Know your English

How is the word ‘pirouette’ pronounced?

(C Dhanalaxmi, Madurai)

There are several ways of pronouncing the word. One way is to pronounce the ‘i’ in the first syllable like the ‘i’ in ‘pit’, ‘hit’ and ‘sit’, and the following ‘ou’ like the ‘u’ in ‘full’, ‘pull’ and ‘bull’. The first ‘e’ is pronounced like the ‘e’ in ‘set’, ‘bet’ and ‘met’, and the final vowel is silent. The word is pronounced ‘pi-ru-ET’ with the stress on the final syllable. Some people pronounce the final syllable like the word ‘wet’. ‘Pirouette’ comes from the French ‘pirouet’ meaning ‘spinning top’. The word is mostly used in the context of ballet dancing. When a dancer ‘pirouettes’, she stands on one leg — usually on her toes — and spins around very quickly.

*The aging dancer had problems executing pirouettes.

Is it okay to say: We’ve bought a new house. Our new premises is on MG Road?

(C Durga, Chennai)

No, it is not. We Indians tend to use the word ‘premises’ quite frequently in our everyday conversation to refer to the house or apartment we live in. It is not uncommon to hear a person refer to his one bedroom apartment as his ‘premises’. Native speakers mostly use this word in legal contexts or when they are referring to commercial property. Also, ‘premises’ is a plural noun and is always followed by a plural verb.

*The company’s new premises are located on MG Road.

*The premises are not big enough for what we have in mind.

What is the difference between ‘hideout’ and ‘hideaway’?

(S Jayaraman, Kodaikanal)

Both refer to a place a person goes to in order to get away from others. The word ‘hideout’ has a negative connotation; it is used to refer to a safe hiding place someone uses to escape the long arm of the law. In our old movies, a bandit’s usual hideout was a cave. A ‘hideaway’, on the other hand, is a place that someone goes to in order to get away from it all — from people, problems, etc. It’s a secret place that an individual voluntarily goes to in order to relax or unwind.

*The police found the robber’s hideout in a matter of hours.

*The star visits the Ashram in summer. It’s his hideaway.

What is the meaning of ‘dog years’ in the following sentence? “Hollywood marriages are counted in dog years.”

(G Prashant, Pune)

As we all know, most animals do not live as long as human beings. One year in a dog’s life is not the same as a year in the life of a human being. Dogs age faster, and according to dog experts, the first two years in a dog’s life are equivalent to ten and a half ‘human years’. After that, every ‘dog year’ is equivalent to four human years. Others claim that one ‘dog year’ is equivalent to seven human years. When you say that Hollywood marriages should be counted in dog years, what you are suggesting is that the number of years the stars have been married, should be multiplied by seven. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Movie stars fall in love quickly, get married quickly, and get divorced quickly.

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“The trouble with me is that every match I play against five opponents — umpire, crowd, ball boys, court and myself.” — Goran Ivanisevic