Know your English


WHAT IS the origin and meaning of the expression ``to bite the bullet''? (Aparna Ramachandra Iyer, Hyderabad)

Every year, after the budget speech, the Finance Minister invariably tells us to ``bite the bullet''. Perhaps it's his way of ensuring that we get the required iron into our system! What does he mean by ``to bite the bullet''? What is it that you normally do when you are in terrible pain? You usually clench your fist, grit your teeth, or bite on something. By doing all these things you don't get rid of the pain, you merely lessen it. When the pain becomes acute, it is possible these days to take a painkiller. But in the old days, there were no painkillers. When doctors operated on patients, they didn't give them anesthesia, they merely gave them something to bite on - a piece of wood or a piece of iron. This was done to help the patient endure the pain, not to get rid of it. Having something in the mouth also prevented the patient from screaming into the doctor's ears! During wars, when soldiers had to be operated on, doctors usually gave them - you guessed it - a bullet to bite on. So when someone asks you to ``bite the bullet'', they want you to accept something difficult or unpleasant and endure it. In other words, you put up with a bad situation. Here are a few examples:

*Rohan decided to bite the bullet and pay extra for the car that he really wanted.

*Housewives are biting the bullet after another increase in LPG prices.

Isn't there a difference between ``the officer concerned'' and the ``the concerned officer''? (K. G. Chandrasekharan, Cochin)

Yes, there is. When you talk about the ``concerned officer'', you are talking about the officer who is worried. The man is concerned or worried about something. When there is a plane or train accident, you will have concerned relatives/friends ringing up the airport or the railway station. When you talk about the ``officer concerned'', you are talking about the officer who is in charge of a particular department/section. For example, you might go to the sanitation department and meet the officer concerned. In other words, you meet the officer in the sanitation department who deals in the matter that you are interested in.

*When I went to school I met the concerned teacher. (The teacher was worried.)

*When I went to school, I met the teacher concerned. (I met the teacher I wanted to meet. The teacher with whom I had some work.)

*The concerned parents met the IAS officer concerned.


*The captain talked to the players concerned.

Which of the following sentences is correct? ``I met him one and a half year ago'', or, ``I met him one and a half years ago''? (S. Shyam Sundar, Tirupati)

The rule is fairly simple. In sentences like the above, we use the plural noun with fractions and decimals over 1 (one).

*You're late. I have been waiting here for one and a half hours.

*Abdul will be taking the next one and a half years off.

*We require 1.13 metres of this material.

What does the abbreviation SWOT stand for? (R. Padma, Bangalore)

SWOT is an acronym for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. I understand it is a formula used in marketing analysis of new products.

What is the difference between ``home'' and ``house''? (Subhkaran, Kota, Rajasthan)



When you go through the newspaper, you find many ``houses'' for sale. Sometimes at street corners, you find signs saying that there is a ``house'' available for rent. A ``house'' is a place in which people live; it offers shelter.

There may be thousands of houses in the city in which you live, but there is only one, which you call your ``home''. The ``house'' which you choose to live in becomes your ``home''.

Your builder constructed a ``house''. When you moved in, it became your ``home''. ``Home'' is the place where your family is; it provides emotional warmth and security.

A ``house'', on the other hand, provides shelter. Usually people buy a ``home'' and sell a ``house''. People who are away from their home often complain about being ``homesick'', not ``housesick''. What they lack is not a roof over their head, but the emotional warmth and security. Nowadays, every city has a ``home'' for the aged. They are not called ``house'' for the aged because these places provide not only shelter but also emotional comfort for the old people. Other common expressions in English are: ``There's no place like home'', ``Home, sweet home'', and ``Home is where the heart is''. Nobody ever substitutes the word ``house'' in any of these expressions.

How do you greet someone on his/her wedding anniversary? Is it O.K to say ``Many happy returns of the day''? (M. T. Chari, Bangalore)

The usual greeting is ``Happy wedding anniversary'', or, ``Happy anniversary''. Both are equally acceptable. I have heard people saying ``Many happy returns of the day''. Though this may strike one as being odd, some native speakers accept it. Dictionaries however contend that ``Many happy returns of the day'' should be restricted to birthdays.


``In fact there was but one thing wrong with the Babbit house: it was not a home.''

- Sinclair Lewis

S. UPENDRAN

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