“I ran into your new colleague at the bank. She said she loves her new job.”
“That’s not surprising at all! Shalini’s been with us only for a couple of days. So, right now, I’m sure everything is peachy.”
“Everything is peachy? I guess it means things are fine.”
“It doesn’t mean just fine. When you say things are ‘peachy’, it means things are excellent or wonderful. This informal expression is mostly used in American English.”
“I see. So, when somebody asks me, ‘How’s life?’, can I say, ‘Peachy’?”
“If things are great, you certainly can. So, what are you planning ...”
“Shalini also said she had to quit her previous job because people were jealous about her success. Apparently, she worked really hard ...”
“Please change the topic. I don’t wish to talk about anything related to work.”
“Let’s talk about you, then! Are your colleagues jealous about your ability to ...”
“People are not ‘jealous about’ something, they are usually ‘jealous of’ something. For example, there’s no need to be jealous of Priya’s good looks.”
“When I was young, I used to be jealous of my brother’s popularity.”
“As you grow older, you realise that you don’t need to be jealous of anyone.”
“That’s true. So, did you have dinner at the new restaurant yesterday?”
“Yes, I did. I went there with ...”
“What did you think of the place? Wasn’t the food just great?”
“The food was great all right. But the service was downright bad.”
“Downright bad? Are you trying to say that the service was terrible?”
“That’s right! The word ‘downright’ is frequently used before a noun to mean ‘completely’ or ‘absolutely’. It is mostly used to emphasise how bad or how terrible something is.”
“I see. The working conditions in some of the local factories are downright unhealthy.”
“The way some of our politicians behave in Parliament ... it’s a downright disgrace.”
“Talking about politicians, did you hear what our local MP said this morning? He said that women should not be allowed to run in tomorrow’s marathon.”
“That’s downright stupid. Somebody should tell that man not to talk to the press. Every time he opens his mouth, he shoots himself in the foot.”
“I’ve never heard that expression before. What does it mean?”
“When someone shoots himself in the foot, he says or does something really silly. And in the process, makes life difficult for himself.”
“It’s actually other people who make life difficult for the individual, right? They make fun of him by constantly reminding him of the silly thing he said or did.”
“That’s true. Here’s an example. The person we just interviewed doesn’t have the required qualification or experience. If you hire her as your PA, you’ll be shooting yourself in the foot.”
“Ranjan thinks he has a good sense of humour. But every time he tries to say something witty, he shoots himself in the foot.”
“The Vice Chancellor shot herself in the foot by suggesting that cell phones should be banned in all educational institutions.”
“I’m sure the students didn’t like that one bit.”
******
“The other night I ate at a real nice family restaurant. Every table had an argument going.” — George Carlin
upendrankye@gmail.com
