1. Does the word ‘breakfasted’ exist?
(P. Vanitharathnam, Pollachi)
Yes, it does. The word ‘breakfast’ can be used as a verb, and when used in this manner, it means ‘to eat breakfast’. For example, Ananya prefers to breakfast alone. The children breakfasted on idlis and puris. The words ‘lunch’ and ‘snack’ can also be used as verbs. My wife lunched with her clients in a five star hotel. While watching the movie, I snacked on potato chips. Strangely enough, the word ‘dinner’ is not used as a verb. We don’t hear people saying they ‘dinnered’ with their friends.
2. What is the meaning of ‘handsome is as handsome does’?
(B. Natraj, Mumbai)
This is an expression that has been around for several hundred years, and it has the same meaning as ‘pretty is as pretty does’. Not very helpful, is it? What the expression literally means is that it is not the looks of the individual that are important, but the good deeds that he performs: in other words, good behaviour and chivalrous deeds are much more important than good looks.
*Venu may not be much to look at, but he is always helping those who are in need. Handsome is as handsome does.
According to some scholars, the expression was first recorded by the English poet, Geoffrey Chaucer. In the movie ‘Forrest Gump’, the main character comes up with his own version of the proverb: ‘stupid is as stupid does.’
3. How is the word ‘askance’ pronounced?
(C.V. Geetha, Hyderabad)
The ‘a’ in the first syllable is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’, and the ‘a’ in the second sounds like the ‘a’ in ‘ant’, ‘pants’, and ‘hat’. The word is pronounced ‘es-CANS’ with the stress on the second syllable. It is also possible to pronounce the second ‘a’ like the ‘a’ in ‘park’, ‘dark’, and ‘stars’.
The word is normally used to talk about the kind of look that you give an individual. When you ‘look askance at someone’, you usually look at him with disapproval or distrust. In most cases, you don’t look at the person directly; you choose to glance at him sideways. The word can be used with things as well.
*Raju looked askance at her with his big eyes.
4. What is the difference between ‘crisis’ and ‘crises’? (P. Sampath, Salem)
‘Crises’ is the plural form of ‘crisis’. There is a difference in the way the two words are pronounced. The final ‘is’ in ‘crisis’ is like the ‘is’ in ‘fist’, ‘mist’, and ‘gist’. The word is pronounced ‘CRY-sis’ with the stress on the first syllable. The ‘es’ in ‘crises’ rhymes with ‘eeze’ in words like ‘breeze’, and ‘freeze’, and ‘sneeze’. The word is pronounced ‘CRY-seez’; the stress remains on the first syllable.
5. What is the opposite of ‘comedian’?
(V. Hari Murali, Kottayam)
A person who performs tragic roles on stage is usually referred to as a ‘tragedian’. The first ‘a’ is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’, and the following ‘e’ is like the ‘ee’ in ‘fees’, ‘bees’, and ‘sees’. The word is pronounced ‘tre-JEE-dien’ with the stress on the second syllable. Dilip Kumar, Sivaji Ganesan, and Sanjeev Kumar are some of our well-known tragedians. The two words ‘comedian’ and ‘tragedian’ are usually used to refer to male actors. An actress who specialises in comic/tragic roles is sometimes called ‘comedienne’/‘tragedienne’. In the case of these two words, the main stress is on the final syllable ‘enne’. The words are pronounced ‘ke-mee-di-EN’ and ‘tre-jee-di-EN’ respectively.
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“A poet who reads his verse in public may have other nasty habits.” —
Robert Heinlein
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