Know Your English (Dec 2001)-8

Know your English

What is the meaning of ``shell-shocked''?

This is probably how the people of Afghanistan felt a couple of weeks ago. The word ``shell'' refers to bombs. How would you feel if you lived in a city, which was being constantly bombed? I guess you would go through a lot of emotions — confusion, anger, etc. When you say that someone is shell-shocked what you are implying is that the difficult experience, which the individual has undergone recently has left him confused and anxious. Here are a few examples.

*I think Aparna is a little shell-shocked after the final exam.

*Vinita felt shell-shocked after coping with the boisterous twins all day.

*The shell-shocked investors trooped in silently.

* * * * *

"The average Ph.D. thesis is nothing but a transference of bones from one graveyard to another." — J. Frank Dobie

Source:

The Hindu daily, Tuesday, Dec 18, 2001

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The Imperial Camel Corps

The Imperial Camel Corps was a brigade-sized military formation that fought for the Allies in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign of World War I. After being evacuated to Egypt following the failure of the Gallipoli Campaign, Allied troops looking to suppress a tribal rebellion in the west formed four companies of camel-mounted infantry. The units were so successful that 14 more camel companies were eventually formed. What advantages did the camel companies have over horse-mounted cavalry units? More... Discuss

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This Day in History

Last French Troops Leave Syria (1946)

Though France proclaimed Syria an independent republic in 1941, its troops were not withdrawn until 1946, after over 25 years of occupation. The occupation began in 1920, when the League of Nations gave the French a mandate over the Levant States—roughly present-day Syria and Lebanon. Within years, the Syrian resistance to French colonial rule became a full-scale revolt. A 1936 treaty promised Syrian independence, but it did not come to fruition. What finally brought about the occupation's end? More... Discuss

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Today's Birthday

Artur Schnabel (1882)

Schnabel was an Austrian-American pianist best known for his interpretations of Beethoven's piano works. Based in Berlin from 1900 to 1933, he composed, taught, and gave legendary performances of the complete sonatas of Beethoven and Schubert for centenary celebrations. In the 1930s, he became the first to record the complete Beethoven cycle. During the Nazi period, he moved to London, then to the US. Though his own compositions are less known, they are revered by serious pianists. Why? More... Discuss

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Quote of the Day

All violence, all that is dreary and repels, is not power, but the absence of power.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
(1803-1882) Discuss

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Play bristle discuss
Definition:	(verb) Rise up as in fear.
Synonyms:	uprise, stand up
Usage:	The creaking of the house at night makes the hair on the nape of my neck bristle.

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