Know your English

IS IT O.K to say ``out of station''?

Phalguni V. Parekh, Vijayawada

I guess you could say that within India, it is more or less acceptable. It is very common to hear people in our country say:

Venkat couldn't come to the party because he was out of station.

Salim was out of station last week.

Neeraja and Ramanan will be out of station next week.

Native speakers of English, however, do not use this expression.

What is the meaning and origin of the expression ``soapbox orator''?

K. A. Seetharaman, Chennai

Nowadays, when soap manufacturers ship their products from one place to another, they pack them in strong cardboard boxes. In the old days, however, soap producers used wooden boxes instead of cardboard ones. As these wooden boxes were very strong, people began to use them in many different ways. Some used to place them on busy street corners, stand on them and give speeches to passers-by. The individual who stood on a soapbox and gave speeches to the people passing by came to be called a ``soapbox orator''.

A soapbox orator usually talked about things that interested him. The speeches themselves were referred to as ``soapbox oratory''. Here are a few examples:

*My boss was a well-known soapbox orator during his younger days.

*The soapbox orator ran when the crowd starting throwing stones at him.

*During the last elections, many of our leading politicians were reduced to soapbox orators.

The first ``o'' in ``orator'' is pronounced like the ``o'' in ``hot'', ``pot'', and ``cot''. The ``a'' in the second syllable and the final ``o'' are like the ``a'' in ``amount'', ``about'' and ``China''. The stress is on the first syllable.

Nowadays, anything that a soapbox orator uses to stand on in order to give his speech is called a ``soapbox''. It no longer needs to be a wooden box in which soap was packed. A ``soapbox orator'' is sometimes referred to as ``soapboxer''.

Can I use the word ``between'' with more than two things?

K. Pandian, Pudukkottai, T.N.

Normally, the word ``between'' is used when you are talking about two things or people. For example:

The two students divided the money between themselves.

The train service between Chennai and Madurai is excellent.

I had to choose between the two shirts.

When three or more things are involved, ``among'' is preferred.

The students shared the money among themselves.

The reporters talked among themselves.

Maureen tried to hide among the bushes.

It is however wrong to think that the word ``between'' cannot be used when three or more things are involved. ``Between'' can be used with three objects or more, provided we have a definite number in mind. We can use ``between'' with three or more objects/people, when (1) we see the objects/people as being clearly distinct from one another and (2) there are not too many objects/people involved.

Here are some examples.

It was an understanding between the Chief Ministers of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka.

Kasi and Nalini are planning to build a house between the three lakes.

Bala told me that Kerala is between Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and the Arabian Sea.

We decided to build our house between the woods, lake and the mountains.

What is the meaning of `` level playing field''?

K. Krishna Rao, Hyderabad

This is an expression, which is frequently used in the world of finance. When you give companies or countries, a ``level playing field'', you provide them an environment in which they are all given an equal opportunity to compete fairly. No company has an advantage over another. You ensure that each company/country has the same advantage/disadvantage as the others.

*If the tax systems are different in each Asian country, how can industries start on a level playing field?

*It's not a level playing field because one of our neighbouring countries is subsidising its steel industry with massive government grants.

*The industrialists asked the Minister to provide a level playing field.

***

``If an animal does something, we call it instinct; if we do the same thing for the same reason, we call it intelligence.'' - Will Cuppy.

S. UPENDRAN

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