Understand your boss has built a new house. Whats it like?

Fantabulous is the word that Sujatha used to describe it.

Fantabulous?
Its a combination of fantastic and fabulous. It means, unbelievably good or great.
When I went to Goa, the view from my room was fantabulous.
What was the view like from your boss new house?
Havent a clue. Never been to his house.
Well, if you didnt go to your boss party, where were you on New Years Eve?
I went for a drive.
I understand you were stopped by the police.
News travels fast. Who told you?
Does it really matter? Were you speeding?
No, I wasnt. The policeman thought I was intexticated.
I didnt know you drank. When did
I didnt say intoxicated. I said intexticated.
Dont think Ive heard that word before.
Its when you try to send a message on your cell phone while youre driving.
In other words, you are driving and texting at the same time.
Thats right! According to this newspaper article, more accidents are caused by intexticated drivers
than by intoxicated ones.
There are many intexticated drivers in our country.
Thats true. Tell me, can the word be used with people who walk and message at the same time?
Yes, it can. Rajeev was so intexticated that he didnt see where he was going. He fell into a manhole
and broke his leg. Hes been advised to take it easy for three months.
Oh, the poor chap. I hope he has insurance.
Dont worry about Rajeev. Hes flush.
Flush? What do you mean?
One of the meanings of flush is abundant. In this context, it means the person is rich. For example,
at the beginning of every month, I feel flush.
We are not exactly flush, but we manage to live a comfortable life.
Thats what most people want.
Thats true. According to my father, the best thing
Talking about your father, has he returned the laptop to the dealer?
Hes been talking to him on the phone and...
Nothing will come of it, Im afraid. Tell your dad to stop pussyfooting around and...
Pussyfooting around? What does it mean?
It means to do something in a cautious or timid manner. When you
In other words, you walk or tread carefully like a cat?
Exactly! The person is unwilling to commit to any course of action. Listen Radha, youve been
pussyfooting around for over six months now. I want a decision by the end of the day.
If I were you, I wouldnt promote him. Hes incapable of taking decisions. Hell pussyfoot around
and not get on with anything.
Thats a good example. We have a crisis on our hands. You need to take action. You cant pussyfoot
around.
Ill talk to my dad about the laptop.
Youre leaving? Thats fantabulous!
* * *
A New Years resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. Unknown
Hi! You don't look too good. Is something bothering you?
"I complained to my boss about Hemant yesterday."
"Why did you do that? Do you have a problem with him?
"You know that I've had a beef with him for a long time."
"You've had beef? Do you parents know?"
"I didn't say I ate beef. I said that I had a beef with Hemant. When you have 'beef with' someone, you
..."
"You probably have a complaint against the person."
'That's right! The expression could also mean 'grudge'. You are itching for a fight or an argument."
"I see. Well, in that case, your next door neighbour has a beef with you."
"I hope that was just an example. Otherwise, I'll..."
"It was an example, that's all. I don't think your new neighbour would recognise you even if he saw
you."
"That's true! In most universities, students have beef with teachers."
"And I'm sure teachers have beef with the students as well."
"You're probably right. 'Beef with' is mostly used in informal contexts.
Also, we..."
"What did your boss say when you complained against Hemant?"
"He said I was at fault."
"What?"
"That was my reaction as well. Apparently, Hemant had already complained about me, and he..."
"Is Hemant related to your boss?"
"I don't really know. But they are pretty close. According to Sharma, the two are in cahoots with..."
"In what? What did you say?
"C..a..h..o..o..t..s. The 'a' is pronounced like the 'a' in 'china', and the'oo' like the 'oo' in 'pool' and
'cool'."
"So, the word is pronounced ke-HOOTS with the stress on the second syllable."
"Very good! That's exactly how the word is pronounced."
"But what does it mean?
"When you are 'in cahoots with someone', you are conspiring with another person. You are scheming
or plotting with someone to get something."
"An expression with a very negative meaning!"
"You could say that. The two individuals are up to no good."
