KNOW YOUR ENGLISH

“Hey, come on in! How have you been? How is the hunt for the new house coming along? Has your dad found anything?”

“Wow! So many questions! What’s got into you?”

“I was interviewing a whole bunch of candidates yesterday, and I guess…”

“Interviews! That explains all the questions, I guess. Anyway, we still haven’t found the kind of house we’re looking for. My mother is very particular.”

“Maybe you should consult Mayank. When it comes to real estate, he knows his onions.”

“Knows his onions? We’re not interested in onions, we’re interested in houses!”

“I know! When you say that someone knows his onions about something, what you’re suggesting is that he knows a lot about the subject matter.”

“In other words, he’s very knowledgeable about it.”

“Exactly! It’s an expression mostly used in informal contexts. When it comes to old Hindi and Tamil songs, Sheela certainly knows her onions.”

“She certainly does. Her brother, Ram, knows nothing about movie songs. But he certainly knows his onions when it comes to computers.”

“He certainly does. Now then, would you like me to call Mayank and ask him about…”

“Not right now! Hey, weren’t you planning to buy a house last year? Why don’t you and ….”

“Dropped the idea about six months ago. I don’t have a bean on me right now.”

“Don’t have a bean? Does it mean you don’t have money?”

“Very good! When you say that you don’t have a bean, what you’re suggesting is that you have little or no money. This rather old fashioned expression is mostly used in informal contexts in British English.”

“So, what you’re suggesting is that you don’t have enough money to buy even beans.”

“No, no! The bean in the expression doesn’t refer to the vegetable that we eat. In this context, it refers to a coin. A century or two ago, the sovereign or the guinea was referred to as ‘bean’.”

“I see. I’ve always been careful with money. Growing up, we didn’t have a bean.”

“That’s a good example. Ram was a millionaire. But after his divorce, he was left with no bean.”

“That happens to a lot of people. Sorry, I’m in no position to lend you money. I haven’t got a bean.”

“That’s what some of the candidates said in their interview.”

“Really? Did you find any candidate who knew his onions when it came to management?”

“Not really! Though they didn’t know their onions when it came to topics related to management, I had a lot of fun interviewing them. Quite a few were full of beans.”

“Beans again! What is it with you and vegetables today? Is the expression ‘full of beans’ used with people who are really intelligent or have a lot of money?”

“Not necessarily. The informal expression is usually used to refer to someone who is very lively. Someone who is full of energy.”

“I see. How about this example? On their birthday, the twins burst into their parents’ bedroom full of beans.”

“They probably wanted their presents. The expression also carries with it the sense ‘to be in high spirits’. When the final exam got over, the students were full of beans.”

“I need my morning coffee. Before that, I’m seldom full of beans.”

“Same here.”

Life is like an onion: you peel off layer after layer, and then you find there’s nothing in it.

-James Huneker

upendrankye@gmail.com