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                            Idioms and......(6)

•  the fur was flying ( having serious and heated argument )= When Ram's wife met his latest girl friend in a party they began to argue and within minutes the fur was flying.
• make a fuss ( complain )= Stop making a fuss over so trifle a matter.
• in the fullness of time ( at the right and proper time )= Stop chasing love at this tender age. You will get what you deserve in the fullness of time.
• make fun of ( to belittle somebody )= Don't make fun of your grandpa, he belongs to a different era when there was no smart phone.
• by hook or crook ( by any means )= Soumyo is desperate. He is going to get an i-phone by hook or crook.
• to hope against hope ( continue hoping )= His doctors have given up but I am hoping against hope that he will survive till his son comes next month.
• jump on the bandwagon ( opportunists ) =Since Mr Modi came to power with a popular mandate in the last election many intellectuals have began praising his leadership qualities. They have jumped on the Modi bandwagon hoping for some plum posts.
• as weak as a kitten ( very weak )= After her operation she has become as weak as a kitten.
• a ladies' man ( loves the company of women )= Nirenbabu is a very handsome man . Some call him a ladies' man behind his back for he loves to be  in the company of beautiful women.
• as happy as a lark ( very happy )= I saw Anuska on the beach at Puri with her parents. She was looking as happy as a lark.

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When my younger brother was 5 or 6 years old he was a very arrogant child. He was very intelligent too. He was clever enough to know how to get out of a sticky situation. One day he called an old man ( whom we addressed as 'dadu' ) a 'nonsense'. The old man was naturally and complained to my mother. She in turn brought this up to the notice of our father who was a very strict person. Naturally it made him very angry and he demanded an explanation from my brother. Our mother and I thought that he was sure going to be getting a good dressing down by my father. But my younger brother had already thought of his defense. He told father ,'' I am sorry baba, I didin't know that 'nonsense' was such a bad word.  I thought it meant ' fool'. I have seen it in the dictionary. At that moment of time we did not have a dictionary at our home but his explanation was valid. He got a scolding but was spared a beating. Whenever I talk with my students about the power of the language I recall this little story. Now you can say '' Mr SPK is talking nonsense. ( It means what he is saying has no meaning. ). If you say that Debnath is a man of letters, it we will understand that he is an educated man and not a postal peon. Similarly ' a big fish' does not mean a fish as such. ' A big mouth' does not refer to the size of Mr Modi's mouth. If you thought that catching ' a fish out of water' would be easy sure people will brand you as a 'fool of the first water.'
 
So be careful what words, phrases or idioms you use while speaking and writing. Consult your dictionary as often as necessary.
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Let us revisit the time prepositions. Once more:
At dawn, In the morning,at 8 am, At noon, At/In the afternoon, At dusk, In the evening, At night/midnight, In a day,/a week, a month, year, January etc, / a decade/century etc / on Monday etc./ 24th september/ In 2015, In the past/ In future/ At present etc.
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