Know your English

What is the difference between ‘long for’ and ‘long to’? (Paramjeet Singh, Patiala)

You usually ‘long for’ someone or something. The expression is mostly used to mean to desire or pine for the individual or thing. The use of the phrasal verb suggests that your wish is unlikely to come true in the immediate future. ‘Long to’ is always used with things. One always ‘longs to do something’ — meaning, one has a great desire to do it.

The children are longing to meet Sachin and Kohli.
Sneha and her friends are longing to go to America.
I’m longing for a hot cup of coffee.
Bala says that he’s longing for good company.

What is the meaning and origin of ‘in the offing’? (N Dharamraj, Vellore)

When you say that something is in the offing, what you are suggesting is that it is likely to happen in the near future; chances are, it will happen soon.

My boss says that major changes are in the offing.
I heard that there’s a wedding in the offing.

‘Offing’ has nothing to do with ‘off’ and ‘on’. The word, in fact, occurs only in this expression; it does no occur independently in other any other context. ‘Offing’ refers to the horizon; it refers to the distant part of the sea that can be seen from the shore. The original meaning of ‘in the offing’ was ‘in the distant future’. Over a period of time, however, the meaning changed to something that will happen soon.

How is the word ‘foible’ pronounced? (S Vimala, Chennai)

The first syllable ‘foi’ rhymes with ‘boy’, ‘toy’ and ‘joy’, while ‘ble’ sounds like the ‘ble’ in ‘trouble’, ‘bubble’ and ‘double’. The word is pronounced ‘FOY-bl’ with the stress on the first syllable. It is normally used to refer to a very minor flaw or weakness in an individual; usually, in his character or behaviour. For example, a person may at times behave in an eccentric manner. His friends may find his odd behaviour mildly irritating or they may find it endearing! A foible is usually harmless.

Most of the students admired the Principal despite her foibles.
For this relationship to work, we need to put up with each other’s foibles.

The word comes from the world of fencing — sword fighting. The ‘foible’ is the weakest part of the sword — from the middle of the sword to the tip. The strongest part — from the middle to the hilt — is called ‘forte’.

Is it okay to say, ‘The students were living in a dreadful condition’? (N Aravind, Salem)

Though such sentences are frequently heard in our country, they are not grammatically acceptable. The word ‘condition’ is not normally used when you are attempting to describe the situation or environment in which a person lives or works. In such contexts, ‘conditions’ is the preferred word. One usually talks about ‘living conditions’ and ‘working conditions’. Since the word ‘conditions’ is used, we say ‘dreadful conditions’ and not ‘a dreadful conditions’.

The living conditions in the city are getting worse.
How do you manage to get any work done in such terrible conditions?

Courtesy: the hindu

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