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Thread: English related doubts

  1. #1
    Have a nice day! Nikhar's Avatar
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    English related doubts

    Hey all...

    I'm not a native English speaker and on litnet, I often come across phrases or expressions, which I don't quite get. So, I thought maybe, I'd just start a thread where I'll post all my doubts. And I'd be really thankful if any of you guys could help me with it.

    Well, if you think that maybe I should google, believe me, I'll post my doubts here only after doing that and if I'm still unable to find the answer.
    And also, maybe this could help all the other people out there like me.
    People laugh at me 'coz they think I'm a fool...I smile because I made someone laugh
    Nikhar Agrawal

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    Have a nice day! Nikhar's Avatar
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    So maybe I'll start with the doubts already.

    I came across this expression, who is on the fence and who is in the closet. What does that mean?

    As far as I could decipher, it meant 'homosexual or heterosexual?'. Is that correct?

    And Byronic twists..what's that?

    Btw, both these expressions have come from one of soundofmusic's posts.
    People laugh at me 'coz they think I'm a fool...I smile because I made someone laugh
    Nikhar Agrawal

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    Dance Magic Dance OrphanPip's Avatar
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    On the fence is bisexual, and in the closet is homosexual.

    Edit2: I think in the context of Sound's post, she meant who couldn't decide what their gender was and who was hiding their gender haha.

    Byronic twists, are twist that are of a Byronic character, as in similar to twist found in Lord Byron's poetry. A more common term is the Byronic hero, who is like an anti-hero.

    Edit: On the fence in general can be used to describe anyone who is caught between two choices.
    Last edited by OrphanPip; 02-23-2010 at 03:07 AM.
    "If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
    - Margaret Atwood

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    Have a nice day! Nikhar's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by OrphanPip View Post
    On the fence is bisexual, and in the closet is homosexual.

    Byronic twists, are twist that are of a Byronic character, as in similar to twist found in Lord Byron's poetry. A more common term is the Byronic hero, who is like an anti-hero.

    Edit: On the fence in general can be used to describe anyone who is caught between two choices.
    Thanks Orphanpip

    So I was partly correct about it. I was slightly confused because I was more familiar with the second meaning of 'on the fence' that you provided.

    Haven't read any of his poems..so I wonder if I'll ever understand it.
    People laugh at me 'coz they think I'm a fool...I smile because I made someone laugh
    Nikhar Agrawal

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    I find this thread quite interesting. I thought I knew it all about fences and closets, and now I've been proved wrong Ah, the amazing twists of language. What a wonderful thing is to learn something new everyday. Thank you all for the illumination

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    Have a nice day! Nikhar's Avatar
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    Today, I'd like to cover some of the other more expressive expressions..

    When do people use 'Tch, tch!'?
    And when does one roll the eye. (I'm sure Max told me once about it but I forgot and I couldn't find a satisfying answer on google either.)
    People laugh at me 'coz they think I'm a fool...I smile because I made someone laugh
    Nikhar Agrawal

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    Registered User Themis's Avatar
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    "Tch" - It's used to express irritation, annoyance, or impatience. At least, that's what my dictionary says. I would add disapproval to the list.
    “I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I'm not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.”- Robert McCloskey

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    Have a nice day! Nikhar's Avatar
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    Thanks Themis.

    And when would you 'roll your eyes'?

    I really wonder how can people do that...must hurt a lot
    People laugh at me 'coz they think I'm a fool...I smile because I made someone laugh
    Nikhar Agrawal

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    Dance Magic Dance OrphanPip's Avatar
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    You roll your eyes at someone to show contempt, frustration, distaste, incredulity, or any other kind of feeling of animosity towards what someone is saying to you.

    It is an actual gesture too, usually associated with teenagers.
    "If the national mental illness of the United States is megalomania, that of Canada is paranoid schizophrenia."
    - Margaret Atwood

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    Memsahib Madhuri's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nikhar View Post
    Today, I'd like to cover some of the other more expressive expressions..

    When do people use 'Tch, tch!'?
    And when does one roll the eye. (I'm sure Max told me once about it but I forgot and I couldn't find a satisfying answer on google either.)
    It is like saying....tch, tch yeh kya ho gaya.

    for rolleyes.... mujhe koi farq nahi padta woh jo bhi kahe (and then you roll eyes in the end)...

    I think you can relate the two now?
    Charms strike the sight, but merit wins the soul.

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    Registered User billl's Avatar
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    By the way, "in the closet" refers to homosexuals who have not "outed" themselves (that is, they have kept their homosexuality a secret). A person who is "openly" gay is not "in the closet."


    And rolling the eyes looks like this:
    or
    Last edited by billl; 03-10-2010 at 03:39 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by OrphanPip View Post
    You roll your eyes at someone to show contempt, frustration, distaste, incredulity, or any other kind of feeling of animosity towards what someone is saying to you.

    It is an actual gesture too, usually associated with teenagers.
    I should be really embarrassed now. I still roll my eyes at people, especially my husband when he is saying something irritating or bigoted or just plain stupid. He hates it, so there you go the habit just sort of stuck as my little form of payback.

    Nik - it doesn't really hurt to roll your eyes unless you do it a lot. I get a headache when my husband is being especially trying that day

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    Quote Originally Posted by mkhockenberry View Post
    I should be really embarrassed now. I still roll my eyes at people, especially my husband when he is saying something irritating or bigoted or just plain stupid. He hates it, so there you go the habit just sort of stuck as my little form of payback.

    Nik - it doesn't really hurt to roll your eyes unless you do it a lot. I get a headache when my husband is being especially trying that day
    My wife and my daughter do that to me. My son just looks on incredulously. Sometimes he shakes his head as well.

  14. #14
    Have a nice day! Nikhar's Avatar
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    Thanks orphanpip, madhuri, bill, mkhockenberry. Now, I surely do know what it means. And I don't know why, but I was thinking of rolling the eyes as rolling the 'eyelids'...and so I asked, 'doesn't it hurt?' lol


    Maybe I should have written some sentence and rolled my eyes to make this a perfect post.

    PS:- Madhuri, that Hindi translation did make it much easier.
    People laugh at me 'coz they think I'm a fool...I smile because I made someone laugh
    Nikhar Agrawal

  15. #15
    Have a nice day! Nikhar's Avatar
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    I wonder if this would be classified as an english related doubt, but anyways,

    What's that part of the revolver called that can be rolled? I don't know much about revolvers but I guess its the same place where you put the 6 bullets.

    And what does the idiom 'pay the piper' mean?
    People laugh at me 'coz they think I'm a fool...I smile because I made someone laugh
    Nikhar Agrawal

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