Monday, December 1, 2008

slang: bazillion meaning innumerable

She's got the capacity to eat a bazillion ice-creams together

25 comments:

dont forget your past life said...

Brusque: Rough in speech.

I don't like meena because she always answers to my question in one word which i am not satisfactory.So i think she is a brusque person.

Is it a correct sentence mam?

dont forget your past life said...

Foppish:one cares much about dressing and personality
Though banu is lazy she never forgets to look at her mirror in order to know whether she dressed well or not because she is a foppish girl.

nancy said...

hi
nice sentence
just have a look at "which I am not satisfactory"
it would be better if you say "which I don't find satisfying" or still better "which I find quite annoying"

after that you used the word "brusque" with the word "person"
the dictionary meaning of "brusque" is "using very few words in a way that seems rude" example
a brusque manner or style.
the next sentence can be changed to "Somehow I dislike her brusque way of speaking."

dont forget your past life said...

Thank you mam.
Mam when to use 'me' and when to use 'I' in a sentence.

Mam the word "Everyone" is a singular or plural.

nancy said...

'me' is used often as an 'object' in the sentence whereas 'I'
e.g. Geeta and I were talking about Akash and me.

the word 'everyone' is actually a pronoun taken as singular

Anonymous said...

Decapitate:Cut off one's head.
Decaptitate mr.shyam's head because he killed my daughter arrogantly.

Sharde said...

Perhaps saying 'decapitate' is enough, for it already includes cutting off the head! :-)
So: Decapitate Mr. Shyam's head because he killed my daughter arrogantly.

However, it is not a sentence that would find common usage in today's world.

a) Killing someone arrogantly is not an expression one uses for a real life situation. One can kill someone on an impulse, in the heat of the moment, on the spur of the moment, in a premeditated way, for revenge...

b) These days, decapitation is not a punishment that is used in the civilized world as a punishment, even for killing someone. Decapitation may have been used in the past in various societies, or even today in some tribal or primitive societies. However, one has to be careful even about naming a tribe or culture where decapitation is allegedly in vogue, unless one has doubly checked for the authenticity of such a claim.

c) Perhaps, one can use this word in the instance of an accident, where the head of the victim gets severed off.

Nancy, what say you?

nancy said...

Yeah Sharde the word "arrogantly" somewhat seems out of place.
what about the word "mercilessly"

Sharde said...

Thanks Nancy!

a) Mercilessly is so much better! I would still prefer 'brutally' though.

b) Perhaps a simpler 'beheaded' is not as anachronistic as decapitated!

c) Another context which occurred to me as an afterthought for the usage of decapitate, which is contemporary: the terrorist/hostage situation.

Examples:
i. The terrorist group released a video of one of the hostages being decapitated in the most brutal of ways, in order to drive home their demand for ransom.

ii. The pirates, who had hijacked the oil tanker off the coast of Somalia, decapitated half the crew in just three days, to put pressure on the owners of the shipping company to meet their demands expediently.

(Sorry about giving such macabre examples, but it is the question that begs the answer!) :-)

dont forget your past life said...

Thanks a lot.
Appal:
The Pakistan terrorists are in appalling situation due to pressure put by U.S.A and India against them.

Sharde said...

don't forget...:
Have the following to say:
a) Grammar: The Pakistan(i) terrorists are in AN appalling situation due to THE pressure put (ON is preferable) by USA and India against them.

b) Meaning: When someone is in a appalling situation, one is meant to sympathize with them. Appalling: causing dismay or horror. So, why would somebody feel horrible if the terrorists are in a horrible situation. Yes, you might argue that the situation is horrible FOR the terrorists, but that implies in a subtle way that you are feeling sorry for the terrorists because you find their situation appalling!!

c) A convenient place to check out meanings and usage (limited, but adequate) is www.dictionary.com . Just type the word in the field at the top and you have it! :-) NOW, if even after that something doesn't make sense or defies comprehension, then Nancy is our saviour!!

So, now can you try to frame the same sentence without using appalling? Secondly, can you try another sentence with appalling?

Cheers!

nancy said...

Sharde excellent logic and Laxmi thanks for adding life to the blog...

well, Appall implies to make someone feel very shocked and upset..
As Sharde says, maybe The USA and India are appalled to see the terrorists' indifferent attitude towards humanity.

dont forget your past life said...

Thanks mam and Sharde for correcting my mistakes and giving chances to frame again.

