Should the word ‘squander’ be used to refer to the act of wasting only money?
Squander means to waste something in a foolish manner or an opportunity to be lost. One may squander money, time, resources or opportunities. It is synonymous with these words/phrases: misspend, misuse, spend recklessly, spend money like water, and be prodigal with. Look at this quote by Benjamin Franklin — Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of
In the quote, squander collocates with ‘time’. The other nouns that can collocate with the word include money, resources, talents, potential, chances and opportunities. Here are examples of how the word is used in sentences:
Elected representatives of the people enjoy squandering taxpayers’ money.
She squandered her opportunities to work in a big organisation and now she regrets.
The Indian cricket team squandered several chances of winning the crucial match.
Don’t squander your talents.
What is the meaning of the phrase ‘to toot your own horn’?
If a person toots his own horn, he proudly talks about his skills and achievements and publicises them. It is equivalent to the idiom ‘to blow one’s own trumpet’. Examples:
Sylvie toots her own horn on
Facebook.
He is not liked by his friends as he always toots his own horn.
You are an achiever and you have a right to toot your own horn.
Is the word ‘chutzpah’ a positive or negative term?
‘Chutzpah’ is an informal term which has both positive and negative connotations. The positive meaning of the word is ‘extreme self-confidence’ or ‘the willingness to take bold risks’ and the negative meaning is ‘shameless audacity’. When someone is not embarrassed
to say or do something shocking, we say that the person has chutzpah. Usually, the word is used with a positive connotation. Examples:
I am not a fan of late former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi but I have always admired his chutzpah.
It takes some chutzpah to write an article criticising the government.
It is his chutzpah that has made the investigative journalist more popular among his colleagues.
How is the word pronounced? The disyllabic word is pronounced
/ˈhʊtspə/. The ‘ch’ in the first syllable ‘chutz’ is pronounced /h/.
What is a popcorn movie?
A popcorn movie is one that people watch just for entertainment. They do not have a serious content or a good message and lack intellectual depth. While watching the movie viewers can eat popcorn and be freed from all worries.
I want to spend the evening in a relaxed way. Let me watch a popcorn movie.
He is not a person who enjoys popcorn movies.
What is the meaning of the phrase ‘to live up to the hype’?
Hype is defined as ‘a situation in which something is discussed in newspapers and on television in order to attract everyone’s interest’. Certain movies, albums and books are advertised in both the print and electronic media even before the movies, albums and books are released in order to boost the sales of the books or tickets for viewing the movies. Such situations make certain things very exciting. When the movies, albums and books are really good and satisfy the expectations of the people who view/listen to read them, then we say that they live up to the hype.
Here is a list of top 10 movies that didn’t live up to the hype.
Why did Arvind Kejriwal and his party AAP not live up to the hype?
All Harry Potter novels lived up to the hype.
The truth is always more heroic than the hype — Jessica Lynch
