HOW DO YOU DO?

Greeting someone saying 'how do you do?' is old-fashioned. How do you do is a formal way of saying 'hello'.

Reply to how do you do is 'how do you do.'

THE LAST WORD

A woman has the last word in any argument.

Anything a man says after that is the beginning of a new argument.

WORD OF THE DAY

Twitterati

A keen and frequent user of the social networking service Twitter is called a twitterati.

'He was no celebrity but considered himself one retweeting celeb twitteratis.'

By the way, retweet means 'forward a message posted on Twitter to another user.'

The word is coined on the pattern of literati and glitterati. You can find this word listed in online dictionaries such as Oxford and Macmillan.

RISE or RAISE

When something goes up on its own, it rises.

'Cost of living rose by four per cent.'
'The water level rose beyond danger level.'

When you move or lift something to a higher position or level, you raise it.

'Don't raise the bridge; lower the river.'
'Those who know the answer can raise their hands.'

DRESS-DOWN FRIDAY

A Friday when you can go to work wearing casual or informal clothes is called dress-down Friday.

It is casual Friday in American English.

SMART JUDGE

Taking his seat in his chambers, the smart Judge faced the opposing lawyers.

"So, the Judge said, I have been presented, by both of you, with a bribe."

Both lawyers became uncomfortable.

" You, attorney Mr Smith, gave me $ 5,00,000, and you, attorney Mr Wright, gave me $ 6,00,000."

The judge now reached into his pocket and pulled out $ 1,00,000. He handed it to attorney Mr Wright and said...

"Now that I'm returning $1,00,000, we're going to decide this case solely on its merits!"

ENGLISH -- a language

English is a language like any other. Learn to speak it as you would any other language. Don't get bogged down by paying undue attention to the complexities of grammar and usage. It doesn't mean that you should speak non-standard English but only that you should not be side-tracked by attention to details. Don't expect yourself to know every difficult word in the dictionary or get all the rules of grammar by heart. Just use the language and enjoy it.

The purpose of any communication is to express yourself, not to impress people.