Know your English
"HI, COME on in. Did you get a cake from your neighbour this morning?"
"A cake from my neighbour? Why should she give me a cake?""Today is Christmas, that's why! Doesn't she usually give you a nice big cake?"
"Yeah, she does. But this year, she's celebrating Christmas in Goa. A family get-together or something."
"That's nice. But is that the reason you're looking so grumpy? The fact that you didn't get a Christmas cake?"
"No, I am not angry about that. I am angry with your friend Sujatha. We had another one of our fights."
"You and Sujatha fighting again! Nothing new in that, I suppose. What was the fight about? Was it about some silly movie?"
"No, it was about the word `handsome'?"
"The word `handsome', eh? What did she do? Did she insult you by calling you `handsome'?"
"Even if I were the last man on earth she would never call me that and you know it. No, the argument was over whether a woman could be called `handsome'. I said that the word handsome could be used only with men. She argued that a woman could be called handsome as well. So, tell me. Is she right? Or am I right?"
"She is, actually."
"What? You mean I can tell someone that Shanti is a handsome woman."
"Well, I wouldn't use the word handsome with a young girl like Shanti. You see, mature women can be called `handsome', not young girls."
"I see. So when you call a woman handsome are you implying that she is manly?"
"No, no! Handsome does not mean manly. When you refer to a woman as being handsome, what you are implying is that her features are fairly large and regular rather than pretty and delicate. She is...."
"....in other words, she is not much to look at."
"On the contrary, she is very pleasant to look at. The famous Swedish actress Greta Garbo was often referred to as being `breathtakingly handsome'."
"So a woman who is fairly well-built, has big eyes and a big nose is more likely to be called `handsome' rather than pretty?"
"You know what they say, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder."
"That's true. The next time I see Sujatha I have to tell her that she was right. I hate doing that. Tell me, what have you been up to?"
"Oh, nothing much actually. I have been trying to psych my new boss out.''
"Psych your new boss out? What are you talking about?"
"The expression has several different meanings. One of the meanings of `psych someone out' is to try and figure the person out."
"In other words, you try and understand the person. How his mind works. Is that what you are saying?"
"Exactly! Here's an example. No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't psych Janaki out. She's a bit...."
"...I don't think anyone can psych her out. How about this example? The bowler tried to psych out Tendulkar, but he...."
"....Tendulkar probably smashed the next three balls to the fence. Don't try and psych me out. I am an enigma."
"You are anything but an enigma. Anyway, tell me what are the other meanings of psych out?"
"When you psych out about something, you become very excited about it. You may even lose control over your ability to think. For example, when Janani heard that Hrithik Roshan was coming over to her place, she psyched out."
"When the students came to know that Sachin was to be the chief guest at the Annual Sports Day event, they all psyched out."
"But later when the students came to know that it was going to be the Chief Minister and not Sachin who was going to be the chief guest, everyone was disappointed. No one psyched out."
"That is to be expected, I guess. My father psyched out when he saw last month's telephone bill.''
"Pretty high, eh?"
"Very high! By the way, you have the expression `psych out'. Do you have the expression `psych in' as well?"
"No, we don't have `psych in', but we do have `psych up'."
"What does it mean?"
"When you psych someone up, you get them mentally prepared to do something. It..."
"....you mean like taking a test or something?"
"Yes, that's right. It could be a test. It could be taking part in some event. Or it..."
"....OK, I think I understand. How about this example? We have an excellent coach. Before every game he psyches us up."
"It's always a good idea to psych players up before an important game."
"Our Indian cricketers seldom look psyched up when they enter the field."
``I don't even want to talk about those guys. Here's another example. The psyched up musicians were waiting for the curtains to go up."
"Savitri is psyching herself up for tomorrow's interview."
"Savitri has been called for an interview? That's nice to know. I am sure that if she gets the job, her parents will be so happy that they will psych out."
"She will get the job provided the interviewers are unable to psych her out in the twenty minutes she is with them."
"You have a point there."
"Success is like dealing with your kid or teaching your wife to drive. Sooner or later you'll end up in the police station." — Fred Allen
Source:
The Hindu daily, Tuesday, Dec 25, 2001
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