What is the meaning and origin of ‘fall off the wagon’?
(J. Badrinath, Shimoga)
When you ‘fall off the wagon’, you go back to drinking alcohol in large quantities after ha...
»
What is the difference between ‘womanish’ and ‘effeminate’?
(K Ashwini, Tirupathi)
Both words are often used with men to show disapproval. The word ‘effeminate’ is...
»
Why do we say ‘sell like hot cakes’ when cakes are seldom eaten hot?
(Janet Epan, Hyderabad)
If the book that you have written sells like ‘hotcakes’, it means a lot of peo...
»
What is the difference between ‘bogie’ and ‘coach’?
(Syed Shanawaz, Trichy)
In India, both words are used to refer to a railway compartment or carriage. According to the O...
»
What is the meaning and origin of ‘What’s your poison’?
(V. Nithya, Chennai)
This is the question generally asked when you want to find out what someone would like to drin...
»
What is the meaning and origin of ‘Indian summer’?
(BC Koshy, Bangalore)
The Indian in the expression has nothing to do with people from our country. It refers to the ‘Red...
»
What is the meaning and origin of ‘jump on the bandwagon’?
(S. Narayanan, Chennai) When you ‘jump/climb/hop on the bandwagon’, you give support to a cause or a movement t...
»
What is the difference between ‘come in’ and ‘come on in’?
(KP Asha, Sholapur)
In terms of meaning, there is hardly any difference. In both cases, you are asking the perso...
»
What is the meaning of ‘clean chit’?
(Prashant Kumar, Buxar)
Whenever a politician is accused of some wrongdoing, a committee is usually set up to look into the matter. Af...
»
(T. Indira, Trichy) This is an expression that Micky Arthur, the Australian cricket coach, used after axing four of his players for indiscipline. It has the same meaning as our Indian ex...
»
