It's Basic and Fundamental

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER

Yesterday, I visited a bank at Boring Road. There was a notice in Hindi and a sign that told customers not to use mobile phones within the bank premises. Even so, there were three people merrily chatting away on their phones, talking in loud voices. When I pointed out the sign to one fellow, he grinned and said ‘This is Bihar!’ The basic reason that Bihar is backward is because even the educated people do not respect rules. Respect for the rule of law is fundamental to progress in any society. And this brings us to today’s theme word: Basic.

Basic describes the art of something that all its other parts depend on. The basic structure of a skyscraper is its steel framework. Without it, the whole building would collapse. An author develops a story from one basic idea. The basic reason for going to school is to learn.
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Fundamental can describe something like a foundation upon which other things can be built or added. One fundamental rule for drivers in India is to keep to the left side of the road. The constitution is the fundamental law of India. All law in India must conform to the spirit of the constitution. The right to live is a fundamental right.

First and primary mean before anything else. The first step in making tea is filling a kettle with water. Learning to read well is of primary importance. You have to finish primary school before you can go to a higher one. Red, blue and yellow are primary colours. From them other colours can be made.

A part that is necessary or essential to something cannot be taken away from it. Tracks are necessary to a railway train. The rudder is an essential part of an aeroplane. Wheels are essential to a car, but a CD player is inessential. The government supplies essential commodities [like rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene] to the poor at special prices.

Vital describes things that are basic to life or basic to staying alive. Food and water are vital to man. Breathing is a vital function.

[Send your feedback or questions to wordsmith.patna@gmail.com]



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Old-fashioned

Opinions or ways of living that were common in the past, but are not the way most people think and believe now are old-fashioned. In those days, middle class Biharis thought love marriages were morally wrong, but this now seems very old-fashioned.
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wordscore: unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

DARENG PEILR ACMENE HADZAR

[Last week’s solution: Television, radio, cinema, internet]

Shifty, crooked and dishonest

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER



Yesterday, as I was browsing through the morning newspaper, a thought struck me. There seemed to be a lot of dishonest people in the world. News about scams, robberies, bribe-taking and other shady deals reach our ears and eyes everyday.

Dishonest is the opposite of honest. Dishonest is used to describe some people and their actions. A dishonest person can’t be trusted. Someone who lies, steals, or cheats is dishonest. It is dishonest to copy answers on a test.

Untruthful and deceitful mean dishonest, false, and misleading. An untruthful account or story doesn’t report the truth. It covers up the truth and gives false information. A deceitful person lies and deceives others. He gives the wrong idea of things and makes people believe things to be true that are really false.

Shifty is another word for evasive and deceitful. It is an informal word. A shifty person tries to mislead you by suppressing the truth or by hiding a part of it.

Crooked is the opposite of straight. It usually describes something, like a road or path, which has curves or bends. Crooked can also be used to describe a person. A crooked person bends or twists the truth. He is dishonest and untruthful. When that company offered us something for nothing, we knew the deal must be crooked.

Hypocritical means pretending to be honest and straightforward. A hypocritical person may say he firmly believes in something which he actually doesn’t care about. He may say he supports a principle in public, but his private actions may be opposed to the same principle he says he supports.

A person who is untrustworthy can’t be trusted to do what is right and fair. He can’t be dependable and reliable. You wouldn’t choose an untrustworthy boy for your class president.

Dishonourable means without honesty, honour, or respect. It is a strong word. It is dishonourable to break an agreement, an oath, or a promise. The soldier received a dishonourable discharge from the army because he committed a serious crime.


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Zombie
A zombie is supposed to be a corpse [a dead person] brought to life by witchcraft. A zombie is brain dead, and stumbles around. Zombie is used to describe a person who is dull, lifeless or apathetic. Before my morning cup of coffee, I am a zombie.
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wordscore: unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

VISETLEION ODIRA CIMNEA NINERTET

[Last week’s solution: Exercise, Activity, Process, Movement]

It’s all about building

Wordsmith/ FRANK KRISHNER



Nowadays, we hear several people talking about ‘building up’ Bihar. Some talk about re-building Bihar. Roads are being built, buildings constructed. Plans to beautify Patna are being developed.

