1. What is the meaning of ‘shoestring budget’?
(Anjali Anirudh, Bangalore)
What we call ‘shoelace’, the Americans call ‘shoestring’. As we all know, shoestrings are pretty inexpensive; one doesn’t really have to spend too much money to buy a pair.
Therefore, when you say that something was done on a ‘shoestring budget’, what you mean is that it was done using a very small amount of money; you had very little money to spend.
*My father says we’ll be making our next film on a shoestring budget.
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2. How is the expression ‘Mot juste’ pronounced?
(J.V. Reddy, Nellore)
The ‘t’ in ‘mot’ is silent, and the ‘o’ sounds like the ‘o’ in ‘go’, ‘so’, and ‘no’. The ‘j’ in ‘juste’ is like the ‘j’ in ‘jam’ and ‘juice’, and the following ‘u’ is like the ‘oo’ in ‘cool’, ‘pool’, and ‘fool’. The ‘st’ is like the ‘st’ in ‘stop’ and ‘step’, and the final ‘e’ is silent.
The word is pronounced ‘mow joost’ with the stress on ‘juste’. ‘Mot’ in French means ‘word’ and ‘juste’ means ‘right’;
when you say that something is ‘mot juste’, what you mean is that the word that you used is appropriate or exact.
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3. What is the difference between ‘lease’ and ‘rent’?
(N. Gurumurthy, Chennai)
When you lease something, it always involves a written contract — it is a legal agreement. In the case of property, you draw up a contract which specifies the duration of the stay and the amount of money you will pay the landlord each month as rent.
During this period of lease, the two parties are bound by the contract; unless both parties agree, the terms of agreement cannot be changed. The landlord cannot suddenly increase the rent, and the tenant cannot vacate the property as and when he likes. Should the tenant decide to leave before the lease expires, he may have to pay the rent for the remaining period or find another individual to take over his lease.
When you rent a property, it doesn’t always include a written contract.
As a result, both parties can change the terms of agreement: the landlord can increase the rent whenever he wants to. He can ask the tenant to vacate the premises giving him a 30-day notice. The tenant too can leave whenever he wants to.
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4. Where does the word ‘alphabet’ come from?
(K. Nirupama, Hyderabad)
The word ‘alphabet’ refers to the set of letters which is used for writing. One can talk about the ‘letters’ of the alphabet, but not about the ‘alphabets’. English has 26 letters of the alphabet, not 26 ‘alphabets’.
This word comes from the Greek ‘alphabetos’; it is a combination of ‘alpha’ and ‘beta’. These two words, as you know, are the first two letters of the Greek alphabet.
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5. What is the meaning and origin of the expression ‘bolt’ from the blue’?
(R. Balakrishnan, Chennai)
When you say that something was a bolt from the blue, what you mean is that it was totally unexpected; the result was something that surprised you very much.
*The fact that Rahul had failed the exam was a bolt from the blue.
The word ‘bolt’ refers to the thunderbolt that we often hear during heavy rain, and the ‘blue’ refers to the blue sky. On a beautiful day, when there are no clouds, and the sky is blue, we generally don’t expect to hear the sound of thunder. If we do hear one, it comes as a total surprise.
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“We don’t bother much about dress and manners in England, because as a nation, we don’t dress well, and we’ve no manners.” —
G. B. Shaw
S. UPENDRAN