Figure It Out

UNUSUAL USAGE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE

REBUS: A Rebus is a representation of a word, a phrase or a sentence by pictures and symbols. For example, if we write

[a] I have to Paid
------------- because ----------,
Work I am

Means ‘I have to overwork because I am underpaid’.

[b] Stool he fell stool

Means ‘He fell between stools’

[c] 0
-----------
B.A.
B.Sc
B.E.
Ph.d
Means ‘Four degrees below zero’.

[d] Fault: Husband B Wife: Fault
-----------
Quarrel
Means ‘Be above quarrel between husband and wife: Fault on either side.

PALINDROME: A Palindrome is generally defined as a word or phrase that reads the same both forward and backwards. However, the definition goes much deeper and covers sentences also where word is used as a unit. The most common example of a palindromic word is ‘MALAYALAM’ which reads the same both forward and backwards.
In a Palindromic contest sponsored by the New Statesman Magazine in England in 1967, the following palindromic entry got the First Prize:
‘ GIRL, BATHING ON BIKINI, EYEING BOY, FINDS BOY, EYEING BIKINI
ON BATHING GIRL’
In this Palindrome the word is used a unit.

LIMERICK: A Limerick is a poetic composition in English which consists of 5 lines. The 1st, 2nd and 5th lines are long and rhyme with each other while the 3rd and 4th are shorter and rhyme with each other. As regards the origin of Limerick, it is learnt that it was an old form of French poetry brought to an Irish town called ‘Limerick’ in 1700 A.D. .by soldiers returning to Ireland from France. Some examples:


.

[a] There was a student by name Essar
Whose knowledge got lesser and lesser
It at last grew so small
He knew nothing at all
And now he is a college professor.

[b] There was a young wife who begot
Three husky boys—Nat, Pat and Tat
They all yelled for milk
And a problem ensued
When there was no Tit for Tat

[c] The bottle of perfume that Willie sent
Was highly displeasing to Millicent
Her thanks were so cold
That they quarreled over
Through that silly scent Willie sent Millicent.

IRISH BULL: An Irish Bull is a ludicrous blunder of language committed in a hurry to arrive at a speedy conclusion. Example:
A town had a disastrous fire which could not be controlled because the fireplugs were frozen. The City Council met to take measures to prevent a recurrence of the catastrophe. After hours of hot debate, one member jumped to his feet and shouted
“I move that the fireplugs be tested thoroughly three days before every fire”. In a flash, another member seconded the motion and the resolution was passed

ANAPHORA: Anaphora is the repetition of a sentence or part of it with echoic variation so as to emphasise a point. The following exhortation made by Winston Churchill to the British soldiers is an example:
“We shall fight on the beaches; we shall fight on the landing grounds; we shall fight in the streets; we shall fight in the hills”

REVERSE ENGLISH:

1. When a girl says “You are going too far” she means you are getting too closer.

2. Copyright is what takes away the right to copy.

3. Flammable means the same as inflammable. Valuable means the same as invaluable.

B.M.N.Murthy





ARTICLE NO. 433--Unusual Usage of English Language
Created:Friday, February 22, 2008 8:32 PM