Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 154
What is the difference between `odorous' and `odious'?
When you say that someone is `odious', you are implying that the person is extremely unpleasant. The individual deserves our contempt and hatred. The word is normally used in formal contexts, and can be used with things as well. *Ritu is certainly the most odious teenager that I've ever met. The word `odorous' is related to `odour', meaning `smell'. When you say that something is `odorous' what you mean is that it has a strong and distinctive smell. The smell can be either pleasant or unpleasant. "The word `politics' is derived from the word `poly' meaning `many', and the word `ticks', meaning `blood sucking parasites'." — Larry Hardman
What is the meaning of `wimpy'?
When you call someone a `wimp', you mean that he is a very weak and timid individual; he is spineless. Other words that have more or less the same meaning are `drip' and `wuss'. *Don't be such a wimp, Raju. Just go ahead and take the plunge. *How can you ask someone wimpy like Karthick to be the next President? The expression `wimp out' is being used nowadays in informal contexts to mean the same thing as `chicken out'. When you `wimp out' of doing something, you get out of doing it because you are very scared. *Sagar said that he would go bungee jumping with me. At the last minute, he wimped out. *If you're serious about doing it, let me know. I don't want you to wimp out.
According to some scholars, the word `wimpy' comes from the word `whimper'. Others believe that it comes from the name of a character in a well-known cartoon show, `Popeye'. J. Wellington Wimpy, affectionately called `Wimpy', is Popeye's friend. Unlike the star of the show, there's nothing heroic about this rolypoly character. Wimpy is spineless; he never participates in any of the fights that Popeye is constantly getting himself into. The only thing Wimpy enjoys doing is eating hamburgers! "I'd gladly pay you tomorrow for a hamburger today" is his favourite line.
What is the meaning of `subaltern'?
It means `subordinate'. The word was originally a term used in the army to refer to any commissioned officer below the rank of a captain. In British English, the `a' and the `e' are pronounced like the `a' in `china', and the main stress is on the first syllable. In American English, the `u' and the `e' are like the `a' in `china', and the `a' is like the `au' in `aught' and `caught'. The main stress, in this case, is on the second syllable. Nowadays, the term is used to refer to the underprivileged or the disadvantaged.
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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