anyhow' has the same meaning as `anyway'. *Ashwini says that she doesn't want to get married. Not now, anyway/anyhow.
572. How is the word `ennui' pronounced?
The first syllable `en' is pronounced like the word `on'; the following `ui' is like the `we' in `weep', `weed', and `week'. The main stress is on the first syllable. The word is considered literary, and is mostly used in formal contexts to mean `feeling of boredom'. *Since returning home, Ram has experienced a profound sense of ennui.
573. What is the meaning and origin of `wearing one's heart on one's sleeve'?
This is an idiom that has been around for several centuries. When you wear your heart on your sleeve, you make your feelings clear to everyone; in other words, you don't hide your emotions. If you are in love with someone, you make it known to everyone that you are crazy about this person. *It's difficult to know what Asha is thinking. She doesn't wear her heart on her sleeve. During the Middle Ages, when knights fought each other, they would dedicate their performance to a woman of the court — usually someone they were in love with or cared for. To let everyone know who they were in love with, the knights used to pin onto their sleeves a hanky or a scarf belonging to the woman.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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