“Karthik was telling my father yesterday that he’s planning to start his own business.”
“Karthik and business? I don’t think he has the smarts to run a business.”
“The smarts? Are you saying that he’s not smart enough to run a business?”
“In informal contexts, the word ‘smarts’ is used to mean intelligence. Especially the kind of intelligence you require to handle a difficult situation.”
“The average Indian politician has the smarts to wriggle out of any tricky situation.”
“My uncle believes that if my boss had any smarts, he would make me a manager soon.”
“You are lucky to have such an uncle. Mine thinks I don’t have the smarts to graduate.”
“Ouch! This must be your uncle in Florida. How is he doing by the way?”
“He is doing okay. Hurricane Irma damaged his house quite badly.”
“What else do you expect from a war goddess. I’m sure she...”
“War goddess? What are you talking about?”
“Irma is actually the name of a war goddess. She’s always...”
“Like any war goddess, this hurricane destroyed quite a few things in its path. Could you please explain me how the word...”
“How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not ‘explain me’, but ‘explain to me’? Could you please explain to me how to solve this problem?”
“I explained to John why he shouldn’t spend money on a new cell phone.”
“Or you could also say, I explained why he shouldn’t spend money on a new cell phone.”
“The principal explained why the teachers were going on strike. Now, could you tell me how h..u..n..k..e..r is pronounced?”
“The first syllable rhymes with ‘skunk’, ‘bunk’ and ‘sunk’. Why do you ask?”
“When I was reading about the storm in Florida, most reports said that people had to hunker down. I was wondering...”
Taking refuge
“The word ‘hunker’ is mostly used in American English in informal contexts to mean to squat. When you ‘hunker down’, you sit on your heels with your knees bent.”
“Like a wicket keeper, you mean?”
“I guess you could say that. The expression has another meaning as well. When you ‘hunker down’, you settle down. You make yourself as comfortable as possible because you have a long wait ahead of you.”
“Since the situation you’re in is a difficult or a dangerous one, you’re taking refuge.”
“Exactly! A few weeks ago, the people in Miami hunkered down for a storm.”
“During the riots in the city, we hunkered down in our neighbour’s house.”
“That’s a good example. Reporters hunkered down in the park opposite the actor’s house.”
“My uncle and his family hunkered down in a school near their house. They’ve shifted to an apartment since... Tell me, does one ‘shift’ or ‘move’ to a new house?”
“We Indians generally use ‘shift’. But native speakers prefer ‘move’. I’m planning to move into a bigger apartment next year.”
“How about this example? My father thinks our colony has become very crowded. He wants to move house.”
“God bless your father!”
* * * * *
Marriage is like a deck of cards. At first, all you need is two hearts and a diamond. By the end, you wish you had a club and a spade. Unknown
The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com
