Know Your English (Jan2001)

Know your English

``HAPPY NEW Year!''

``A Happy New Year to you too. You don't look too good. What's wrong? Too much dancing last night?''
``Not really. I stayed awake till 5:00 in the morning. That's all.''
``You look terrible. Go into the drawing room and take a load off your feet.''
``What load are you talking about? I don't have anything on my feet!''
``When someone says, `get a load off your feet', it means they want you to sit down and relax.''
``I see. But didn't you say, `take' a load off your feet the first time?''
``That's right. You can either say, `take a load off your feet', or `get a load off your feet'. Both are acceptable.''
``So, can I tell someone, `Come on in, and take a load off your feet'?''
``You certainly can. Here's another example. Get a load off your feet and have a drink.''
``A drink! That's nice. What is it that you are offering?''
``Nothing actually. That was just an example.''
``You are such a lousy host. Anyway, what did you do during the Christmas break?''
``Nothing much actually. Just let the grass grow under my feet.''
``Just let the grass grow under your feet? What does that mean?''
``It means that I didn't do anything. I just....''
``....didn't do anything, eh? Sounds like you all right. Geetha is the only person I know who doesn't let the grass grow under her feet.''
``Most people I know who work in Government offices let the grass grow under their feet.''
``Isn't that what people working in Government Departments are supposed to do? That's one of their basic requirements, isn't it? Many of my cousins think that I let the grass grow under my feet. Anand keeps telling me this all the time.''
``How is Anand doing by the way? Does he like the new job?''
``He is still finding his feet.''
``Finding his feet! Has he lost them? Ha! Ha!''
``Ha! Ha! The expression `to find....''
``....I know what the expression `to find one's feet' means.''
``You do?''
``Of course, I do. It means getting used to a new situation. Am I right?''
``Absolutely. When I joined the company, my boss said that I would need time to learn about how the company works. He said that I would find my feet gradually.''
``When my cousin went to the States, she was miserable. But when she called us up last week, she said that she was finally beginning to find her feet.''
``That usually happens to people who push off to the States. First, they hate the place. Later, they fall in love with it and they don't want to come back home.''
``That's true.''
``Here's another example. When my cousin Gayathri was made the Principal of her college, she was all at sea. Now, she is slowly finding her feet.''
``Your cousin Gayathri? Isn't she an actress?''
``No, that's my cousin Ambika. Gayathri is the one who wrote a couple of plays.''
``Does she still write....?''
``....I don't think so. The last one she wrote, the audience voted with its feet.''
``Another expression with feet? What does it mean?''
``When you `vote with your feet', you show your displeasure about something by walking out. You ....''
``....in other words, if you don't like something, you just get up and walk.''
``That's right. When the superstar's latest movie was released, a lot of people voted with their feet. Many walked out after the first half an hour.''
``When the Chairman began to talk about his new proposal, many of the shareholders voted with their feet.''
``That's a very good example. Most women do not like the new detergent that we have come up with. They are voting with their feet.''
``The next time a politician visits our constituency, we should vote with our feet.''
``That's a good idea. Hey, do you want to help me clean the garage? It will be fun.''
``Well, since you have used so many expressions using the word `feet', I have only one thing to say.''
``What's that?''
``My foot!''
``We are sorry to announce that Mr. Albert Brown has been quite unwell, owing to his recent death, and is taking a short holiday to recover.'' - Parish Magazine


Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, January 02, 2001