Friday January 6, 2006
Cinderella issue
By FADZILAH AMIN
Please look at this paragraph from a story in The Guardian online: “... More importantly, we began to do justice to a subject which had, notoriously, been a Cinderella issue for national newspapers – most of whom employ one scientific specialist, if that ...”
What is a Cinderella issue? – sm
Just as Cinderella, the character in the fairy tale, is neglected but deserves more attention (by her stepmother and stepsisters), a “Cinderella issue” is an issue that is neglected and deserves more attention.
In the article from which you drew your quotation, the “Cinderella issue”, or the “subject” mentioned, is science.
The following quotation may clarify the term a bit more:
Eric Appleby, chief executive of lobby group Alcohol Concern, said: “While alcohol remains a Cinderella issue – a poor relation to drugs in terms of investment in treatment and education – it is hardly surprising that there are low levels of understanding about how much alcohol is healthy.”
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/3229820.stm
Here, the “Cinderella issue” is alcohol abuse, which is said to be “a poor relation” to drug abuse, in terms of attention paid to it.
Tachymeter and chronograph
I have some words that I can't find the meanings of in dictionaries. So I hope you can tell me the meanings of “tachymeter” and “chronograph”? – nly, Sepang
A “tachymeter” is “a surveying instrument used for the rapid determination of distances, elevations, and bearings.” (American Heritage Dictionary, 2000)
A “chronograph”, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is “an instrument for recording time with extreme exactness; also, a watch or clock to which various mechanical devices are attached for the same purpose. It is used in astronomical and other observations, in the timing of races, etc.”
Not ‘touchingest'
1. When my teachers find that they don’t know the spelling of a word, they would ask, “How to spell?” Is it right to say that?
2. Which is right:
(a) She likes me, isn’t it?
(b) She likes me, is it?
(c) You didn’t tell me the news, is it?
3. In the dictionary, there is a statement like this: All aircraft must fuel before a long fight. Shouldn’t it be “must be fuelled”?
4. “The most beautiful girl.”
“The easiest way.”
“Beautiful” and “easy” are adjectives. The word “touching” is also an adjective, right? Then, which is correct: “The most touching song” or “The touchingest song”?
5. Is “e-mail” a noun or a verb? – cyl
1. We should say: “How is this word spelt?”
2. They are all incorrect. I have written the correct question tags in bold below:
(a) She likes me, doesn’t she?
(c) You didn’t tell me the news, did you?
3. To answer this question, let me quote you my answer to another reader:
“To fuel” in relation to vehicles, such as aircraft, usually means “to provide with fuel”. Hence, we usually write the verb “fuel” in the passive form when “aircraft” is the subject, i.e. “All aircraft must be fuelled before a long flight” instead of “All aircraft must fuel before a long flight”.
This is because it is people who put the fuel into the aircraft fuel tank: the aircraft, being inanimate, cannot do it by itself.
The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (2000), however, has another definition for the verb “fuel”, i.e. “to take in fuel”. If this sense is used, it would not be wrong to say “All aircraft must fuel ...” (although it is seldom said).
After all, we normally say “The plane will land soon.” instead of “The plane will be landed soon.”! Logically, the latter sentence is the correct one, because it is the pilot who lands the plane: the plane cannot land itself.
4. Yes, “touching” is an adjective from “touch”, and we say “the most touching song”, NOT “the touchingest song”.
5. The word “e-mail” is both a verb and a noun. You can “e-mail” a friend or receive an “e-mail” from her.
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