Vocabulary

These two words are very similar some of the time, but can also be very different.

current is an adjective that means “belonging to the present time, happening now”, for example:

• I like to follow current events.
• My current job will end next year.

It also means “in common or general use”: (more…)

In these times of apparent worldwide economic gloom and despair emanating from the collapse of the USA’s financial system, you may have heard reference on TV or elsewhere to the R word. What on earth is the R word?

Sometimes it is difficult for people to accept facts.  At such times, there may be certain words that people don’t like to say. If they need to express that word, they may use the first letter only, and hope that everyone else understands. It also suggests, and this is done partly in humour, that the word is a bad, “dirty” or otherwise offensive word.

So just what is the R word? (more…)

Is there a difference between optimum and optimal?

As adjectives, they have the same meaning: best; most favourable; most conducive to a good result

They both come from the Latin optimus, meaning “best”.

Look at these examples:

• What is the optimum/optimal childbearing age?
• We need to find the optimal/optimum solution.
• In our case, the optimum/optimal investment would produce a modest return at no risk.

Optimum can also be a noun, while optimal has two derivatives:

• optimally (adverb)
• optimality (noun)

Let’s try to understand the difference between these two words.

practical (adjective): useful and suitable for a particular purpose

• I love your kitchen. It’s really practical. Everything is in the right place, and at the right height.

practicable (adjective):  able to be done; can be put into practice

• Your idea about making a new car park is not practicable. There is not enough space.

Note that there are a few other meanings for “practical”.

People are often unsure about the difference between these two words. Indeed, they are very close in meaning.

to presume something (verb):  to believe something to be true, but without being 100% sure

• I presume you’ll come to my party. (I’ll be surprised if you don’t come, but I’ll accept your decision.)

to assume something (verb):  to take something for granted, to believe it without question

• I assume you’ll come to my party. (I expect to see you at my party. I will want to know why if you don’t come.)

Today we will look at two different terms: “near miss” and “cause”. We will use a short video to understand their meanings.

In the video you will see Muntazer al-Zaidi, an Iraqi journalist, throwing both his shoes at the US president, George Bush Jnr. The journalist throws his shoes quite accurately, but the shoes don’t hit Mr Bush. They “miss” him, but only just. In fact, they nearly hit his head. So we can describe the incident as a “near miss”. When two aircraft nearly hit each other, that is also a near miss.

Now let us turn to Mr Bush’s reaction afterwards (you can read the full transcript below). Mr Bush says that he doesn’t know “what the guy’s cause is”. In this context, the word “cause” means “a principle or movement that you believe in deeply and are prepared to defend or promote”. For example: Mother Teresa of Calcutta devoted her life to the cause of poor and sick people. Muntazer al-Zaidi’s cause is the widows and orphans and everyone killed in Iraq as a result of the US-led invasion of Iraq.

Al-Zaidi (translated): This is a goodbye kiss from the Iraqi people, dog. This is for the widows and orphans and all those killed in Iraq.

Bush: So what if the guy threw a shoe at me? … Er, it is one way to gain attention. Er, it’s like going to a political rally and having people yell at you. It’s like driving down the street and have [having] people not gesturing with all five fingers. It’s a way for people to draw, you know, attention…I dunno what the guy’s cause is, but one thing is for certain, he caused you to ask me a question about him.

People often confuse these two abbreviations.

e.g. means “for example”. (It comes from the Latin exempli gratia “for the sake of an example”.)

• Some foods are good for us to eat (e.g. fruit, fish, vegetables). Other foods are bad, or should be eaten in moderation (e.g. fatty foods, foods with additives, sugary foods).

i.e. means “that is”. (It comes from the Latin id est “that is”.)

• Not surprisingly, the closest planet to the sun (i.e. Mercury)  has the most extreme temperature variations in the solar system.

When we use e.g. we simply offer some examples or suggestions among many. When we use i.e. we say exactly what we are talking about.

Note that you will often see them written without full stops or periods, thus: eg and ie

Also note that “that is to say” means the same as “that is”.

Read lyrics below

Quantum of WHAT?! Even the director of the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace hated the title at first. “I was like, ‘Quantum of Solace’, what’s that about?” Marc Forster told a group of journalists in New York. Explaining that the title came from an original short story by Ian Fleming (creator of James Bond), Forster added: “At the beginning it took me a little while to get used to it. But it kind of grew on me.”

quantum (noun): 1. a share; a portion 2. [scientific] a discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude to the frequency of the radiation it represents

• Each man has only a quantum of compassion.

solace (noun): consolation or comfort at a time of sadness or distress

• She seeks solace in religion.

On the face of it, the title means something like “Share of Comfort” or “Portion of Compassion”, but since I believe the storyline of the movie involves an appropriately green plot I suspect that there may be some play on words—specifically the word “quantum”.

Quantum of solace
From what I’ve been told
Holds the key to your heart
And the keys to your soul
Wherever you hide it
There won’t be a safe place
Once I reach for your heart
That’s what you have to face
Till I find the answer
I’ll search every space
Reach into the dark
Reach into your heart
Your time is upon you
Accept it with grace
For you’re gonna need
Me to find
A quantum of solace

If you find the answer
Right here in my face
I must be prepared
I’ve sealed my fate
I’ll find the answer
I’ll search every space
Reach into the dark
And into your heart
Your time is upon you
Accept it with grace
For you’re gonna need
Me to find
A quantum of solace

Wherever you hide it
There won’t be a safe place
Once I reach for your heart
That’s what you have to face
To find the answer
I’ll search every space
Reach into the dark
And into your heart

The time is upon you
Accept it with grace
For you’re gonna need
Me to find
A quantum of solace

NB: this is not the official Bond song for this movie

You may have seen those scary headlines in financial papers, or on TV: “Markets nosedive”

What does “nosedive” mean? These two pictures should make it clear. The first one shows an aircraft nosediving. The second one is a chart of a stock that opened at $90 at 9am and then nosedived between 3pm and 4pm to finish at $30.

If you haven’t yet heard about TARP, you probably will do any day soon. TARP is the US government’s “Troubled Asset Relief Program”—a $700,000,000,000 slush fund for Hank and Co. to bail out their buddies on Wall Street and throughout the US banking sector. It’s not just in the USA that this kind of organized crime has taken root. It’s all the rage from London to Sydney too. But what is particularly striking about Hank’s little plan is the clever title he gave it, incorporating the term “troubled asset”. In my absolute ignorance, I always thought that a troubled asset was a liability.

• asset (noun): a thing owned by a person or company, considered as having value and which can be used to pay debts
• liability (noun): a thing for which a person or company is responsible, especially a debt or financial obligation

“When words lose their meaning, people lose their freedom.” - Confucius