Know your English

suresh · Post by **suresh** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:16 am

On and off, we see discussions about whether a particular usage is correct and so on.
The recent one that springs to my mind is the one about an unusual but correct use of "sick".
I thought that we could use this thread to channel such discussions and in the process
improve our English.

suresh · Post by **suresh** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 10:27 am

I will start off with pointing out the difference between lose and loose -- people
err in using one for the other when they mean totally different things!

Meaning in uppercase followed by a sample sentence (source: Cambridge Adv. Learners Dictionary)

lose:
NOT HAVE: At least 600 staff will lose their jobs if the firm closes.
BE DEFEATED: If we lose this game, we're out of the championship.

loose:
NOT FIXED: There were some loose wires hanging out of the wall.
NOT TIGHT: Wear comfortable, loose clothing to your exercise class.
NOT EXACT: It's a fairly loose adaptation of the novel.
IMMORAL: a loose woman

Post by **jayakris** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 12:30 pm

... and there is that devil of a word -- "even" .. Misused by Indians (and only Indians)

I am sure sandeep can explain what I am talking about.

Jay

gvhvhg · Post by **gvhvhg** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 2:46 pm

Even I am thinking this is a useful thread

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:41 pm

Even I am thinking this is a useful thread

Even I too

Good thread, I get tons of doubts when I type and I am going to be a frequent poster here . Suresh, if no one responds atleast you should

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:45 pm

Here is the first one: -

In tennis I have seen lot of players and members here using the word "go for a broke" . Isn't "go for the break" right way to say it? Isn't "broke" a past tense?

Post by **jayakris** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:50 pm

"Go for broke" (no "a" in there) is the usage, I believe. It is a general usage - nothing to do with tennis or breaks.

The way I have understood that is that you are "throwing caution to the winds and doing it, even if you may be left totally broke (money-wise) in the end"

Jay

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 4:53 pm

Hmm, I never knew that! Thanks Jay. So then what is the meaning of
Sania's "go for broke" on every ball ? I know we use it to describe her way of going for winners on every ball, but broke is used more to indicate loss of money or something like that right? May be as u said it is just a usage.

suresh · Post by **suresh** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:22 pm

Sandeep,

The phrase "going for broke" must have come from gambling. In poker, when a person
is going for broke, it implies that he/she has put all his/her money into the pot and could
potentially lose it all. So you could say, Sania's going for broke on every ball when
she is trying to hit downright winners. It kind of captures the mentality of a person at
that instant in time. I think it is commonly used in American English. I discovered that
there was a TV movie titled Going for Broke that appeared in 2003.

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 5:55 pm

Hmm, thanks Suresh. Now I know what "going for broke" mean! It is very easy to understand the meaning of the word if its root (the gambling thing you mentioned) is explained.

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:03 pm

"Go for broke" is one of the sports cliches that writers tend to use. There are several other sports cliches, and here are some that come to mind. Overuse of cliches can become annoying also.

- It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game (often used by the losing team/coach/fans)

- Silenced the crowd

- Took something off that one (used in tennis (serve) or baseball (pitching)

- Blew him away

- The game is on the line

- Got the stuffing beat out of him (e.g., Indian cricket team's defeat in the 3rd test in Pakistan)

- He/She always gives 110 percent

- Kick some butt

- Take the crowd out of the game

- His mouth is writing checks his body can't cash (I love this one, and it basically means "all talk and no action")

- It's in the bag

puneets · Post by **puneets** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:09 pm

Some more :

- draw first blood

- It's a nail-biter

- hitting on all cylinders.

- It's time to move on

- The game is not over till the last ball is bowled.

- Catches win matches

- He has the X-factor

- Records are meant to be broken

- One for the books

Sandeep · Post by **Sandeep** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:24 pm

hitting on all cylinders.

Hitting or firing?

BSharma · Post by **BSharma** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 6:27 pm

Overuse of cliches can become annoying also.

Many cricket writers said that the Indo-Pak test series will be a David versus Goliath affair, especially since several Indian batsmen have ice water in their veins and Pakistan was the dark horse. Many Sports-India forum members predicted that the series was in the bag for the Indian team and it would be fun to watch the Indian players kick some butts. Dravid and Sehwag did knock the cover off the ball initially, although Sachin seemed to have lost a step. The Pakistani team felt that they could only contain Sehwag and Dhoni but not stop them. The third test rolled in and the Indian team got mugged. The Pakistani batsmen knocked the Indian bowlers out of the park, and the Pakistani bowlers delivered the knockout blow when Dravid and Sehwag could not buy any runs to start the second innings. I tried to console Sandeep today that it’s not whether you win or lose, it’s how you play the game.

It's time to move on.

India1989 · Post by **India1989** » Wed Feb 01, 2006 9:29 pm

Some nice discussions going on here. Really good.Trying to improve you language is pretty good. It will help us in long run. I do a lot of mistakes.

Before i used to be confused between "Their and there", "Where and were". But now i am absolutely clear.

In Canada one thing annoys me a lot.

All these people say this.
"I don't know nothing"

That's completely different from what they mean.

I think some people know what i am talking about.