Know your English May 03, 2015Theres too much of shouting and screaming on the news channels these days. The only thing that people do is to wash their dirty linens in public.Some channels just manufacture news! By the way, its dirty linen and not linens. When you ...I know what the expression means. When you wash your dirty linen in public, you are discussing in public, things that you shouldnt be. Things that should remain private.Very good! Americans tend to say air your dirty laundry in public.How about this example? Political parties are washing their dirty linen in public.Considering the kind of people who become politicians, it isnt surprising. In our company, were told not to air our dirty laundry in public.Many people like Sujatha believe that its not wrong to wash your dirty linen in public. Got an email from her yesterday, by the way. Wrote about the student life in America.And what did she have to say about student life in America? Did she ...She said that the student life there was very ...Its student life and not the student life. The word life is frequently used in expressions like married life, city life, student life, etc. Such expressions are not preceded by the.In other words, when we are talking about the way of life of a group of people, we dont use the. Is that what youre saying?Absolutely! My friend who got married a year ago says married life is a real pain.Many villagers believe that city life is exciting. What do they know, right? Tell me, are you going to watch the match tonight?Of course! What else is there to do? Who are you pulling for?Pulling for? Are you asking me which team Ill be supporting?Thats right! The expression pull for can also be used to mean to cheer for someone. During the World Cup, we were all pulling for India. My neighbours, though, were pulling for South Africa. How about this example? Remember Atul, were all pulling for you. Just go out there and do your best.Sounds good. The expression is limited to informal contexts. The champion became angry when everyone started pulling for the underdog.That usually happens. Especially, when the match is one sided. Understand you ran into your boss at the theatre. What did he say?Nothing! He cut me dead.Cut you dead! You look alive to me. Am I ...Not very funny, Im afraid. When you cut someone dead, you ignore the person completely. You may have seen him, but you pretend you havent.In other words, you look through the person.I guess you could say that. I gave Radhika a smile, but she cut me dead.She does that to a lot of people. When some of his old friends went to say hello to the Minister, he cut them dead.The original expression was to cut someone. Later, the word dead was added. The aging superstar has mellowed. He doesnt cut anyone dead these days.The youngsters are cutting him dead, I guess.******Television news is like a lightning flash. It makes a loud noise, lights up everything around it, leaves everything else in darkness and then is suddenly gone.Hodding CarterKnow your English - May 10, 2015How is the word pirouette pronounced?(C Dhanalaxmi, Madurai)There are several ways of pronouncing the word. One way is to pronounce the i in the first syllable like the i in pit, hit and sit, and the following ou like the u in full, pull and bull. The first e is pronounced like the e in set, bet and met, and the final vowel is silent. The word is pronounced pi-ru-ET with the stress on the final syllable. Some people pronounce the final syllable like the word wet. Pirouette comes from the French pirouet meaning spinning top. The word is mostly used in the context of ballet dancing. When a dancer pirouettes, she stands on one leg usually on her toes and spins around very quickly.*The aging dancer had problems executing pirouettes.Is it okay to say: Weve bought a new house. Our new premises is on MG Road?(C Durga, Chennai)No, it is not. We Indians tend to use the word premises quite frequently in our everyday conversation to refer to the house or apartment we live in. It is not uncommon to hear a person refer to his one bedroom apartment as his premises. Native speakers mostly use this word in legal contexts or when they are referring to commercial property. Also, premises is a plural noun and is always followed by a plural verb.*The companys new premises are located on MG Road.*The premises are not big enough for what we have in mind.What is the difference between hideout and hideaway?(S Jayaraman, Kodaikanal)Both refer to a place a person goes to in order to get away from others. The word hideout has a negative connotation; it is used to refer to a safe hiding place someone uses to escape the long arm of the law. In our old movies, a bandits usual hideout was a cave. A hideaway, on the other hand, is a place that someone goes to in order to get away from it all from people, problems, etc. Its a secret place that an individual voluntarily goes to in order to relax or unwind.*The police found the robbers hideout in a matter of hours.*The star visits the Ashram in summer. Its his hideaway.What is the meaning of dog years in the following sentence? Hollywood marriages are counted in dog years.(G Prashant, Pune)As we all know, most animals do not live as long as human beings. One year in a dogs life is not the same as a year in the life of a human being. Dogs age faster, and according to dog experts, the first two years in a dogs life are equivalent to ten and a half human years. After that, every dog year is equivalent to four human years. Others claim that one dog year is equivalent to seven human years. When you say that Hollywood marriages should be counted in dog years, what you are suggesting is that the number of years the stars have been married, should be multiplied by seven. Makes sense, doesnt it? Movie stars fall in love quickly, get married quickly, and get divorced quickly.******The trouble with me is that every match I play against five opponents umpire, crowd, ball boys, court and myself.Goran Ivanisevichttp://www.thehindu.com/books/know-your-english/know-your-english-may-10-2015/article7188699.ece Know your English 17-5-15 I ran into your new colleague at the bank. She said she loves her new job.Thats not surprising at all! Shalinis been with us only for a couple of days. So, right now, Im sure everything is peachy.Everything is peachy? I guess it means things are fine.It doesnt mean just fine. When you say things are peachy, it means things are excellent or wonderful. This informal expression is mostly used in American English.I see. So, when somebody asks me, Hows life?, can I say, Peachy?If things are great, you certainly can. So, what are you planning ...Shalini also said she had to quit her previous job because people were jealous about her success. Apparently, she worked really hard ...Please change the topic. I dont wish to talk about anything related to work.Lets talk about you, then! Are your colleagues jealous about your ability to ...People are not jealous about something, they are usually jealous of something. For example, theres no need to be jealous of Priyas good looks.When I was young, I used to be jealous of my brothers popularity.As you grow older, you realise that you dont need to be jealous of anyone.Thats true. So, did you have dinner at the new restaurant yesterday?Yes, I did. I went there with ...What did you think of the place? Wasnt the food just great?The food was great all right. But the service was downright bad.Downright bad? Are you trying to say that the service was terrible?Thats right! The word downright is frequently used before a noun to mean completely or absolutely. It is mostly used to emphasise how bad or how terrible something is.I see. The working conditions in some of the local factories are downright unhealthy.The way some of our politicians behave in Parliament ... its a downright disgrace.Talking about politicians, did you hear what our local MP said this morning? He said that women should not be allowed to run in tomorrows marathon.Thats downright stupid. Somebody should tell that man not to talk to the press. Every time he opens his mouth, he shoots himself in the foot.Ive never heard that expression before. What does it mean?When someone shoots himself in the foot, he says or does something really silly. And in the process, makes life difficult for himself.Its actually other people who make life difficult for the individual, right? They make fun of him by constantly reminding him of the silly thing he said or did.Thats true. Heres an example. The person we just interviewed doesnt have the required qualification or experience. If you hire her as your PA, youll be shooting yourself in the foot.Ranjan thinks he has a good sense of humour. But every time he tries to say something witty, he shoots himself in the foot.The Vice Chancellor shot herself in the foot by suggesting that cell phones should be banned in all educational institutions.Im sure the students didnt like that one bit.******The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.George Carlin