Don’t carry coals to Newcastle

What is the meaning of ‘flagship’ in ‘flagship product’? (NR Raghuram, Hyderabad)

When a company refers to one of its products as its ‘flagship product’, what it means is that it is its most important product. Perhaps it is a product that sells the most or one that is regarded very highly by the public. The word ‘flagship’ is frequently used with other nouns as well — people often talk about ‘flagship store’, ‘flagship programme’, ‘flagship course’, and so on.

The MNC is rather keen to launch its flagship products in India.

My boss always refers to this building as the company’s flagship building.

The word ‘flagship’ was first used in the navy to refer to the most important ship in a squadron — it was usually the one the Admiral was sailing in. The importance of the ship was indicated by the type of flag that was flown on it.

What is the difference between ‘authoritative’ and ‘authoritarian’? (R Vrinda, Chennai)

The word ‘authoritarian’ has a negative connotation. When you say that someone is rather ‘authoritarian’, what you are suggesting is that he is like a dictator — there is no room for discussion, people have to do what he tells them to. It is his way or the highway! He is someone who is unreasonable. The word ‘authoritative’, on the other hand, has several different meanings. An ‘authoritative’ person can be very strict, but unlike someone who is authoritarian, he is not unreasonable. He cares about others and is willing to listen to their point of view and may even compromise. He is a highly competent and confident individual who is capable of making the right decision. ‘Authoritative’ has a much more positive meaning than ‘authoritarian’.

In the 1950s and 1960s, most parents were authoritarian.

The General’s authoritative manner instilled confidence in the soldiers.

How is the word ‘Wednesday’ pronounced? (R Kulkarni, Pune)

For native speakers of English, the word consists of two syllables and not three. The first ‘d’ is silent — it is not pronounced. The ‘wedne’ is pronounced like the word ‘when’ and the following ‘s’ sounds like the ‘z’ in ‘zip’ and ‘zoo’. The final syllable is pronounced like the word ‘day’. Some people, however, pronounce the final ‘ay’ like the ‘i’ in ‘dip’ and ‘sip’. The word can be pronounced ‘WENZ-day’ or ‘WENZ-di’.

What is the meaning and origin of ‘carry coals to Newcastle’? (K. Bakthavatchalam, Guduvanchery)

The idiom has been around for over 500 years; it is, however, not frequently heard nowadays. When you ‘carry’ or ‘take coals to Newcastle’, you are doing something that is totally unnecessary. You are taking or giving something to someone which he does not really need — perhaps, he already has a lot of it.

Giving Kohli a bat on his birthday is like carrying coals to Newcastle.

Washing the car while it’s pouring is like taking coals to Newcastle.

The ‘Newcastle’ in the expression refers to a city in England. In the past, it was famous for its coal mines — coal from this region was shipped to other parts of England. Therefore, when you carry coals to Newcastle, you are merely wasting your energy — you are taking something that the place does not really require.

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We must believe in luck. For how else can we explain the success of those we don’t like? Jean Cocteau

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