Know your English – The Hindu

What is the which means of “stay put”? (D. Arumugam, Salem)

When somebody tells you to “stay put”, they need you to stay the place you might be; they don’t need you to maneuver round. It’s an expression usually utilized in casual contexts.

Priyanka informed Rahul to remain put within the automobile whereas she modified the tyre. (She informed Rahul to stay seated within the automobile.) The Ganeshans determined to remain put and to not transfer home. (They determined to not transfer into/search for one other home.)

Because of the difficulty within the metropolis, we stayed put within the lodge for 3 days. (We remained within the lodge for 3 days. We didn’t step outdoors.)

What is the pronunciation of “entrepreneur”? (R. Devarajan, Chennai)

The first syllable “en” is pronounced just like the phrase “on”. The “e” within the second and third syllable is pronounced just like the “a” in “china”, “about”, and “amount”. The “eur” within the ultimate syllable “neur” sounds just like the “or” in phrases like “worm”, “worst”, “world”. The stress is on the ultimate syllable. The phrase is pronounced entrepreneur.

Dictionaries outline an entrepreneur as somebody who begins a enterprise so as to make a revenue. Who in his proper thoughts would begin one thing so as to lose cash?

What is the which means and origin of the expression “Pyrrhic victory”? (Dr. N. L. N. Moorthy, Hyderabad)

First, let’s begin with the pronunciation. The “y” within the first syllable is just like the “i” in phrases like “sit”, “hit”, and “bit”. The “rrhic” sounds just like the “rick” in phrases like “brick”, “rickshaw”, and “cricket”. The stress is on the primary syllable. In the expression “Pyrrhic victory”, nonetheless, the principle stress is on the primary syllable of “victory”.

King Pyrrhus of Epirus in Greece invaded Italy in 280 B.C. He had plans of conquering the nation. During his marketing campaign towards the Romans, Pyrrhus received many battles. After defeating the Romans at Aschulum, the King apparently stated, “Another such victory and we are undone”; the reason is that he misplaced a lot of his troopers within the battle. As a end result, Pyrrhus was unable to proceed to push ahead. Pyrrhus’ military grew to become so depleted that he was pressured to return to Greece with out ever setting foot in Rome.

Though the King received many battles, he in the end misplaced the warfare! So once you discuss with one thing as being a “Pyrrhic victory”, it implies that you’ve got suffered so many losses that the victory pales into insignificance. The losses are so nice that it’s no victory in any respect.

What is the distinction between “glimpse” and “glance”? (A. V. R. Rao, Amalapuram)

When you “glance” at one thing, you take a look at it in a short time after which look away. For instance, after we get caught with a bore, each every now and then, we look on the clock or the watch. We don’t preserve trying on the clock/watch as a result of we don’t wish to be impolite. We take a fast look (look) on the watch and switch our consideration to the speaker — and fake to be thinking about what he’s saying. A look is intentional; you intentionally look in a specific path.

Ashok glanced on the headlines whereas ready for the bus.

Shoba glanced at her notes earlier than coming into the examination corridor.

Raju glanced on the TV earlier than returning to his crossword puzzle.

When you catch a “glimpse” of one thing, you catch a fast sight of it. For instance, if you are within the jungle, it’s possible you’ll catch a glimpse of a tiger. In different phrases, you see the tiger very briefly. You might or might not see it fully. In the case of “glimpse”, it’s the object which seems earlier than our eyes. In the case of “glance”, it’s the eyes which go to the thing.

I caught a glimpse of Kamal within the crowded room. When Mohan turned his head to look on the clock, we caught a glimpse of the lady who was with him.

We caught a glimpse of the lady who had received the quiz competitors.

Is there a distinction in which means between “although” and “though”? (Dr. C. Venkatramaiah, Tirupati)

No, there isn’t. The two phrases can be utilized interchangeably in most contexts.

Although/although it was sizzling, Bala refused to take off his sweater.

We loved our keep in Mumbai, though/although the climate was horrible.

Although/although he was wealthy, no lady wished to marry him.

Unlike the phrase “though”, “although” can’t be used on the finish of a sentence.

The lady was very clever, although.

The film was superb, although.

The dosa was scrumptious, although.

It can be unacceptable to make use of the phrase “although” within the above sentences.

Published in The Hindu on February 22, 2000

Published – April 01, 2026 08:30 am IST