1. How is the word ‘scintillating’ pronounced?
(T. Jayashree, Bangalore)

Many people pronounce the first syllable like the word ‘skin’. This, however, is wrong. The ‘c’ is silent; therefore, the first syllable is pronounced like the word ‘sin’. The ‘i’ in the second syllable is like the ‘i’ in ‘it’, ‘bit’, and ‘kit’, and the ‘lat’ is pronounced like the word ‘late’. The word is pronounced ‘sin-ti-late-ing’ with the stress is on the first syllable.

A conversation that is ‘scintillating’ is witty, interesting and clever. The word comes from the Latin ‘scintillare’ meaning ‘to sparkle’.

*The conversation during the meal was anything but scintillating.


2. What is the meaning and origin of ‘maverick’?
(Pradeep Kumar, Warangal)

First, let’s deal with the pronunciation of the word. The first syllable ‘mav’ rhymes with ‘have’, and the ‘rick’ rhymes with ‘trick’ and ‘brick’. The word can be pronounced ‘mav-rick’ with the stress on the first syllable. Some people pronounce the ‘e’ like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. When this happens, the word is pronounced ‘mav-e-rick’, with the stress, once again, on the first syllable.

A maverick is someone who is very independent; he doesn’t stick to the rules that others follow blindly. This individual is someone who makes his own rules.


*Please don’t make the mistake of listening to the ideas of a maverick.

Samuel Augustus Maverick was the name of a rancher who lived in Texas. In the 19th century, it was standard practice among people who owned cattle to brand their animals; cowboys used branding irons to burn the owner’s names into the flesh of the cows. Maverick, however, refused to brand his animals. He informed his fellow ranchers that all cows that were not branded were his!


3. What is the difference between ‘autopsy’ and ‘post mortem’?
(Rajam, Saligramam)

According to most dictionaries, the two words mean the same thing. When a doctor does a ‘post mortem’ or an ‘autopsy’, he examines the body of a dead person. The body is usually cut open in order to determine the cause of death. Autopsy seems to be the preferred term in the case of a homicide.

*We don’t know the cause of death. We’ll have to do an autopsy/a post mortem.

The word autopsy literally means ‘seeing with one’s own eyes’. ‘Post mortem’, meaning ‘after death’, is actually a shortening of ‘post mortem examination’. Unlike the word ‘autopsy’, ‘post mortem’ can be used in general contexts as well. When you conduct a post mortem of an event, you review it; you usually examine it to determine why the event failed.

*After every match, the coach spends half an hour doing a post mortem.


4. What is the meaning of the expression ‘grow on someone’?
(G. Rajkumar, Chennai)

When we meet someone for the first time, we may not like the person. As we interact with him more and more, we slowly begin to like him. This is what we mean by the expression ‘grow on someone’. We begin to like someone whom we weren’t favourably disposed to in the beginning. The expression can be used with things as well.

*The first time I heard the song, I didn’t like it. Now it’s beginning to grow on me.

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“The saying, ‘Getting there is half the fun’ became obsolete with the advent of commercial airlines.” — Henry J. Tillman




S. UPENDRAN