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VOCAB

a.  Meaning of words (literal/figurative/contextual)

Literal Meaning (basic meaning)

It means the very common, basic and widely understood meaning of a word or phrase.

Example : All plants need light and water. (vegetable, organisms – trees, bushes, herbs, etc)

Note that here the word plant does not refer to any Factory, machinery or a member of criminal group which are all the meanings to be understood only through contexts.

Contextual meaning (meaning determined by context)

A context refers to the words, phrases or passages that come before and after a particular word or passage in a speech on piece of writing and help to explain its full meaning. So contextual meaning is the meaning understood with reference to other words coming before and after the given word. A certain word, when used in a piece of text, usually denotes only one meaning out of multiple meanings it carries. In other words, the context determines which meaning of the word should be considered. Let’s see some examples where the meaning determined by contexts are given in brackets:

Mine

1. Your pen is on the table. Where is mine ? (my pen)

2. Every year many workers die in Chines mines? (holes under the ground where minerals are dug)

3. Now we have various sources of information and knowledge. Internet is really a mine. (great source) The meaning here is both contextual and figurative.

4. Many people were killed when the mine was exploded. (landmine=hidden explosive device which explodes when touched or moved over)

Speaker :

1. Mandela was a brilliant public speaker. (a person who makes a public speech, arator)

2. I heard someone speaking nervously. So, I looked around to see who the speaker was. (a person who was speaking)

3. Chinese has the most speakers in the world. (those speaking the particular language)

4. SuvashNemwang was the speaker of the first constituent Assembly. (chairman of the assembly/parliament)

5. The speaker did not work so we had to find another auditorium for the concert. (loudspeaker)

Figurative meaning (non-literal meaning)

Words in literal expressions denote what they mean according to common or dictionary usage but the words in figurative expression cannot additional layers of meaning. Figurative expression convey the indirect meanings which are much different from their literal meanings. In other words, they give symbolical meanings. So, figurative expressions should be interpreted at a deeper level.

Example-1

Yellow press :The phrase does not give the literal meaning; that the press which is in yellow color. On the contrary, it conveys the meaning of the news papers which publish sensational and unscrupulous stories about crime, sex etc

Example-2

In the same boat: The phrase does not convey the literal meaning. It has the figurative meaning that in the same misfortune or circumstances.

Example-3

Black money :This phrase doesn’t mean the money that is black in colour but the money that was earned unofficially and illegally.

SOME FIGURATIVE EXPRESSIONS, ALL BEGINNING WITH ‘D’.

1.   Dagger : To be at daggers drawn – to be deadly enemies

2.   Dead : A dead letter-something which no longer exists. (To step into dead men’s shoes – to come into an inheritance, to succeed someone who died)

3.   Devil : To give the devil his due – give a person credit for his good qualities however worthless he may be.

4.   Dog : To be a dog in the manger – to prevent others from using what one can not use oneself, to selfish

Every dog has his day – sooner or later, everyone has his share of good furtune.

5.   Door : To darken one’s door – to pay a visit to one’s house.

6.   Dust : To throw dust in one’s eyes – to try to deceive someone.

7.   Dutch courage – bravery induced by alcoholic liquors.

b.  Use of Words Phrases ( Literal, Contextual and Figurative)

The meanings of the words/phrases are given :

Ø  A narrow escape – The boy had a narrow escape from drowning. (saved himself with difficulty)

Ø  Acoustics – The acoustics in the new opera-house are near perfect. (Sound system: used in plural)

Ø  Add fuel to the fire – The widow was wailing on the death of her husband and the pinching words of her neighbor added fuel to the fire. ( intensified the passion)

Ø  Aggression – The research shows that computer games may cause aggression. (angry or violent behavior)

Ø  At any rate – I must purchase a motor cycle at any rate. (at any cost)

Ø  At the eleventh hour – They called a doctor at the eleventh hour. (at the last moment)

Ø  Bear with – I cannot bear with your behavior. (tolerate)

Ø  Beast of burden – The yak is used as a beast of burden in the Himalayans. (for carrying heavy loads)

Ø  Beast of prey – The lion is a beast of prey. ( an animal that lives by killing other animals)

Ø   Beat about the bush – Do not beat about the bush but come straight to the point. ( approach the subject in a roundabout way)

Ø   Blow one’s own trumpet – Only foolish people blow their own trumpet, (speak highly on own self)

Ø   Blow out – Blow out the candle. (extinguish)

