Know Your English
WHAT IS the difference ``in time'' and ``on time''?
(G. Natarajan, Trichy)
When you are ``in time'' for a function, you arrive a few minutes before the function begins. Here are a few examples.
*I thought I was going to be late. But I was in time for class.
*Saritha was in time to take the flight.
*The Chairman was unable to make it in time.
If you arrive an hour before an event begins, then you don't usually say ``in time''. In such situations, we usually say ``early'', ``very early'', or ``well in time''.
The expression ``in time'' usually implies that you arrived a few minutes before the event began.
If you are ``on time'' for an event, you arrive punctually. If a class begins at 11
0 and you are on time for it, you arrive at exactly 11: 00. If you are ``in time'' for it, you arrive a few minutes before 11: 00. If you arrive at 111, you are late! Here are a few examples.
*The flight arrived on time. I was in time to receive Mohan.
*Venkat is always late. I wonder when he will learn to be on time.
*When Bala didn't arrive on time, we knew something was wrong.
What is the meaning of ``to cock a snook at''?
(Dr. M. Balakotaiah, Prakasham District, A.P)
This is something that we all probably did when we were children. When you ``cock a snook'' at someone, you place your thumb on the nose and point the remaining fingers straight up and pretend that you are playing the trumpet or something. Some people place their thumb under the nose and push it up - you end up seeing their dirty nostrils! Do you remember making these gestures to your friends when you were young? Why did you do it? You did it in order to show your contempt for that person. And that's what the expression to ``cock a snook'' at someone means - to show or express defiance or scorn at someone. Here are a few examples.
*The arrogant rich boy cocked a snook at the principal and continued to cheat in the exam.
*Preetha cocked a snook at her parents and went with Rahul to the party.
*Raju cocked a snook at the customer and tore up her letter of complaint.
What is the meaning of ``wannabe''?
(B. Premananda Bhat, Manipal)
When ``want to be'' is said very quickly it sounds like ``wannabe''. It's like the words ``gotta'' (got to), ``gotcha'' (got you), and ``hafta'' (have to). A ``wannabe'' is someone who apes a person (usually a celebrity) because he wants to look like him. He dresses like him, gets his hair cut like him, etc. He wants to be the celebrity's look-alike. Here are a few examples.
*There is a Hrithik Roshan wannabe in our neighbourhood.
*Seetha is a Julia Roberts wannabe fascinated by romantic stories.
*News travels fast among his wannabe friends.
Many consider ``wannabe'' to be slang. The word became popular in the 1980's when the Madonna craze was at its peak. It began to be applied to the American rock star's female fans who began to adopt her style of dress and make up. These fans began to be called `
`Madonna wannabes.''
How is the word ``Quixote'' pronounced? What does it mean? (Maheshwari, Hyderabad)
``Don Quixote'' is the title of a novel written by the Spanish writer Cervantes. The ``qui'' in the first syllable is pronounced like the word ``key''. The ``x'' in the second syllable sounds like the ``h'' in ``have'', ``has'', and ``hit''. The following ``o'' is like the ``o'' in ``go'', ``so'' and ``no''. The ``e'' in the final syllable is like the ``i'' in ``sit'', ``bit'', and ``hit''. This is one way of pronouncing the name. Some people, however, reduce the name to two syllables. The first syllable is pronounced like the word ``quick'' and the second syllable ``sote'' rhymes with ``boat'', ``float'', and ``note''. This is how many native speakers of English pronounce the name.
The novel gets its title from the name of the main character. Don Quixote is a slightly crazy man. In the course of the novel, he and his servant, Sancho Panza, have a lot of adventures. It is from this man that we get the word ``quixotic''.
What is the meaning of the term ``Kafkaesque''?
(B. Jambulingam, Thanjavur)
This word is derived from the name of the Czech writer Franz Kafka. In his writings, ``The Trial'' and the ``The Castle'', he created a world in which individuals are oppressed and full of despair.
When you say that something is ``Kafkaesque'', it means that it is like the work of Kafka - in other words, a world in which sinister and impersonal forces control human affairs.
Is it O.K to say, ``I am on diet''?
(M. S. K. Rao, Hyderabad)
Dictionaries say that you can ``go/be on a diet''. So you have to say ``I am on a diet.'' Here are a few more examples.
*Sunitha always seems to be on a diet.
*It's about time that Anand went on a diet.
*I don't believe in going on a diet.
``A celebrity is a person who works hard all his life to become well known, and then wears dark glasses to avoid being recognised.'' - Fred Allen
S. UPENDRAN