“Is it true you’re planning to buy Mr. Sharma’s old car?”
“Wow, news travels fast. It’s true that I went to see the car, but I haven’t decided yet.”
“My father thinks you shouldn’t buy the car. He said ...”
“But why? What is ...”
“You know my father. He doesn’t really go into details. He merely said that you should keep your distance from Mr. Sharma. What was the expression he used? At an arm’s length! That’s it. He said that you should keep Mr. Sharma at an arm’s length.”
“Really? By the way, it’s ‘at arm’s length’, and not ‘at an arm’s length’. My new neighbour doesn’t talk to anyone in the building. He keeps everyone at arm’s length.”
“How about this example? Once he became a Minister, Madan kept all his friends at arm’s length.”
“Sounds good. But I think it should be the other way around. Once someone decides to become a politician, his friends should keep him at arm’s length.”
“Good idea. Heard your boss played a lot of golf instead of tennis during the break. Is he planning to play the game regularly now?”
“I’m not really sure about that. I think the jury is still out on that one.”
“The jury is still out? What are you talking about?”
“When you say that the jury is still out on something, it means no decision has been made or taken. The expression can be used with people as well.”
“I see. So the person who has to take a decision about someone or something hasn’t made up his mind. Everything is up in the air.”
“I guess you could say that. For example, we have decided on the eleven we want to hire. But the jury is still out on Jyothi.”
“Meaning the people on your team are not sure whether they want to hire her or not! How about this example? I think the jury is still out on whether nuclear energy is safe.”
“Not in India, it isn’t. Most people don’t want anything to do with it. Heard your parents might be going abroad for the summer. Is it true?”
“I think the jury is still out on that one. My mother wants to, but my father isn’t so keen. Doesn’t like the idea of spending three months with mom’s relatives.”
“Just like Anil’s father! You know ...”
“Talking about Anil. Have you heard from him recently?”
“Don’t expect to for a while. He’s gone technocamping.”
“Technocamping! What kind of camping is that?”
“It’s when you decide to take a break from everything digital. You go off to a place where you can’t access your email. Your cell phone has no signal, and ...”
“Good grief! How can one live without a cell phone?”
“There are lots of people who manage to live without a cell phone. I think it’s good to go technocamping once in while.”
“I would say that the jury is still out on that one. The only time I experienced what you call ‘technocamping’ was when I visited my grandfather’s village. It wasn’t fun at all.”
******
“TV and the internet are good because they keep stupid people from spending too much time out in the public.” — Douglas Coupland
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