Ø   Blow up – The hillock was blown up with gunpowder. (exploded)

Ø   Break down – His health broke down for what want of proper food. (failed)

Ø   Break into – The thief broke into his house through the back door. (entered by force)

Ø   Break one’s heart – You have broken his heart by refusing him permission to join the army. (caused great grief)

Ø   Break out – Aids has broken out in the city. ( appeared all of a sudden)

Ø   Break the ice – He was the first man to break the ice and begin the discussion. (break silence)

Ø   Breathe one’s last – The old man breathed his last yesterday. (died)

Ø   Bring about – His follies brought about his ruin. (caused)

Ø   Bring about – The new law has brought about/led to great changes in education. (caused: often used for political/social changes)

Ø   Bring forward – The minister brought forward a bill in the parliament for educational reforms.  (proposed)

Ø   Bring out – Goodwill Publication brought out this book. (published)

Ø   Bring up – Mr. Mishra was brought up in a traditional family. (reared)

Ø   By fits and starts – A man who works by fits and starts never succeeds in life. (irregularly)

Ø   By hook or crook – He is determined to succeed by hook or crook. (by means fair or foul)

Ø   Call off – The strike of the industrial labourers has been called off. (withdrawn)

Ø   Call on – I shall call on you tomorrow. (visit)

Ø   Carry on – The teacher asked the students to carry on with their work. (continue)

Ø   Catch hold of – He caught hold of me by my collar and slapped me. (caught forcibly)

Ø   Catch one’s eye – When he was busy talking with his friends, I caught his eye after fifteen minutes. (attracted his attention)

Ø   Come across – I came across a horse on the way. (met)

Ø   Come off – The marriage of his sister comes off on the tenth of next month.  (take place)

Ø   Consensus – After hours of discussion, they reached consensus. (broad agreement)

Ø   Crocodile tears – Ladies usually shed crocodile tears when their request are not acceded to. (pretended sorrow)

Ø   Cut off – Keats, an English poet, was cut off in the prime of his life.  (died)

Ø  Cradle to grave – We celebrates different festival from cradle to grave. ( from birth to death)

Ø   Divert – The royal scandal diverted attention from the political crisis. (took attention away)

Ø   Do away with – Slavery was not done away with until last century. (abolished)

Ø   Do out of – He did me out of my rightful inheritance. (prevented from having deceit)

Ø   Do with – I could do with something to eat. (needed, wanted)

Ø   Do without – We’ll have to do without a holiday this year as money is so short. (manage without)

Ø   Get away – Get away from here. (leave)

Ø   Get off – The thief got off with the belongings. (escaped)

Ø   Get out – How could you get out of his clutches? (escaped)

Ø   Get over – A courageous man can easily get over his difficulties. (surmount)

Ø   Get rid of – Everybody wants to get rid of poverty. ( be free from)

Ø   Get through – A hard-working student is sure to get through the examination. (pass)

Ø   Give away – Prizes were given away by the president. (distributed)

Ø   Give in – A weak person may give in before a mighty one. (yield)

Ø   Give rise to – The president’s statement gave rise to/provoked/generated a lot of criticism. (caused slightly less strong than spark off)

Ø   Give up – It is very difficult to give up a bad habit. (abandon)

Ø   Go down – The price of gold goes down in this month. (fall in price)

Ø   Go into – The principal went into the details of the case. (examine)

Ø   Go off – The canon went off and demolished the fort. (exploded)

Ø   Go through – The police inspector went through the pockets of the suspected thief. (examined carefully)

Ø   Hand in hand – Industrial progress went hand in hand with educational advance. (side by side)

Ø   Hard and fast – There is no hard and fast rule to write an essay. (strict)

Ø   Herculean task – Reformation of the Maoist was a herculean task of late Girija Prasad Koirala. (a very difficult task, an uphill task)

Ø   Hither and thither – Passengers are moving hither and thither at bus station. (here and there)

Ø   Hold out – The enemy may hold out for many month. (offer resistance)

Ø   In quest of – Many people come to the city in quest of jobs. ( in search of)

Ø   In the long run – Foreign employment is not good in the long run. (eventually)

Ø   Ins and outs – He knows all the ins and outs of the boo keepings. ( full details)

Ø   Interference – Nepali leaders don’t boldly resent the interference in the international affairs of their country.