"I've been told that the Principal is in cahoots with the dealer who supplies our school with
computers."
"I understand that some of our Ministers are in cahoots with organised crime."
"Given the kind of politicians we have, the news shouldn't surprise anyone.
What are you going to do about Hemant?"
"I really don't know. I seem to have fouled my own nest by complaining to the boss about him."
"Fouled your own nest? What does it mean?"
"When you foul your own nest, you end up harming or hurting yourself."
"I see. It's not surprising that Yuktha wasn't promoted. She fouled her own nest by spreading wild
rumours about her boss."
"Uday complains that his wife doesn't respect him. He fouled his own nest by constantly making fun
of her in front of others. And now, she..."
"Now, she has beef with him!"
* * *
"A woman in love can't be reasonable - or she probably wouldn't be in love." -
How is the word ersatz' pronounced?
There seem to be different ways of pronouncing this German word. The er' can be pronounced like
the word air', and the following s' like the z' in zip' and zoo'. The final syllable, atz', sounds like the
ats' in bats', rats', and cats'. One way of pronouncing the word is AIR-zats with the stress on the
first syllable. Some people, however, put the stress on the second. The word comes from the German
ersetzen' meaning to replace', and in English, the word is used to mean substitute'. Since the
replacement is usually much inferior to the original, the word ersatz is used to show disapproval.
*I'm told that during the war, my grandmother had to make do with ersatz chocolates and coffee.
What is the meaning and origin of stalking
horse'?
When you stalk' someone or something, you follow the person or animal very closely without being
spotted. You do this in order to track, catch or kill the individual/animal. Now, let's deal with the
origin of the idiom. In the old days, when people went hunting for birds, they took a well trained
horse with them. They did this because they found whenever a solitary animal like a horse or cow
approached the birds, they didn't fly away. On the other hand, whenever a human being was seen
approaching, the birds promptly flew away. In order to trick the birds into believing that it was only a
solitary animal walking around, hunters trained their horses to walk very slowly and noiselessly
towards the quarry. The hunter walked alongside the animal, and ensured he stayed out of sight by
keeping low. When he was within range of the prey, he came out of hiding, and proceeded to kill the
birds. In this case, it wasn't the horse that was doing the stalking; it was being used to divert the
attention of the birds. The hunter was using the animal as a decoy. Something that is used to disguise
one's true intention or objective is usually referred to as stalking horse'. The idiom is quite
frequently used in politics and business. A candidate who is put forward by a party in order to split
the opposition is often referred to as a stalking horse'. This person may also be someone whose
name has been proposed in order to conceal the candidacy of a much more important figure.
*The party leader wanted me to play the stalking horse.
What is the difference between former' and
erstwhile'?
First, let's deal with the pronunciation of erstwhile'. The first syllable erst' rhymes with the words
burst' and first', and the second sounds like the word while'. The word is pronounced ERST-while'
with the stress on the first syllable, and it comes from the Old English erst' meaning before' and
while' meaning time'. The word literally means of former time'. In terms of meaning, there is no
difference between erstwhile' and former'. Of the two, erstwhile is considered old fashioned, and is
mostly used in rather formal contexts. Some books on English usage claim that erstwhile' is a
pretentious' word for former' and is best avoided.
*Gayathri, my erstwhile colleague, has become the Vice President of the new company.
* * *
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Helpline
What is the origin of the word budget'?
The word comes from the Latin bulga' meaning leather bag'. In the beginning, the word budget' was
used to refer to anything that was made of leather: wallets, knapsacks, bags, etc. With the passage of
time, the word began to be used to refer to the contents of the bag, rather than the bag itself. And
what is it that we keep in our wallets? Money, of course! Since a Finance Minister usually kept his
plans on how to spend the money in his leather bag', the word acquired its modern meaning: an
itemized allotment of funds. Around the 16th century, the word was also used to mean a bundle of
news'. As a result, the word budget' became a part of the name of many newspapers: example, Pall
Mall Budget'.