1. What is the meaning and origin of `beat around the bush'?
(C.S. Shivaram, Tenali)
Sometimes when someone asks us a question, we try and avoid answering it. It's not because we don't know the answer; the answer is rather embarrassing. Therefore, instead of giving the person a direct answer, we go about answering his question in a roundabout way. This indirect way of answering questions is called `beating about/around the bush'. Very often, people beat about the bush in order to conceal their real intention.
*For god's sake, stop beating about/around the bush. How much is it going to cost?
*Will you please stop beating around/about the bush? Just answer my question.
The expression comes from the rather cruel sport of `batfowling'. In this sport, people (`batfowlers') entered the forest during the night and proceeded to kill `fowls' (birds) with the `bats' or clubs they were carrying. The batfowlers and the servants that they took with them used to scare birds by beating around the bush in which they were sleeping. The sleepy birds, dazed and confused by the sudden commotion, would then fly directly to the bright lights that the men were carrying. Here they were beaten to death. The men who were beating about the bush were not really interested in the bush; they were interested in the birds that were sleeping there. Therefore, when someone beats around the bush, he is concealing the thing that he is interested in; he doesn't come to the point directly.
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2. I have heard people say, `I usually visit my friends at weekends'. Shouldn't it be `on weekends'?
(N. Raghavan, Secunderabad)
Both `on weekends' and `at weekends' are correct. I understand `at weekends' is much more common in British English. `On weekends', on the other hand, is frequently used in American English.
*My friend Gopa usually gets up late on/at weekends.
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3. What is the difference between `bail' and `parole'?
(J. Bharath, Thanjavur)
Bail is the amount of money that an individual who has been accused of a crime pays the court in order to be released till his trial begins. It is given to people who have been arrested, but whose case hasn't come to court as yet. The individual asking for bail is usually made to pay a hefty sum by the judge; this amount is put forward as a guarantee that the accused will be present at his trial. Not everyone who asks for bail gets it; it is the judge who determines whether someone should be `released' or `remanded' on bail.
*The judge, as expected, refused to grant bail to the Minister.
Prisoners are sometimes released on parole. In this case, unlike the person making `bail', the person has stood trial, has been found guilty, and has been sentenced by the judge. When a prisoner is released on parole, he is set free before he has completed his sentence. Once released, he must behave well and must not get into trouble. If he does get into trouble, he may be sent back to prison. In the case of parole, the individual doesn't pay the court any money.
*The government has been accused of releasing murderers and rapists on parole.
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