Know your English

WHAT IS the opposite of ``Eve teasing''? (Abdul Jabbar, Vikarabad, A.P.)

We read reports about ``Eve teasing'' in newspapers almost every day. State governments are trying to put an end to this menace. They have started taking action against the so-called ``Eve teasers''. Why so called? Because many dictionaries do not include the term ``Eve teasing''.

Native speakers of English do not use it. Perhaps ``Eve teasing'' is a term coined by us Indians - just like the word ``prepone''! It is our contribution to the English language!

Getting back to your question, ``Eve teasing'' does not have an opposite; not in any of the native varieties. Perhaps we can come up with one.

Since Eve was the first woman, and Adam the first man, I would argue that the opposite of ``Eve teasing'' should be ``Adam teasing''! Anybody have a different opinion?

What is the meaning of ``Mind your p's and q's''? (S. Saradha Nandhini, Chennai)

This is an informal expression which means mind your manners; be careful about how you behave and what you say so that you do not offend anyone. The `p' in the expression stands for `please' and the `q' for `thank you'.

In other words, when you speak, sound as polite as possible. Use the words `please' and `thank you' as frequently as you can. Here are a few examples:

* If you don't mind your p's and q's, I'll give you a sound thrashing.

* When you talk to the boss' wife, you had better mind your p's and q's.

* Promod wasn't keen on hiring you. So you'd better mind your p's and q's

What is the meaning and origin of the idiom ``to rain cats and dogs''? (S. Sarveshwara Rao, Rajahmundry, A.P.)

When you say it's raining cats and dogs, you mean it's raining heavily. In other words, it's raining buckets! Here are a few examples.

* It's been raining cats and dogs since last night.

* The match had to be called off because it had rained cats and dogs all night.

* It rained cats and dogs during my sister's wedding.

There are several explanations as to the origin of this idiom. In Norse folklore, cats were given magical powers; they had the ability to influence the weather. And dogs, on the other hand, were associated with storms. But the explanation that I am partial to is the following. In the old days, the street drainage system in Europe was in a mess.

When there was a heavy downpour, the drains used to get clogged and they overflowed. Stray dogs and cats used to fall into these drains and drown. When people walked out onto the streets, after the rain had stopped, they found the dead animals floating in the drains.

It was as if during the heavy downpour cats and dogs had fallen from the sky! They felt it had rained cats and dogs.

Is it O.K to say, ``Rama met with Krishna''? (C. Rangaswamy, Chennai)

There are many people who object to this sentence. They prefer ``Rama met Krishna''. But it should be mentioned here that both sentences are acceptable. Americans tend to use ``met with'' when they want to suggest that the meeting was prearranged. You can ``meet someone'' accidentally.

But when you ``meet with someone'', it is not an accidental meeting. The meeting has been prearranged; both you and the person that you are meeting have decided beforehand where and when you are meeting.

* We met with the President on Friday.

* Chandu met with his lawyers.

* The Prime Minister will meet with the opposition leaders this afternoon.

When you ``meet with someone'' a purpose is usually implied.

Is it O.K to call a married man who sits at home and does the cooking a ``house husband''? (K. Maruthi Prasad, Warrangal, A.P.)

It certainly is. A ``house husband'' is a married man who stays at home and does the kinds of things that a traditional housewife does - cleaning, cooking and looking after the children. This is a word that was coined during the Women's Liberation Movement of the 70s.

(``I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They've experienced pain and bought jewelry.'' - Rita Rudner)

S. UPENDRAN

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Features
Previous : Kricket, Kargil, Kandahar