Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 151
"Hey, why are you taking out your walking shoes? Planning to go somewhere?" "Planning to go for an early morning walk. Are you game?" "Game? Are you asking me if I'm willing to come along?"
"Exactly! If someone is `game' for something, then he is eager and willing to do it. For example, Sujatha is game for anything that involves a bit of adventure." Now that you have started exercising again, how about playing table tennis this evening? Are you game for it?" "Would love to play, but I can't? I'm taking my bike to the mechanic. It has... " "To the mechanic? I thought you went last week!" "That's right! I did go. The guy has done a slipshod job. So, I need to go back and... " "The guy has done a what? What did you say?" "S..l..i..p..s..h..o..d. The `o' in the second syllable sounds like the `o' in `hot' and `got'. The main stress is on the first syllable `slip'. Do you know what slipshod means?" "It probably means sloppy or careless." "That's very good! That's exactly what the word means. Anything that is `slipshod' has been done in a careless way. For example, please don't ask Praveen to write the report. He is a slipshod writer." "Let's talk about the slipshod work of your mechanic. How much did you pay him?" "Two thousand five hundred." "Two thousand five hundred! Last week, you said two thousand." "That was the ballpark figure he'd given me. When things... " "Ballpark figure? What does it mean?" "When you give someone a `ballpark figure' or a `ballpark estimate', you give them an approximate figure." "In other words, you give them a rough estimate?" "That's right! There must have been 500 people at the party. That's just a ballpark estimate." "How much do you think it'll cost to go on a cruise? Give me a ballpark figure." "I haven't the faintest idea. If you were to sell those things you have on the table, you'll have enough money for a ticket." "No way! I won't get anything for bric-a-brac." "Bric-a-brac? What does it mean?"
"The small ornamental objects which people collect, and which are of no value are called bric-a-brac. For example, Bala clutters his office table with a lot of bric-abrac." "My cousin Ananya's house is filled with bric-a-brac." "She just loves the Australian cricket team, doesn't she?" "Yes, that's right! Right now, she's cock-a-hoop about the way Ponting and his men have won back the Ashes." "Cock-a-hoop? Does it mean extremely pleased or something like that?" "Right again! When you're cock-a-hoop about something, you are extremely pleased about what you have done. Ameya was cock-a-hoop about coming first in class." "The two brothers were cock-a-hoop about getting a job in a really good company." "Good example. But remember, the expression is considered old fashioned, and is mostly used in informal contexts. So, how about the walk? You coming?" "I'm game." "Any organisation is like a septic tank. The really big chunks rise to the top." — John Imhoff
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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