Know Your English
"What a surprise! You're actually
listening to old Hindi
songs. What..."
"The songs on this CD are
very slow. They make me feel
depressed."
"Here, let me play you something
peppy."
"Peppy? What are you talking
about? What does it
mean?"
"What do you think it
means?"
"I said the songs were pretty
depressing, and you said
that you would play something
peppy. Does `peppy' mean
`lively'?"
"Wonderful! That's exactly
what it means. When you describe
a song as being peppy,
what you mean is that it has a
lively beat. It makes you feel
energetic."
"I see. Can the word be
used with people as well?"
"It certainly can. A person
who is `peppy' is lively and full
of energy. For example, this
year we should invite someone
who is peppy."
"The word peppy, by the
way, is mostly used in informal
contexts. Now then, do
you want to listen to some
peppy Hindi songs?"
"Later. Right now, I'd like
you to tell me..."
"Maybe I should use some
strong-arm tactics to get you
to listen."
"Strong-arm tactics?"
"When you resort to strong
arm-tactics, you force someone
into doing something."
"How? Do you threaten the
person?"
"That's one way of doing
it."
"Listen, if you want to reclaim
your property, you'll
have to resort to strong-arm
tactics."
"According to this article,
the Chief Minister has been
resorting to strong-arm
methods."
"That's to be expected, isn't
it? Now then, how about..."
"Now then, do I have to use
strong-arm methods to get
you to listen to some peppy
songs?"
"I'm in no mood to listen
to old songs right now. Later
perhaps. Tell me how is
`m..i..n..g..y' pronounced?"
"The `i' and the `y' are like
the `i' in `it' and `bit', and the
`g' sounds like the `j' in `jam'
and `juice'."
"The stress is probably on
the first syllable."
"Very good! Do you know
what the word means?"
"Haven't a clue."
"It is an informal word
which is a combination of
`mean' and `stingy'. When
you say..."
"When you say that someone
is `mingy', what you
mean is that he is mean and
stingy."
"Exactly! You want to
know why your friend didn't
lend you the money? It's because
he's mingy."
"How about this example?
There's no point in asking
him. He's mingy."
"You can't be mingy. The
money is going to be used for
the upkeep of the old
building."
"Upkeep? Does it mean
maintenance?"
"That's right! Here's another
example. The old man
has left a lot of money in his
will for the upkeep of his
estate."
"Who is responsible for the
upkeep of the local parks?"
"I have no idea. The government
is probably being
mingy with their funds. It
explains why the parks are in
such poor condition."
"You have a point there.
Now then, how about playing
some peppy songs?"
"Thought you'd never ask."
* * * 
