How is the word ‘egregious’ pronounced? (N. Manini, Kochi)
This three-syllabled word is mostly used in formal contexts to show disapproval. The first ‘e’ is like the ‘i’ in ‘sit’, ‘bit’ and ‘kit’, while the second sounds like the ‘ee’ in ‘fees’, ‘bees’ and ‘knees’. The second 'g' is pronounced like the ‘j’ in ‘jam’ and ‘juice’, and the final ‘iou’ like the ‘a’ in ‘China’. The word is pronounced ‘ig-REE-jes’ with the stress on the second syllable. It comes from the Latin ‘egrigus’ meaning ‘standing out from the flock’, and was originally used to refer to something or someone that/who was outstanding. In the 16th century, the word took on a completely different meaning — it began to mean what it does today — ‘extremely bad and noticeable’. When you say that something was an ‘egregious error’, what you are suggesting is that it was a glaring error — one that was shocking and noticed by all.
People agree that most politicians in our country are egregious liars.
Ram hired his wife as a consultant. It’s another egregious example of favouritism.
What is the difference between ‘plod along’ and ‘plod through’? (K. Laxman, Hyderabad)
The two expressions are normally used to refer to movement. When someone ‘plods along’ or ‘plods through something’, he is moving about slowly; he is walking carefully, in an unhurried manner. Unlike ‘plod along’, the expression ‘plod through’ suggests that the individual is walking through something with some difficulty — for example, it could be mud, snow, tall grass, etc. Both expressions have a figurative meaning as well — they can be used to mean boring. When you say that the professor’s lecture plodded along, what you are suggesting is that the slow pace made it boring — you had the feeling that the lecture would never end! If you had to ‘plod through’ someone’s manuscript, it means you had a tough time going through it — it was a laborious process, one that you found boring.
Every morning I saw Rajeev’s grandmother plodding along to the temple.
Harini was exhausted after plodding through the mud and snow.
The play plodded along and by the end of the first act, I was fast asleep.
I’m plodding through Mukund’s dissertation.
What is the meaning and origin of ‘pull the plug on something’? (Yogesh Sharma, Delhi)
When you ‘pull the plug’ on some event, you ensure that it does not take place; you use your authority to put a stop to it — by ordering people not to do it, by cutting off the required funds, etc.
Nandan wanted to open a new restaurant. But he had to pull the plug when the bank refused to lend him the money.
The new Vice-Chancellor pulled the plug on several programmes run by the university.
If someone in a hospital is on life support and you decide to ‘pull the plug on him’, it means you have given the doctors permission to switch off the machine — thus resulting in the death of the individual. No one is really sure about the origin of this expression. The only thing that experts are certain about is that the plug does not refer to the electrical plugs that we are all familiar with today. According to the Oxford Book of Idioms , the plug refers to “an older type of lavatory flush which operated by the pulling out of a plug to empty the contents of the pan into a waste pipe.”
The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk. — Joseph Joubert
The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com