Ø   Justice – Justice delayed is justice denied.  (fair treatment)

Ø   Keep away – The secretary kept himself away from the meeting. (remained absent)

Ø   Keep off – Keep off bad company. (remain at a distance)

Ø   Keep on – He kept on doing his work though he was not feeling well. (continued)

Ø   Keep up – The baby kept them up until late. (stayed awake)

Ø   Kith and kin – In civil war men fight against their kith and kin. (blood relations)

Ø   Knock down – The car knocked the man down. (threw down)

Ø   Leave no stone unturned – Arjun left no stone unturned to please the officer. (adopted all possible measures)

Ø   Let bygones be bygones – Let bygones be bygones and be friends again. (forget the past)

Ø   Look after – It is the duty of the parent to look after their children. (take care of)

Ø   Look for – Krishna is looking for a suitable jobs these days. (searching)

Ø   Look forward – I am looking forward to the arrival of my brother from Pokhara. (waiting eagerly)

Ø   Look into – The superintendent of police promised to look into the cause of the mishap. (examine closely)

Ø   Look through – Kindly look through my essay. (examine)

Ø   Make a mountain of a mole hill – Some people are in the habit of making a mountain of a mole hill. (exaggerate)

Ø   Make for – Let’s make for the city center and find a restaurant on the way. (move in the direction of )

Ø   Make of – What do you make of him? (think)

Ø   Make off – He made off as soon as he heard their car turn into drive. (left hurriedly)

Ø   Make up for – The superb food at the hotel made up for the uncomfortable rooms. (compensated for)

Ø   Make up to – He made up to her until she agreed to help. (was nice to in order to get something)

Ø   Man of letters – Laxmi Prasad Devkota was a man of letters. (literary)

Ø   Part and parcel – The Sharmas are the part and parcel of the school management. (a component part)

Ø   Pass away – Neil Armstrong passed away in 2012. (died)

Ø   Pass through – Our leaders passed through many hardship to achieve democracy. (underwent)

Ø   Postpone – The meeting has been postponed until next week. (changed to a later date)

Ø   Pour down – It was absolutely pouring down/there was a real downpour. (raining heavily)

Ø   Prompt – I wonder what prompted him to send that letter? (caused)

Ø   Pros and cons – We must consider all the pros and cons of an enterprise before we undertake it. (points for and against)

Ø   Prospect – Many pioneers travelled west in America to prospect for gold. ( search)

Ø   Pull down – The house was pulled down by the metropolis. (demolished)

Ø   Put down – The riot was put down with an iron hand. (crushed)

Ø   Put off – Do not put off till tomorrow what you can do today. (postponed)

Ø   Put out – Put out the light before you go to bed. (switch off)

Ø   Put up with – No sensible man can put up with such nonsense. (tolerate)

Ø   Put up with – Shiva could not put up with the bad treatment given by his master. (endure)

Ø   Red-letter day – Jestha 15 is a red-letter day in the history of Nepal. (very important day)

Ø   Revert – I tried  a word-processor but I soon reverted to my old typewriter. (went back)

Ø   Run out – He has run out of all his resources and is now a poor man. (exhausted)

Ø   Set apart – I have set apart money for marriage for my daughter. (reserved)

Ø   Set out – The students set out on a picnic early in the morning. (begin journey)

Ø   Set up – He has set up a business company. (established)

Ø   Spark off – The rise in prices sparked off a lot of political protest. (caused: often used for very strong, perhaps violent, reactions to events)

Ø   Stem from –The problem stems from the inflation of recent years. (causes: explaining the direct origins of events and states)

Ø   Suspect – The police suspected he was guilty but they had no proof. (had a feeling)

Ø   Take off – On reaching home I took off my coat. (removed)

Ø   Take to – Coleridge took to opium in his old age. (was addicted to)

Ø   The lion’s share – He got the lion’s share of his father’s property. (largest share)

Ø   Throw cold water on – He threw cold water on all my plans. (discouraged)

Ø   Throw up – Before proceeding to Kathmandu I will throw up my job. (resign)

Ø   Thunderstorm – We got very wet in the thunderstorm. (thunder and heavy rain)

Ø   To be caught red handed – The thief was caught red handed. (in the very act of committing a crime)

Ø   To cry over spilt milk – It is no use crying over spilt milk. (lament uselessly)

Ø   Turn against – When he criticized Ramesh, the latter turned against him. (opposed)

Ø   Whereabouts – A terrorist has escaped from prison. Her whereabouts are unknown. (address)

Ø   Wipe out – The epidemic wiped out families. (destroyed completely)

Ø   Without fail – I am to attend the marriage of my friend without fail. (certainly)