It's a steal

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER

“Please explain the difference between robbing, stealing, and burglary,” says Chandan Kumar from Kurji. “What does live by one’s wits mean?” asks Akansha in her e-mail. “Recently I came across the word “filch”, is it the same as pilfer?” wonders Kumar Gaurav from BS College, Danapur.

Steal is to take something that belongs to somebody else without permission and without is knowledge. If you take another person’s property illegally or without right or permission in a secret manner, you are stealing. While my brother was busy playing video games, I stole his share of cake. The act of stealing something is also known as theft. A thief is someone who steals things, usually secretly and without violence.

Pinch and nick are informal words that mean steal. Manoj was caught pinching money from his mother’s purse. Those jeans he’s wearing are far too expensive, I wonder if he nicked them!

Pilfer is to steal small amounts of anything in a way that it wouldn’t be noticed. In India, small boys can be seen pilfering coal from goods trains. I know that my servant pilfers sugar and ghee, but he’s very poor and I haven’t the heart to punish him.

Burgle means to illegally enter a house or office and steal things. The other day, a man was caught burgling the house of a police officer! We returned from holiday to find our apartment had been burgled. [Americans use the word ‘burglarized’].

Shoplift is when you take things from shops without paying for them, especially by hiding them in your clothes or in a bag. A person who shoplifts is a shoplifter.

To rob is to take money or property from a house, bank, shop, or other place by using threats or violence. Two men entered the train and robbed it at gunpoint. The gang robbed the Central bank yesterday, escaping with over a million rupees. To mug [usually used in the passive voice] is to violently attack someone in the street and rob them. Since she was mugged, Sunita has been scared to go out on her own. The number of muggings in our area has doubled since last year. A hold-up is when someone goes to a bank or shop with a gun and demands money.

Learn-a-word

Live by your wits
To exist by taking advantage of any opportunity you have. Kids thrown on the streets with no family to support them have to live by their wits.
Manage by clever expedience rather than hard work or wealth. People who ‘live by their wits’ use any means available to survive. Deepak's never held a steady job but manages to live by his wits.

wordscore: unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

AORCT WRERIT PRERFOERM ECDIRTOR

[Last week’s solution: Salary, Wages, Income, Profit]

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Colour me bad!

Wordsmith / FRANK KRISHNER

The idea for today’s column comes from an advertisement for mobile phone handsets. The ad is about colours raining down on people. Indeed, colour is an inseparable part of our lives and culture. And that’s the reason for it being an inseparable part of any language.

To be colourless is to be uninteresting, dull, and boring. When we say that a person is colourless, we mean that he lacks personality. A colourless speech is boring. “Nothing that politician said stands out in my memory. I’m afraid he’s a dull, colourless man.”

To be off colour means not to be at one’s best, or to feel slightly ill or queasy. Leander Paes usually plays brilliant tennis, but he has been a bit off colour recently. Shruti is a little off-colour this morning because she was up dancing till three a.m.! A joke or story that is meant to be amusing, but ends up offending the listeners is said to be off colour.

To give colour or to lend colour to a story, report, account or explanation means to make it more believable. The smashed windshield and the bullet holes in the side of her car lent colour to her story that she was attacked by bandits.

A highly coloured report or story is one that is exaggerated or biased. Shyam gave us a highly coloured account of his encounter with a crocodile. The highly coloured report sparked off a riot between two communities.

To paint in bright colours /to paint in dark colours means to describe something in a flattering/ unflattering way. When Ali returned from Dubai he pretended he was doing well financially and painted his life there in bright colours. Salma painted her relationship with her mother-in-.law in dark colours.

True colours is more than just the title of a famous pop-song. When we see someone in his [or her] true colours, we understand his [or her] true character, often for the first time. Abhinav appeared to be very generous, but when he made a fuss about giving his overworked servant five rupees, we saw him in his true colours. When a person shows himself in his true colours, he reveals a hidden side of his nature. We thought he was a very grumpy old man, but he showed himself in his true colours when he kept everyone laughing at the party.

With flying colours means with great success or distinction. Ravi passed the test with flying colours.

Learn-a-word

Premature
Before the usual or expected time. Use ‘premature’ especially to refer to medical conditions happening before the normal or natural time. Alcoholism is the cause for premature death. Women seem to worry about premature ageing. A premature baby is one that is born too early.

wordscore:
unscramble these words [they all have something in common]

SAYLAR SEWAG OMINCE PITROF

[Last week’s solution: Gleam, Flicker, Flash, Beam]

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