Know your English
"Hey, come on in! How are things?"
"Not very good, I'm afraid. My neighbour has been complaining to my dad about the noise we make when we play cricket."
"I don't think your dad should take him very seriously. Your neighbour gripes about the kids in your building all the time."
"Gripes about kids? Don't think I've heard that expression before. What does it mean?"
"When you `gripe about something to someone' you complain constantly in an annoying sort of way. For example, Geetha is always griping to me about the lack of civic sense in our country."
"
So if my friend complains constantly, can I say, `Don't gripe to me about it. Tell the principal how you feel about the matter."
"That's a good example. If Saurav hadn't griped about the coach to the media, he would have remained the captain of the Indian team."
"You have a point there. Talking about captains, has your boss told you where the annual conference will be this year?"
"No, our usual Friday meeting went on longer than expected. Most people were too tired to decide on a place. The matter was left up in the air for..."
"Left up in the air? What does it mean?"
"When you leave some matter up in the air, you leave it undecided."
"I see. How about this example? My father can't take decisions very quickly. He leaves matters up in the air for months. It drives my mother crazy."
"That's a good example. My boss, on the other hand, likes people to take quick decisions. Employees are discouraged from leaving something hanging in the air."
"Hanging in the air? I thought you said... "
"It has the same meaning as `leave something up in the air'."
"I see. Take a decision now. I don't want you to leave it hanging in the air."
"Good example."
"O.K. Tell me, is it also possible to leave someone up in the air?"
"Yes, it is. When you leave someone up in the air, you leave the person waiting for a decision. You don't tell him whether it's a `yes' or a `no'. For example, what do you mean you haven't taken a decision about my promotion? How long do you plan to leave me up in the air like this?"
"The Vice Chancellor said that he hadn't taken a decision about the demands. He left the students up in the air."
"That's a good example. Don't do this to me, please. Don't leave me up in the air like this."
"That's the kind of treatment we get in most government offices. Whenever we go to the municipal office, for example, we are usually left hanging. Most of the time you won't find anyone at the table."
"That's true. If we had those kind of people in our office, my boss would ask them to either shape up or ship out."
"Shape up or ship out? Does it mean behave yourself or just leave?"
"That's right. When you tell someone to shape up or ship out, you are warning them that if they don't behave themselves, you will ask them to leave. In other words, you want them to meet your expectations. Here's an example. Nandini, you're constantly handing in your assignments late. Shape up or ship out."
"This is the third time this month that our new driver has been involved in an accident. Tell him that he either shapes up or ships out."
"I am sorry to say that your performance hasn't been up to the mark. Either you shape up or ship out."
"You sound like my principal. He is such a... "
"Stop griping to me about your principal."
"Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark. You know what you are doing, but no one else does."
— Stewart Henderson Britt
S. UPENDRAN