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Taking advantage of the flexibility of the English language, the caption is an attempt to share a vocabulary all its own. For convenience sake, I have captioned it ‘ locabulary<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>‘.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ” English language<\/strong><\/em><\/span> is the most universal language in history, way more than the Latin<\/strong><\/em><\/span> of Julius Caesar<\/strong><\/span><\/em>. It’s the most punderful<\/em><\/span> language because its vocabulary has a certain critical mass that makes a lingo good for punning “- Richard Lederer<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Move over the vocabulary pundits. With due respect to Mariam-Webster, Oxford, Collins<\/strong><\/em><\/span> and what have you. This warrants a new dictionary. Let’s turn the page.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here are some extracts from every day local communication from Maximum City Bombay<\/strong><\/span><\/em> that a lot of you would be using or aware of and that which breaks the mould. They bear testament to the fact that nothing like ‘ radical candor<\/em><\/strong> <\/span>‘ to get the message across. No compliance or adherence to the default. Here goes:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Abbey<\/strong><\/em>:<\/span> Before you get there, let me forewarn you that this has nothing to do with a nunnery<\/em><\/span> or a monastery <\/em><\/span>like what you would see in places like the UK<\/em><\/span>. It is just a wake up call to someone asking him to smell the coffee. It puts everyone out there on a level playing field(inspired by the DEI<\/em><\/span> rallying cry) and is oblivious to titles be it Ms | Mr, positions of authority or any such formality. No power dynamics<\/em><\/span> at work here. And Abbey Kurivilla<\/em><\/span>, please continue with your coaching job. The BCCI selectors did not call you when you were at your peak, so there is not much left to speak.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chayyla<\/strong><\/em>:<\/span> Before you rush to get a cup of tea, and invoke the bawarchi<\/em><\/span> in you, pause. This is used when you feel short changed or have made a fool of yourself. More like a self admonition than anything else.<\/p>\n PS:<\/span> Chayyla<\/span>\u00a0 <\/strong><\/em>is best\u00a0expressed at 20 db decibel<\/em><\/span> levels. This is as per research done at the University of Know Where<\/em><\/span>!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Khajoor<\/strong> <\/em><\/span>: This would be a detrimental representation of ‘ dates <\/em><\/span>‘ as it should be known conventionally but here the parlance is referring to someone who is downright stupid. Nicely palmed<\/em> off<\/em><\/span>\u00a0 I dare say. Khajoor<\/em> sows the seed with <\/span><\/span>a sweet tinge of respectful disdain. And de.pending on the pecking order of stupidity, we can even brand them as Bateel Khajoor<\/em><\/span> and so on…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Pendal<\/strong><\/em><\/span>: First I was at pains to understand what this meant and I continued soft-pedalling<\/em> <\/span>the issue. Only to realise later on that this is a well accepted pseudonym for ‘ pedal<\/strong><\/em><\/span> ‘, as seen on bicycles. And the big advantage is that just like pedal<\/em><\/span>, pendal<\/span><\/em> can be used either as a verb or a noun<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Poblem<\/strong>:<\/em> <\/span>Without any problem I reckon you have guessed it. Why are we bothered about the ‘r‘ <\/span><\/em><\/strong><\/span>as long as the problem is getting conveyed. Ignore the letter r<\/span><\/em> in the right spirit. I have no poblem<\/em><\/span>…I mean problem with that. After all phonetics has to have a say! Actually, subtracting one r<\/span><\/em> from the word, seems to have added some weight to the problem, don’t you think so?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Singal<\/strong>:<\/em><\/span> If you turn red<\/em><\/span> or amber<\/em><\/span> or green<\/em><\/span> on this one, I can understand. Though the alphabets are juxtaposed, what is being signaled is signal<\/em><\/span>. So, left, right or state..straight<\/em>?