“Nice to see you so relaxed. No office today, I suppose?”
“What gives you that idea? I’m waiting for Nishant to pick me up.”
“You’re going to the office dressed like that? You cannot be serious!”
“Relax, will you? It’s dress-down Friday. I don’t have to worry about...”
“Dress-down Friday? Does it mean the same thing as ‘casual Friday’?”
“Very good. That’s exactly what it means. Many companies across the world observe dress-down Friday. The management allows its employees to be dressed informally. This is supposed to create a relaxed atmosphere in the office.”
“Mayank says he hates casual Fridays. He finds it difficult to decide what to wear.”
“Jaya, on the other hand, loves dress-down Fridays. She comes wearing something new every Friday.”
“That sounds like Jaya! Can I use your laptop for a few minutes? I need...”
“Sorry. My neighbour’s son was using it yesterday. I don’t know what he did, but the computer is royally messed up.”
“Royally? Is it okay to say that something is ‘royally messed up’? I’ve never...”
“The word ‘royally’ is frequently used in informal contexts to mean utterly. You...”
“I see. So, what you’re saying is that your computer is badly or completely messed up.”
“That’s right! The word ‘royally’ is used to emphasise something. The Minister’s explanation as to why he had to increase taxes left me royally confused.”
“So, here you’re talking about how terribly confused you were. How about this example? I was royally frustrated by Anita’s inability to make up her mind.”
“That’s a good example. But remember, this use of the word ‘royally’ is limited to...”
“It’s limited to informal contexts. I know! You’ve already said it. Why do you always insist in repeating yourself? I mean...”
“It’s ‘insist on’ and not ‘in’. One always insists on something. I insist on doing the job myself.”
“John insisted on paying the bill. How does that sound?”
“Sounds good. It’s also possible to say, John insisted that he pay the bill.”
“I see. The children insisted on taking the dog to the beach.”
“The children insisted that we take the dog to the beach. Now then, can we...Excuse me, while I take this call.”
“Who was it?”
“Nishant. He can’t pick me up because there’s something wrong with his car.”
“And there’s something wrong with yours. What are you going to do? How are you going....”
“Getting to the office shouldn’t be a problem. At this time of the morning, I should be able to flag down an auto rickshaw or ....”
“Flag down? What does it mean?”
“To signal the driver of a vehicle to stop. We usually do this...”
“We usually wave to the driver. The students tried to flag down the bus.”
“We succeeded in flagging down a taxi. We were able to reach the station in time for the train.”
“I think you’ll have a hard time flagging down an auto today.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Because they’re all on strike!”
* * *
Life is like a taxi. The metre keeps ticking whether you are getting somewhere or standing still. — Lou Erickson
Email: upendrankye@gmail.com
