Thursday, April 03, 2008 The grammar cop By Jess Saplala
‘TIS SUMMER! Suddenly, myriad (numerous) things jumped out from the corner of my mind. Where, o where does Mother Nature hide some of those unspoiled, cool and affordable summer hideouts where life slow down voluntarily to a halt? And where they serve your fave beer?
Many know that they can use “summer” as a verb. And when they do, they grant summer a fresh splash; aside from staying clear from the trite, over-used idiom “to spend summer.”
For instance, “The rich summer abroad while your poor GC and the salaried society settle for the nearest E. coli-free beach water.”
A query in GC’s blotter: Is a white elephant really white? No, it is an idiom, which means something useless and ironically expensive to maintain. Example: The Clark Expo building built during a previous administration remains a monstrous white elephant in one corner of Clark Field—an ugly monument to the scam and plundering misuse of public money.
The moth-balled (put aside) nuclear plant in Bataan echoes the same malfeasance (misconduct, especially by a public official).
Scot-free means unpunished. Example: Those behind the two white elephants remain scot-free to date! (Don’t use “at this point in time” in lieu of “to date.”
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Wrong, quite obviously: “You, you and you! The both of you three! Come here!”
Right: You three! Come here! (Courtesy of the pocketbook “Pinoy Clichés and Other Words of Wisdumb.” GC recommends it to blow away your summer blues. Nice gift to give away—and does not cost an arm and a leg (inexpensive).