<\/span> Traffic law abiding citizens are well versed with this, whether they are single <\/em><\/span>or…by now you should know how to distill the signal from the noise<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Waat<\/strong>:<\/em><\/span> I know some of you might be letting off steam on hearing this but this has no relation whatsoever to James Watt<\/span>( <\/em><\/strong>of Steam Engine<\/strong><\/em><\/span> fame)<\/em><\/strong>. Waat<\/em><\/span> is the weighted average explanation of a totally screwed up situation. Waat The F…<\/em><\/span>? Not to be mistaken with ” Waat<\/span> Pahath Hotha<\/span><\/em> “, mind you. Imagine, waiting for ‘waat<\/em><\/span>‘? We and our masochistic tendencies!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Apun<\/strong>:<\/em><\/span> This may come across as a pun<\/em><\/span> but there is no pun intended here. This is I, me, myself<\/em><\/span> and defending one’s turf with a vengeance. Apun<\/span><\/em> has a close relationship with the beach town of Alibaug<\/em><\/span> and is best expressed in this usage ” Apun Alibaug se nahee aaya<\/em><\/span> “- meaning- I am not a fool. I have not come from Alibaug<\/em><\/span>. Embedding destination branding<\/em><\/span> in everyday parlance has been inspired from this. So ahead of time!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Peshyal<\/strong>:<\/em><\/span> Before you wonder what is so special about this, let me offer you more than a hint. This is something masquerading as special<\/em><\/span>. Last heard, I am given to understand that Peshyal<\/em><\/span> could also be spelt as Paycial<\/em>.<\/span> I am spell bound. Next time, I will do some more spell check.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ghochoo<\/strong>:<\/em><\/span> Tempted as you would be, please don’t rush to conclude that this is another brand from the Jimmy Choo<\/strong><\/em><\/span> stable. This is a not so decorated but a go-to<\/em><\/span> way of addressing an idiot. The jury is still out on whether Ghochoo<\/em><\/span> has an oriental descent but apparently it has been patented by Dongri, Kabutar Chawl<\/em> <\/span>inhabitants.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Chaapter<\/strong> :<\/em><\/span> Stop, don’t turn the page. This has no connection to the chapters that we have in books. The additional ‘a<\/em><\/span>‘ in Chaapter<\/strong><\/em><\/span> distinguishes itself from the run of the mill. A for aura. This is a hyper localised version of addressing a shrewd and cunning person. How you role your tongue and at what angle do you open your mouth is critical in getting the pronunciation for chaapter<\/em><\/span> right. Going slightly awry would mean closing the chapter shut.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Raada<\/strong>:<\/span><\/em> Phonetics could play tricks on you and coerce you to think this would be from the Prada<\/strong><\/em><\/span> lineage. Alas, sorry to disappoint you. A raada<\/em><\/span> is a heated argument with a strong potential to go upstream and become a full scale physical assault.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Vat Le<\/strong>:<\/em><\/span> This is no government diktat on the collection of VAT<\/em><\/span>. We have our GST<\/em><\/span> in place. Nor is anyone using the French masculine article Le<\/em><\/span> wrongly. Vat Le<\/em><\/span> is a crisp get lost<\/em> <\/span>message delivered best with just one side of the mouth and minimal lip movement. Just imagine Marlon Brando<\/strong><\/em><\/span> saying Vat Le<\/span><\/em> in Godfather <\/em><\/span>and you will know what I mean.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mandavali: <\/strong><\/em><\/span>I wouldn’t fault you for thinking that this is the name of a metro station\u00a0like\u00a0<\/strong>Gundavali<\/span><\/em><\/span>\u00a0but this is NOT what meets the eye or hurts the ears. Mandavali<\/b><\/em><\/span>(unlike its tribal sisters Dombivli, Kandivali, Borivili<\/em><\/span>) is a local word for negotiation, settlement or bargaining, especially in markets when trying to strike a better deal. (That said, the jury is still out on who did the Mandavali\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/span>for the ceasefire in the ongoing Iran-Israel-US<\/em> <\/span>conflict).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\n