All Them Idioms!

  • Play by Ear

    Submitted by sorabh on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 22:37
    When I first heard this phrase (that was yesterday, when I finally downloaded and watched the movie ... oops ... the brilliant Korean movie, "In Mood For Love" ... recommended vehemently by Parle urf Prateek Mehta), I thought that probably a word was missing. Grammatically, it should have been, "Play by the ear", no? I thought may be the subtitles guy had got it wrong ...

    A little bit of etymology research revealed that the phrase was first spoken in the Shakespearean era ... and I would rather not talk about the grammatical ways of those times. So, "Play by ear" it is!

    The phrase holds a similar meaning to the phrase, "Cross the bridge when it comes" ... as in, act impromptu as per the situation's demands ...

    Neat, methinks! Next time someone asks me about my plans regarding whatever, I would probably be blahing, "Hmmm ... no plans ... I'll play by ear ... " ... and then show-off at length about my love for idioms/figures-of-speech ... :P

  • Sidestep A Few Landmines!

    Submitted by sorabh on Mon, 09/05/2011 - 13:12
    A lovely collection of words ... borrowed from another masterpiece of a movie, "A Few Good Men" ... Well, I won't say much about the movie here (will save it for a better day), but this phrase was used by Col. Markinson to inform Cruise how Jack could have easily manipulated a few official airbase-records to work in his favor ...

    It took a little while, but now this phrase is a core part of my general parlance. I have used it at least thrice in the last one week, in official conversations! Something like, you know, "Hey ... nor worries on that red-tape ... we can sidestep those landmines ..."! Cheeky, no?! :P

  • Like A Fart In The Wind

    Submitted by sorabh on Sun, 09/04/2011 - 00:37
    I was watching the amazing Shawshank Redemption today (one of the few Englisss movies I can completely comprehend without the use of subtitles!), and Warden Norton used this cheeky little idiom/simile (or whatever) when he realized that Andy's dug a hole in the wall (or the elegantly sexy Raquel, should I say?) and left for good ...

    "He's disappeared like a fart in the wind!"

    Khee khee!! Good one, isn't it!?

Previous 5 Posts

If You Love Football ...
After a long time, Sari and me farted on the sidelines of the footer field. Those were the days ...!

The Brilliance of Life Continues
If there's one thing I value the most in life, it's my health. If there's one thing that I can devote completely to, it's sports. The last week or so has been the most demanding, most torturous collection of days in recent times - all because of the amount of physical activities I am taking my body through. Life is so good!

Few Reasons Why I Miss Bangalore
I will never understand why people like Bangalore so much ... probably it's those people who are well settled in some North Indian residential society, with a secure IT job, and a weather to kill for. For random products like me, Bangalore was faaaaar from satiating ... it wasn't even close to pleasing. However, there were a few things ... things that helped me sustain/tolerate Bangalore for 3 years (almost).

Indian Merchandising - Those Apes!
Merchandizing, in India, is still in the concept stage - and a few bodies who are trying to execute their strategies are getting it all wrong - as it seems to me. I use this post to vent my vehement frustrations on how our sports bodies have stopped thinking much about how to approach the entire merchandising concept.

Cracked! This Is What Women Want
While the world's been wondering on what women really want in life, I have it all figured out over here! And whom do I have to thank for this ...? A typical, normal, stinking street dog! I think street dogs are amazing ... they live life on their own terms, sleep when they have to, wherever they want to, and roam around like lions on the streets at nights. Plus, the have some weird cute quotient that extracts all those "oohs" and "wowwwws" from the women.

My Current Fav. Number!

Mere Bina - Nikhil D'Souza - Crook
(before you read on, listen to this song here ... opens in a new window).

Emraan Hashmi (exactly one day younger to me in life ... 24th March 1979 - 23rd March 1979) seems to get all the wonderful songs of this era - well almost. It's not co-incidental, though ... he literally works for the Bhatt banner, and the Bhatt banner keeps it simple with its films: thriller scripts woven by an erotic thread, and different-plus-good music (original or whatever) ...
(read more)

Idiots Love Idioms!

Play by Ear

Submitted by sorabh on Mon, 09/12/2011 - 22:37
When I first heard this phrase (that was yesterday, when I finally downloaded and watched the movie ... oops ... the brilliant Korean movie, "In Mood For Love" ... recommended vehemently by Parle urf Prateek Mehta), I thought that probably a word was missing. Grammatically, it should have been, "Play by the ear", no? I thought may be the subtitles guy had got it wrong ...

A little bit of etymology research revealed that the phrase was first spoken in the Shakespearean era ... and I would rather not talk about the grammatical ways of those times. So, "Play by ear" it is!

The phrase holds a similar meaning to the phrase, "Cross the bridge when it comes" ... as in, act impromptu as per the situation's demands ...

Neat, methinks! Next time someone asks me about my plans regarding whatever, I would probably be blahing, "Hmmm ... no plans ... I'll play by ear ... " ... and then show-off at length about my love for idioms/figures-of-speech ... :P

(see all the idioms cherry picked by me)!