WORDS TODAY
Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know men.
.........Confucius
GOOD EVENING, FRIENDS!!!
“ …Contrived phony mess that is falling apart.” Quoted from FED UP by Rick Perry in ‘Republican hopefuls had better embrace ignorance – Paul Krugman’, Business Line 31.08.2011.
CONTRIVE - 1. To succeed in doing something in spite of difficulties
· Schindler contrived to save more than 1,000 Polish Jews from the Nazis.
2. To arrange an event or situation in a clever way, especially secretly or by deceiving people:
· The lawsuit says oil companies contrived the oil shortage in the 1970s.
3. To make or invent something in a skilful way, especially because you need it suddenly:
· In 1862, a technique was contrived to take a series of photographs showing stages of movement.
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PHONY: 1.False or not real, and intended to deceive someone [= fake]
· He'd telephoned with some phony excuse she didn't believe for a minute.
1. Someone who is phony is insincere and pretends to be something they
are not
· He looks totally phony to me.
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GET YOUR TEETH INTO SOMETHING: To start to do something with a lot of energy and determination.
· I can't wait to get my teeth into the new course.
IN THE TEETH OF SOMETHING: In spite of opposition or danger from something.
· Permission for the development was granted in the teeth of opposition from local shopkeepers.
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“ Lately, for example, The Wall Street Journal’s editorial page has gone beyond its long-term preference for the economic ideas of “ CHARLATANS and CRANKS”, as one of President George W. Bush’s chief economic advisors famously put it, to a general DENIGRATION of hard thinking about matters economic” Quoted from ‘Republican hopefuls had better embrace ignorance – Paul Krugman’, Business Line. 31.08.2011
CHARLATAN Someone who pretends to have special skills or knowledge
· He was exposed as a charlatan.
CRANK: Someone who has unusual ideas and behaves strangely
· Sunita was originally dismissed as a crank, but her theories later became very influential.
Crank something ↔ up To make the sound of something, especially music, louder.
· We cranked up the volume of our music player.
Crank something ↔ out To produce a lot of something very quickly.
· He cranked out three novels last year.
DENIGRATE(v): To say things to make someone or something seem less important or good.
· Attempts to denigrate his playing simply because of his popularity are misplaced but regrettably widespread.
Consumers are open to buying electric vehicles now but are GRAPPLING with issues of price and after-sales service. Business Line, 01.09.2011
GRAPPLE WITH SOMETHING: To try hard to deal with or understand something difficult:
· The Government has to grapple with the problem of unemployment.
· He is upstairs grappling with her maths homework.
The Prime Minister’s forthcoming Bangladesh visit UNDERSCORES the improvement in bilateral relations in recent times. Business Line, 01.09.2011
UNDERSCORE: To emphasize the fact that something is important or true.
· The report underscores the importance of childhood immunizations.
As a solution to this CONUNDRUM, many innovative solutions have been offered. Business Line, 01.09.2011
CONUNDRUM: A confusing and difficult problem.
· King remains a conundrum, a man of both major strengths and serious character flaws.
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NEBULOUS: An idea that is nebulous is not at all clear or exact [= vague].
· 'Normality' is a rather nebulous concept.
· The rules are too nebulous to be applied consistently.
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EMANATE: To produce a smell, light etc, or to show a particular quality.
· He emanates peace wherever he goes.
EMANATE FROM
· Smoke emanated from the kitchen window.
· The President argued that accusations emanating from Congress were not accurate.
Corruption is a UBIQUITOUS SCOURGE in Indian society that undermines fairness in governance. Business Line, 01.09.2011
UBIQUITOUS: Seeming to be everywhere.
· Plastic containers are ubiquitous nowadays.
SCOURGE: Something that causes a lot of harm or suffering.
· The scourge of unemployment
· The scourge of war
When Irene put businesses in a tizzy. Business Line, 01.09.2011
IN A TIZZY: If you get in a tizzy or into a tizzy, you get excited, worried, or nervous about something.
The storm created incongruous retail situations. Business Line, 01.09.2011
INCONGRUOUS: Strange, unexpected, or unsuitable in a particular situation:
· The new theatre looks utterly incongruous in its setting.
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Government shouldn’t MUZZLE dissent coming from outside the political class. Times of India, 01.09.2011
MUZZLE(V): To prevent someone from saying what they think in public [= gag].
· This is an attempt by the government to muzzle the country's media.
Age of BEFUDDLEMENT Times of India, 01.09.2011
BEFUDDLED: Completely confused.
Political HAUGHTINESS… Times of India, 01.09.2011
HAUGHTY: Someone who is haughty behaves in a proud and very unfriendly way, as if they think other people are completely unimportant
· People thought of him as being haughty and difficult to talk to.
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ESOTERIC: Known and understood by only a few people who have special knowledge about something:
· The esoteric world of scientific supercomputing.
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Our FRAZZLED heads… Times of India, 01.09.2011
FRAZZLED: Feeling tired and anxious, for example after a journey or because you are very busy:
· The meeting left me feeling completely frazzled.
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