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