“I had a sip of your company’s new cola last night. It was just plain awful. How could a company like yours launch a terrible product like that?”
“You might not like the taste of the new cola, but little kids love it. The company is hoping it’ll become a cash cow.”
“Cash cow? You’re hoping that it’s going to make your company a lot of money?”
“Exactly! When you say that a product or a service is a ‘cash cow’, what you’re suggesting is that it’s something that’s earned the company money over a period of time. The money that it’s earned is often used to promote the company’s other activities and products.”
“In other words, the product is something that can be relied on.”
“That’s right!
The IPL, for example, is the BCCI’s biggest cash cow.”
“They make tons of money off it, don’t they? Many people in the film industry see Shah Rukh and Salman as cash cows.”
“Let’s see how long they continue to be cash cows. If you ask me, it won’t be for long.”
Pinched lips
“Hey, you don’t look or sound like your usual self. Is something bothering you?”
“What gives you that impression? Is it my pinched lips or my...”
“I didn’t see you pinching your lips. Your hands were on the coffee cup all the time.”
“The expression ‘pinched lips’ is frequently used in informal contexts to mean to compress one’s lips, especially when there’s a lot on one’s mind.”
“In other words, you pinch your lips when you’re worried or angry.”
“Exactly! When they questioned Revathi, she merely pinched her lips and said nothing.”
“I could tell Lavanya was sad. Her lips were pinched and there were tears streaming down her eyes. Now tell me, why were your lips pinched?”
“I don’t think I’ll be able to go to Ooty next weekend. I’ll have to cancel.”
“But we’ve already booked our train tickets and....”
“I know. But you know that our company works 24/7. We never close for...”
“Does this mean that everyone works even on holidays?”
“Not everyone. We have a skeleton staff to keep things running.”
“A skeleton staff? What does that mean?”
“The fewest people required to keep a company or an organisation running — these people are usually referred to as ‘skeleton staff’. It’s also possible to refer to this group of people as ‘skeleton crew’. For example, during Dussehra and Diwali, our company operates with a skeleton crew of twenty people.”
“How about this example? After tying up the skeleton staff on duty, the robbers escaped with over a hundred laptops.”
“Sounds good! During the nights, the nursing home has a skeleton staff to take care of emergencies.”
“What I don’t understand is why you volunteered to work this weekend!”
“I didn’t volunteer. The CEO decides who is going to be part of the skeleton crew. We are usually put on duty once a year, so no one really complains.”
“So, he decided to put you on duty this weekend!”
“It’s just my rotten luck, I guess!”
* * * * *
Why didn’t the skeleton go to the dance?
Because he had no body to go with. — Alice Jane
The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com
