Are you a firecracker?

Why are the English sometimes called ‘limeys’? (L. Jayanth, Madurai)

Now that we have the Ashes series taking place Down Under, we may hear this word being used by some angry spectator. During the early days of sailing, when people went on long voyages, scurvy was a common problem among sailors. When the British discovered in the mid-19th century that the disease was caused by a lack of vitamin C, the navy made it mandatory for its sailors to drink lime juice every day. When sailors from other countries came to know about this, they started teasing their British counterpart by calling him ‘lime juicer’. With passage of time, this was reduced to ‘limeys’ and it began to be used to refer to anyone from Britain — not just a sailor. The word is considered offensive and therefore should be used with caution.

What is the difference between ‘coax’ and ‘cajole’? (SK Chitra, Mysore)

‘Coax’ rhymes with ‘jokes’, ‘pokes’ and ‘chokes’. The ‘a’ in ‘cajole’ is like the ‘a’ in ‘china’ and the second syllable rhymes with ‘pole’, ‘mole’ and ‘hole’. The word is pronounced ‘ke-JOLE’ with the stress on the second syllable. When you ‘coax’ or ‘cajole’ someone into doing something, you persuade them into doing it. Coaxing suggests that you are being gentle and kind in getting the person to do what you want him to — you are displaying a tremendous amount of patience to achieve this. Most parents, for example, coax their children to eat by telling them stories or by playing games with them. This meaning of ‘coax’ is shared by ‘cajole’ as well. When you ‘cajole’ someone, you persuade him to do something. But the word carries with it a negative connotation as well; it also suggests that you are resorting to false promises and excessive flattery to get the individual to do what you want him to. In other words, when you ‘cajole’ someone into doing something, you trick him into doing it. This subtle distinction in meaning is not always maintained nowadays — not even in British English.

The teachers coaxed the students into calling off the strike.

We tried to cajole them into selling their old car.

Is it okay to say, ‘It all depends on if you’re willing to pay more’? (J. Sandhya, Chennai)

Books on usage suggest that the expression ‘it depends on’ should be followed by ‘whether’ and not ‘if’.

We don’t know yet. It depends on whether we get the tickets or not.

Malini hasn’t filed a case as yet. It depends on whether the company takes action against her boss.

What is the meaning of ‘firecracker’ in ‘She’s a firecracker’? (S. Mishra, Nagpur)

In India, we usually use the word ‘firecracker’ to refer to the bombs we burst at the time of Deepavali; we seldom use the word with people. Native speakers of English, however, frequently use ‘firecracker’ to refer to high-spirited women — women who are not afraid to speak their mind and often do so for the sake of those who are afraid to. The word can also be used to refer to something or someone who is very exciting or attractive.

Sheetal may be in her 60s, but she’s still a firecracker.

Narender’s new play is being hailed as a literary firecracker.

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Perfection is what American women expect to find in their husbands.... but English women only hope to find in their butlers. — Somerset Maugham

The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com