The India and USA put lot of pressure on the terrorists to stop terrorism.The terrorist are in great trouble as they will be attacked by air force at any time.

The Indians companies are in appalling situation due to the global economic crisis.

Sharde said...

Thanks for your encouraging words, Nancy! Appreciation is so hard to come by these days, that just a few crumbs of praise are enough to make one's heart sing!! :D

a) On the appalling sentence (hahahaha, pun unintended!!): The original sentence suggested by 'dont forget your past life' goes as: The Pakistan terrorists are in an appalling situation... and THIS is surely not talking about the US and India being appalled...

b) I am not appalled to see the terrorists' indifferent attitude towards humanity. Simply because I don't interpret it as indifference! However, that is quite another debate! WHY on earth do people resort to such extreme action: harming innocent people in such a brutal way? What makes the mind of a terrorist tick?

c) Who is Laxmi? In the first line of your comment you say ...and Laxmi thanks for adding life to the blog... Are there portions of the blog that I can't see? :-)

d) IMPORTANT: the label this post has is 'slang'. It perhaps started as that for bazillion, but we have surely moved away from that long back. Which brings me to another point: the newcomers to the blog would only look at the initial post (by you) and not necessarily look at the comments buried one layer deep. So is it possible to take these comments out of the 'well' and have them appear right along with the original post, so that the flow is clearly and transparently visible to the casual visitor?

e) Why are there so FEW visitors to this blog? I was under the impression that there were millions of 'fans' (hehehehehe) and loads of admirers who also wanted to improve their English!! Do you think we need to make special efforts to increase the visibility of this blog?

dont forget your past life said...

Cordial,fizzle,menace,tussle,hamper:

Few months back,India and pakistan worked to have a cordial relationship with each other.But the effort fizzled up due to the terrorist activities.The terrorists become a great menace to the India.The terrorist activity even hampers the growth of India.Indians should tussle against the terrorists.

nancy said...

Few months back,India and pakistan worked to have a cordial relationship with each other.But the effort fizzled up ("fizzled out" is better)due to the terrorist activities.The terrorists become a great menace to the (You don't have to use ARTICLE here) India.The terrorist activity even hampers the growth of India.Indians should tussle against (not against but for) the terrorists.

nancy said...

Sharde
1. I used the name Laxmi by mistake. You are not missing out on anything...
2. I tried changing the settings but the comments can't be displayed...
3. I am banking on you to promote my blog and its viewership and don't worry efforts are on...

Sharde said...

Nancy:

a) Thanks. That just means the compliment was meant for ME! wow! :-)

b)No problems about the comments not being visible any more prominently. Those who are destined to find them (read : those who are hungry enough for it! ) are bound to find them!

c) Heartening to know that efforts are on to promote this blog...Most of the channels I have for furthering this blog are all of a different ilk. They might be more interested in 'advanced' stuff!

Sharde said...

dont forget your past life:
I notice that these two sentences have somehow slipped through the cracks. So here goes:
a) The India and USA put lot of pressure on the terrorists to stop terrorism.The terrorist are in great trouble as they will be attacked by air force at any time.

My version: India and USA 'have' put a lot of pressure on the terrorists to stop their activities. The terrorists are in great trouble as they 'might' be attached by the air force (insufficient information: which air force, is there are joint Indo-US team for an air strike against terrorist camps etc.) at any time.

Alternative air force part: The terrorists are now in great trouble as India and US are contemplating air strikes against terrorists (or terrorist camps) in Pakistan.

b) The Indians companies are in appalling situation due to the global economic crisis.

My version: The INDIAN (no 's') companies are in AN appalling situation due to the global economic crisis.
Note: you can also omit the first THE, and begin the sentence with just : Indian companies are in an appalling situation....etc.

Dev said...

don't forget:
OOPS! The second sentence should read: The terrorists are in great trouble as they 'might' be ATTACKED (not attacHed) by the air force...
Sorry about that...H and K are just a key apart, but that is no excuse!!
Cheers!

dont forget your past life said...

Which one is correct? why?

You stay at school. (or) you stay in school.

nancy said...

It depends see the following:
We can't leave for Delhi,our son is still AT school.
IN my son's school, it's not allowed to leave before the bell rings.

Actually, my son remains IN school till 4:00 pm because it's a day boarding.

dont forget your past life said...

Is there any difference between abase,abash and abuse?

dont forget your past life said...

Exalt:

My boss exalted Mr.shyam for his amazing work on the "Development of Indian society".

nancy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.