Know your English

WHAT IS the meaning and origin of the expression ``by hook or by crook''? - (C. Janardan Reddy, Hyderabad)

When you say that you are going to do something 'by hook or by crook', it means you are going to do it come what may. In other words, you are determined to do it, whether it is legal or not. The expression is considered to be rather old fashioned. Here are a few examples.

*Whenever you give him a task, he gets it done by hook or by crook.

*I have a deadline to meet. I'll meet it by hook or by crook.

*I want that car. I am going to get it by hook or by crook.

The origin: In medieval Britain, tenants were allowed to collect firewood from trees located on their landlord's property. To protect the trees and to ensure that they were not chopped down indiscriminately, there was a law which was strictly enforced. People were allowed to cut down only those branches which they could reach. The tenants were not allowed to climb up the trees and chop off any of the branches at the top. To reach the branches that were high up, people started using ``hooks'' and ``crooks''. (Necessity is the mother of invention, they say!).

We all know what a ``hook'' is, but what is a crook? It is a long stick; the kind with a curved handle which shepherds used to carry in the old days. People used the hooks and crooks to pull down the higher branches and chop them down. They got the branches by hook or by crook! Things have changed a lot since those days, haven't they? Nowadays people chop down trees by hook or by crook.

What is the meaning of ``faux pas''? How is the word pronounced? - (Vidyavathi, Kurnool)

First, let's deal with the pronunciation. The ``faux'' sounds like the word `foe', and the ``a'' in the second word is pronounced like the ``a'' in ``bath'', ``path'', and ``calf''. The final ``s'' is silent. The main stress is usually on ``pas''. A 'faux pas' is an embarrassing mistake that one makes in a social context. Here are a few examples.

*It was Mohan's first party as Ambassador; he was afraid of committing a faux pas.

*Our Chairman is famous for his faux pas.

*He went through the ceremony without making any faux pas.

*By the way, the plural of faux pas is faux pas.

What is the difference between ``kidnap'' and ``hijack''? - (C. G. Mallaiah, Hospet)

When you kidnap people you take them away against their wishes. It is an unlawful act and it is usually, though not always, done in order to get money. You can walk into someone's house and kidnap his wife or children. Here are a few examples.

*The gunmen kidnapped the children.

*They were planning to kidnap the millionaire's wife.

The word I understand comes from ``kid nabbing''. The ``kid'' here refers to a baby goat. And ``nab'', as you know, means, ``to steal''.

The original `kidnabbing' referred to the stealing of kids-baby goats!

Hijacking, on the other hand, involves the taking over of a vehicle. It could be a plane, car, ship, etc. You cannot walk into someone's house and `hijack' him/her.

*Three men carrying pistols hijacked the plane.

*Carjacking is quite common in America.

Can the word ``milk'' be used as a verb? - (W. Ghela, Chennai)

Yes, it can. When you milk someone for something, you get as much money as you can from that person. Similarly, when you 'milk' a situation or place, you take advantage of the situation or place in a very determined sort of way. You try and make as much profit as you can, without really worrying about the methods you have resorted to.

*The lawyer was milking his rich clients.

*Many schools have started milking parents for extra money.

``I am my father's second son.'' What is the question that one needs to ask to get this as the reply. - (Jaya Meera, Velachery, Chennai)

This is a question that can be asked quite easily in most Indian languages. Native speakers of English, however, do not have an idiomatic way of asking this question. It is possible to ask this question indirectly - ``How many elder brothers do you have?'' Some have suggested that you ask, ``What number son are you?'' While one could possibly get away with such a question in speech, it would be considered unacceptable in formal contexts. Perhaps native speakers of English are not interested in knowing whether you are your father's third or fourth child.

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``We apologize for the error in last week's paper in which we stated that Mr. Arnold Dogbody was a 'defective' in the police force. We meant, of course, that Mr. Dogbody is a detective in the police farce.'' - (Correction Notice in the Ely Standard, a British newspaper).

S. UPENDRAN

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