Know Your English (April 2001)

Know your English

Is it OK to say ``parapet wall''?

The dictionary defines ``parapet'' as a ``low wall at the edge of a high roof, bridge, etc''. Since the word ``parapet'' means a wall of some kind, you needn't say ``parapet wall''. But you do hear a lot of people saying exactly that. What do you do? As the Beatles would say, ``Let it be, let it be''!
When someone says ``Would you mind repeating what you just said?'', should the reply be ``Not at all''? (S. S. Saravanan, Madurai)
Well, it depends on what you mean. If you don't mind repeating what you have just said, then the reply ``Not at all'' is correct. If, on the other hand, you say ``Yes'', it implies, ``Yes, I do mind repeating what I just said''. Many non-native speakers of English have problems with such questions. When someone asks them ``Would you mind moving over?'', they respond by saying ``Yes'' and then move over. But by saying, ``Yes'', what they are actually saying is, ``Yes, I do mind moving over''.


Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, April 17, 2001