Ads 468x60px

Pages

Know Your English (May 2001)

Know your English

WHAT IS the meaning of ``apple polishing''?

It means ``flattery''. Believe it or not, this is an expression which owes its origin to the practice followed by school children. What is it that people do in order to win the approval of their superiors? They either give them gifts or flatter them. Some school going children did the same thing in order to be in the teacher's good books. These kids took apples to school and polished them till they gleamed. Then they presented them to the class teacher! They hoped that by doing this, the teacher would overlook their poor performance in class and instead give them good marks.
* Vani's apple-polishing didn't get her anywhere.
* Apple-polishing is something that my boss detests.
* People who indulge in apple-polishing are called ``apple polishers''.
* Venkat, the apple polisher, doesn't know how silly he looks.
* Jaya's apple polishers surrounded her as soon as she stepped out of her car.
* When he ran out of money the apple polishers left him.
Do not use this word in formal contexts. It is considered slang.

Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, May 01, 2001
Posted by Sridevi. V, M.A

0 comments:

Post a Comment


Hello Friends ! Please send your requests,comments,suggestions to improve this blog. Learn English Grammar & Usage; Are U Anxious To Know The Science & Tech News; Where Are You ? Know The Changes; Health:News N Tips
Word of the Day

off-licence discuss

Definition:(noun) A store that sells alcoholic beverages for consumption elsewhere.
Synonyms:liquor store, package store
Usage:He went into an off-licence to buy a bottle of cider.
Article of the Day

The Shrine of the Book

The Shrine of the Book is the wing of Jerusalem's Israel Museum that houses the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of ancient documents found between 1947 and 1956 in caves on the Dead Sea's northwest shore, at Qumran. Funded by the family of David Samuel Gottesman, a philanthropist who purchased the scrolls as a gift to Israel, the shrine features an unusual white dome that covers an underground structure. How does the museum ensure that the fragile scrolls survive the rigors of being displayed? More... Discuss

This Day in History

Buchenwald Concentration Camp Liberated by American Troops (1945)

Buchenwald was one of the first and largest concentration camps in Nazi Germany. As US forces closed in on the camp near the end of WWII, the Nazis began evacuating its prisoners, forcing them on "death marches" during which an estimated 13,500 were killed. On April 9, inmates at the camp used a makeshift radio transmitter to inform the Allies about the evacuations and beg for help. What did the prisoners do when they received word that the Americans were coming to liberate them? More... Discuss
Today's Birthday

Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. (1862)

Hughes was an American statesman and jurist. He served as governor of New York and as a Supreme Court justice before losing the 1916 presidential race, one of the closest in US history. It has been reported that, on the night of the election, Hughes went to bed believing he had won. According to the story, a reporter later called and was told that "the president is asleep," to which he responded, "When he wakes up, tell him he isn't the president." What did Hughes do after losing the election? More... Discuss

In the News

Quote of the Day
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion.
Francis Bacon
(1561-1626) Discuss

Spelling Bee
difficulty level:
score: -
n. The protoplasm outside the nucleus of a cell
 
spell the word:
Match Up
Select word:










Match each word in the left column with its synonym on the right. When finished, click Answer to see the results. Good luck!