What is the difference between a ‘bookworm’ and a ‘voracious reader’? (B Krishnaveni, Chennai) The first vowel and the final ‘iou’ in ‘voracious’ are pronounced like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. The ‘ra’ is pronounced like the word ‘ray’, and the ‘c’ that follows is like the ‘sh’ in ‘ship’ and ‘sheep’. The word is pronounced ‘ve-RAY-shes’ with the stress on the second syllable. It comes from the Latin ‘vorax’ meaning ‘greedy, ravenous’. When you say that someone is a voracious reader, you mean he is excessively eager to read books. He devours or consumes them rather quickly. A ‘bookworm’ is someone who reads or studies a lot. Unlike the term ‘voracious reader’, however, ‘bookworm’ at times carries with it a negative connotation. A student who is a bookworm sits with his books all the time; he may not take part in any other activity. The word also suggests that the individual may not always understand what he is reading.
My uncle Albert is a voracious reader of fiction.
The bookworm decided not to help his friends.
What is the origin of the word ‘dude’? (S. Kanchana, Hyderabad) The word was not coined by African Americans in the mid-twentieth century, as many people think. In 18th century England, ‘dude’ had a negative connotation. It was used to refer to a man who spent a lot of time in front of a mirror fussing over his clothes. When the word crossed the Atlantic and went to America, it was used to refer to a ‘suited and booted’ city dweller who went to spend time on a ranch. It was only in the 1960s that the word acquired its current meaning — man. Some people believe the word is a shortening of ‘doodle’ in ‘Yankee Doodle’.
How is ‘persona non grata’ pronounced? (Siddu Meti, Bagalkot) The ‘e’ in the first syllable of ‘persona’ and the ‘a’ in the final syllable are pronounced like the ‘a’ in ‘china’. The following syllable is pronounced like the word ‘so’. The word is pronounced ‘pe-SO-ne’. The ‘o’ in ‘non’ sounds like the ‘o’ in ‘hot’, ‘pot’ and ‘cot’, and the first ‘a’ in ‘grata’ is pronounced like the ‘a’ in ‘path’, ‘bath’ and ‘dark’. The expression is pronounced ‘pe-SO-ne non GRAA-te’ with the main stress on the first syllable of ‘grata’. The expression was originally used in government circles, and it literally means ‘person not acceptable’. When a government of particular country declares someone to be ‘persona non grata’, what it is saying is that the individual is not welcome to that country — he will not be permitted to enter. The expression can also be used in everyday contexts as well.
The Ambassador was declared to be persona non grata. He was ordered to leave India in 24 hours.
From the way everyone avoided me, it was fairly obvious I was persona non grata.
Is it okay to say ‘bed tea’? (K Jayanthi, Bengaluru) The early morning tea or coffee that some individuals have in bed is sometimes referred to as ‘bed tea’ and ‘bed coffee’. Dictionaries that include these compound words label them as being ‘Indian’. Native speakers of English do not use these terms. They talk about ‘having coffee/tea in bed’.
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I never drink coffee at lunch. I find it keeps me awake for the afternoon. — Ronald Reagan
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