10 English words used only by Indians since childhood days....
1. Mother Promise
For ages, you have always used this word without even knowing if it was a legit word, haven't you? So we decided to burst your bubble! While the word 'promise' features in the Oxford Dictionary, there's no mention of 'mother promise'. Surprised? Wondering how 'mother promise' came into being. It's the literal English translation of 'ma kasam' or 'aai shapath'. The next time you want to stand by something you really mean, try using just 'promise'. You don't really need to drag your mother into everything, do you?
2. Cousin sister and cousin brother
According to the Oxford Dictionary a 'cousin' is a child of one's uncle or aunt. And Grammar Nazis would insist that the word 'cousin' does not need to be followed with words like 'sister' or 'brother'. Did you know that 'cousin sister or cousin brother' are words used only in India. The right way is just to say 'cousin'. Wondering how you'd get to know their gender. Well, that's what names are for, aren't they?
3. Good name
When Indians meet strangers, why do they ask the question, 'What's your GOOD NAME?' Every parent or grandparent who has named the child, does it with a GOOD intention. So there's nothing bad about a name. The next time you meet a stranger, you could say 'What's your name?'
4. Revert back
Now this one's tricky! Because that's what you have been writing in e-mails, haven't you? Well according to The Free Dictionary 'revert' means 'to reply to someone'. Why use 'revert back' when you can just say 'revert'?
5. Rubber
In India the 'eraser' is also called 'rubber'! But in the rest of the world, 'rubber' is a slang for 'condom'. Now it makes sense why your relatives and friends in foreign countries complain that people there burst out laughing when they ask for a 'rubber' instead of an 'eraser'.
6. Picture
When was the last time you mentioned that you were going to 'watch a 'picture'?' No one really knows when 'picture' became synonymous with 'films' or 'movies' in India. According to the Oxford Dictionary, 'picture' means a drawing or painting. You could say 'I am going out to watch a movie or film'.
7. Mention not
Isn't it funny that every time someone thanks an Indian, they quickly turn around and say 'mention not'. We are still scratching our heads wondering how the word originated and what it means. There are plenty of ways you can accept someone's thanks.You can use any of the following:
You're welcome.
It's my pleasure.
That's alright.
No problem.
8. Pass out
How is it that every Indian graduating from college is passing out? Confused? Let's tell you the difference. When you are really drunk and become unconscious, you 'pass out'. But when you refer to a successful completion of a course or training, you use the word 'graduate'.
9. Cheatercock
We all have used this word in our childhood. Once, twice, thrice…we have lost count of the number of times we called someone a 'cheatercock'! But ever wondered what does the word mean? We are still wondering! According to the Oxford Dictionary, cheater is a person who acts dishonestly in order to gain advantage. Won't it be sufficient if we just said 'cheater'?
10. Would be
How would you introduce your fiance?
Amit: Hello uncle.
Uncle: Hello Amit.
Amit: Uncle, I would like to introduce you to my 'would be'.
Unfortunately Amit doesn't know that 'would be' means nothing. If you want to introduce your to-be bride then simply use 'fiance'. How easy is that!
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Ha! Hahahah! ...
English, the imperfect language.
Can’t resist! Here are some one-liners, two-liners, puns, jokes, whatever ... all for the love of the English Language, warts and all.
1. My best mates and I played a game of hide and seek. It went on for hours... Well, good friends are hard to find.
2. You’re not completely useless, you can always serve as a bad example.
3. I broke my finger last week.
On the other hand, I’m okay.
4. Someone stole my Microsoft Office and they’re gonna pay.
You have my Word.
5. On the other hand, you have different fingers
6. “Doctor, there's a patient on line 1 that says he's invisible". “Well, tell him I can't see him right now."
7. The first computer dates back to Adam and Eve. It was an Apple with limited memory, just one byte.
And then everything crashed.
8. eBay is so useless. I tried to look up lighters and all they had was 13,749 matches.
9. I can't believe I got fired from the calendar factory.
All I did was take a day off.
10. My boss is going to fire the employee with the worst posture.
I have a hunch, it might be me.
11. Don't spell part backwards.
It's a trap.
1 2. And the Lord said unto John, “Come forth and you will receive eternal life.”
But John came fifth, and he got a toaster.
13. What is the best thing about living in Switzerland? Well, the flag is a big plus.
14. Did you hear about the guy who got hit in the head with a can of soda? He was lucky it was a soft drink.
15. How did I escape Iraq?
Iran.
16. To the mathematicians who thought of the idea of zero, thanks for nothing!
17. Son: "Dad, can you tell me what a solar eclipse is?"
Dad: "No sun."
18. My boss told me to have a good day. So I went home.
19. My math teacher called me average. How mean!
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Amazing English
Many parts of the body can be used as verbs in either a physical or a metaphorical sense.
You can head a company,
but if things go wrong you'll have to shoulder the blame
or face your investors.
A good leader will back his employees,
but if you don't toe the line the management can skin you.
Did you muscle your way into that job?
You might eye someone suspiciously,
or wait for the police to finger a suspect.
But if you need to get out of town, you can thumb a ride
or you can ride with me if you can stomach the thought.
Use strong arm tactic if you want to elbow out someone.
I don't always sing along with the radio, but I sometimes do mouth the words.
(To all English-Language Lovers)
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Here’s a list of strenuous activities that does not require much physical effort.....
01) Beating around the bush...
02) Jumping to conclusions...
03) Climbing up the wall...
04) Swallowing your pride...
05) Passing the buck...
06) Throwing your weight around...
07) Dragging your heels...
08) Pushing your luck...
09) Making mountains out of molehills...
10) Hitting the nail on the head...
11) Wading through paperwork...
12) Bending over backwards...
13) Jumping on the bandwagon...
14) Balancing the books...
15) Running around in circles...
16) Eating crow...
17) Blowing your own horn/ trumpet...
18) Climbing the ladder of success...
19) Pulling out all the stops...
20) Adding fuel to the fire...
21) Opening a can of worms...
22) Putting your foot in your mouth...
23) Setting the ball rolling...
24) Going over the edge...
25) Picking up the pieces...
Whew! That is some workout! Now sit down and...
26) Exercise caution...!
😉
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