“I was walking towards the supermarket when a car... Tell me, is it ‘walking towards something’ or ‘toward something’? Which is correct?”
“Both are acceptable. Depends on which side of the Atlantic you’re from. The British prefer ‘towards’. The Americans use ‘toward’.”
“I see. How about this example? I saw Jai running towards/toward the swings.”
“Sounds fine. What are you doing here? Didn’t you say you were going to be busy making arrangements for this evening’s party?
“I’ve been doing the donkey’s work since seven this morning. Avinash is doing it now.”
“I see. By the way, the expression donkey work is...”
Drudgery
“I know that the expression donkey’s work means to do the most boring part of a job. You work really hard to get the work done and you...”
“That’s right! But it’s not ‘donkey’s work’ but ‘donkey work’.”
“Are you sure? A lot of people I know say ‘donkey’s work’.”
“That’s true. Many people in our country say that. But native speakers of English say ‘donkey work’. The expression is mostly used in informal contexts in British English. For example, the managers usually get the assistants to do all the donkey work.”
“We need to find a good spinner who will do the donkey work.”
“That’s a good example. Other than doing donkey work, what else have you been up to?”
“Nothing much, actually. Last night, I had some fun watching a horror film with my sister.”
“You watched a horror film with Nalini? The poor thing hates horror films. She must have jumped out of her skin every time there was a scream or...”
“Jumped out of her skin? Does it mean to be scared about something?”
“The expression ‘jump out of one’s skin’ is mostly used in informal contexts. It means to be startled. Something happens that scares, shocks or surprises you.”
“My mother jumps out of her skin every time the phone rings in the middle of the night.”
“That’s pretty common. It’s also possible to use ‘almost’ and ‘nearly’ with this expression. Devaki nearly jumped out of her skin when the firecracker exploded right next to her.”
“I’m sure the sound is still ringing in her ears. The young robbers almost jumped out their skin when they saw a police van parked in front of their house.”
“That’s not surprising. Seeing my Principal’s car parked in front of my house made me jump out of my skin. So, how is your job hunt coming along? Anything promising?”
Bare minimum
“Two of the start-up companies offered a job. But the pay package wasn’t attractive.”
“And you aren’t willing to work for anyone for just peanuts, I suppose?”
“For peanuts? Does it mean for a very low salary?”
“Very good. When you say that you’re working for peanuts, what you’re suggesting is that you’re not making much money. Your salary isn’t particularly good. My boss quit last week. She said that she was sick and tired of working for peanuts.”
“The producer had to renegotiate Devi’s contract because after being in the field for five years, she refused to work for peanuts.”
“The word ‘peanuts’ can be used with things as well. For example, I bought these pants on sale. They cost me peanuts.”
“He spent two million dollars on the apartment. For a billionaire, two million is peanuts.”
“That’s true. If only I had that kind of money!”
The author teaches at the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. upendrankye@gmail.com
