Know your English
"Did you take part in the 10 km run on Friday?"
"I certainly did. You should have seen me. I had my game face on, and the... ."
"You had your game face on? What are you talking about?"
"When Dravid and Tendulkar bat, they look very serious most of the time. They don't joke around. This serious look that a sportsman has while he is on the field is referred to as his `game face'."
"You mean the look of determination and concentration is called `game face'?"
"I guess you could say that! Here's an example. Don't be fooled by his jokes. Once he's got his game face on and steps onto the field, Chethan is a completely different person."
"You should see me when I have my game face on. I'm... ."
"Can we talk about something else, please?"
"Sure! Let's talk about the marathon. Did you manage to run the distance easily?"
"Not really! Had a tough time, but I managed."
"It's quite an achievement, actually. I'm impressed. So, how did you celebrate your achievement?"
"Celebrate! There was no celebration. I hotfooted it home. I felt so... ."
"You hotfooted it home? Does it mean you went home immediately?"
"When you hotfoot it to some place, you get there quickly. You do not delay."
"I see. In other words, when you `hotfoot it', you run."
"You run or walk quickly. Here's an example. When the car broke down, the CEO and his wife were forced to hotfoot it to the airport."
"I got up late yesterday. So I had to hotfoot it to school."
"Good example. The expression `hotfoot it' is mostly used in informal contexts."
" Tell me, what did you do once you got back home?"
"All I know is that I was dead to the world for the next fifteen hours or so."
"Dead to the world? What do you mean? Do you mean you were unconscious or something?"
"When you say that someone is dead to the world, what you mean is that the person is sound asleep, and you're finding it rather difficult to wake him up."
"I see. How about this example? After doing all the karate exercises, Tapas was dead to the world."
"Sounds good. Sujatha was dead to the world. We were just unable to wake her up."
"How did Sujatha's mother react when she was unable to wake her up? She must have ... ."
"Don't think she told Sujatha anything. In the evening, she came to our place and bellyached about how lazy her daughter had become."
"She bellyached about how lazy her daughter had become! Does it mean she complained about how lazy her daughter had become?"
"Very good. When you `bellyache', you complain in a whining manner."
"In other words, you sound as if you are moaning."
"Exactly! For example,,... ."
"Wait! Let me try. Whenever I run into Pankaj, he bellyaches about all the work he has to do."
"Good example. Do you know what you call a person who is constantly complaining?"
"A bellyacher?
"Excellent! That's exactly what he is called. "
"Some of your friends tell me that you bellyache about a lot of things."
"Me, a bellyacher? Not a chance! How dare you... ."
"Hey, easy does it. Let's not get into a fight. I'd better hotfoot it down to the supermarket before it closes."
"Lawyers are like rhinoceroses: thick skinned, short sighted, and always ready to charge." — David Mellor
S. UPENDRAN