Build means to make something by putting materials or parts together.

Birds build nests. During Holi, you may build a fire with dry logs and old furniture. You can also build your hopes on something that you have counted on for a long time.

For example, advertisers invested a lot of money in Cricket promotion because they built their hopes on Team India making it to the World Cup finals.

Construct means build, but has an added meaning of making something according to a definite and often complicated plan. Architects, Engineers and carpenters are all needed to construct a super mall and multiplex. Lata can construct a doll’s house from paper and pins. Some people say that the news shown on television is constructed because of the way in which the stories are chosen or the order in which they are placed.

Manufacture means make or produce something using machines, usually in a factory.

Assemble means to bring or fit parts together. Each part of a computer is manufactured and then all the parts are assembled.

When you fabricate something, you make it out of many parts, according to a pattern. It has an added meaning of building something in a clever and unusual way. The boys fabricated a raft using old tyre tubes, two bamboos and string and then they floated down the river. Fabricate can also mean to make up a story to fool or deceive someone. Ramu fabricated an excuse for being late.

Develop is to build upon. Develop can mean make a change, make some improvement, make available, or even grow. According to the Patna Development Authority, a citizen’s park will be developed from the garbage dump. Exercise develops your muscles.




Learn-a-word

Ridiculous / Absurd
Ridiculous and Absurd are adjectives .Use them to describe plans, suggestions, situations etc. which are so stupid that you cannot believe anyone would think of them or allow them to happen.
They’re asking a ridiculous rent for that apartment. What an absurd suggestion!
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wordscore: unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

EXSEERCI CAVITTIY PRESSOC MOMENVET

[Last week’s solution: Bowler, Stumped, Batsman, Umpire]

Imagine: no bees, no music, no heaven!

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER



Imagine, there’s no heaven, above us only sky…

John Lennon, the legendary singer-composer wrote Imagine. If you haven’t heard the song, it’s time you did. The best way to sharpen your skills in any language is to listen to its music. Folk, country, and protest music is usually clear and easily understandable. [John Lennon was once part of the legendary group, The Beatles. He's the one with the glasses]

I was listening to the radio, and I heard that thousands of honey bees are dying in the orange-growing areas of the United States. Imagine millions of orange flowers with no bees to pollinate them. What a disaster!

Imagine means to see something in your mind. When you imagine something, you are letting your mind create or invent ideas. Imagine can also mean ‘think that something is true or something will happen even if you have no proof or reason for thinking so’. Since it’s a holiday, I imagine Ramesh and Roshan are playing cricket in the park.

Suppose means ‘think that something is possible’. I suppose the Indian team has a very good chance of winning the World Cup.

Guess means to form an opinion about something when you don’t really know much about it. You might guess a person’s age, or the weight of a cake at the school fete. I guess those bees are dying because of pesticides or global warming.

Fancy is to form a picture of something in your mind. Children fancy things that really aren’t possible. Seema fancied she was on a space-shuttle touring the moon. It’s so warm. I fancy an enormous ice-cream will cool me off nicely.

Realise means ‘understand something fully and clearly’. I hope the Americans realise that their fruit industry will collapse if the bees continue to die. She realised That she had made a mistake. [Note: Realise is often spelt realize. A few years ago, realize was considered ‘American’. Today, both spellings are acceptable.]

Believe means to imagine or trust that something is true or real. If a person believes in someone or something, it is hard to change his [or her] mind.





Learn-a-word
Daring

DARING: someone who is daring is not afraid of doing something new, unusual, or shocking, especially in areas such as art, fashion, and design. ‘Daring’ is also used to describe the ‘thing’ that the daring person did! Many boys copied John’s new and daring hairstyle. The more daring girls imitate Mallika or the Spice Girls.
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wordscore:

unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

EBOLWR SEDTUPM AMBATSN PIUMRE

[Last week’s solution: Education, University, College, School]