“What do you think she’s going to do next? Serve to the backhand and come to the net, or…”

“Let’s just sit back and enjoy the game, shall we? Let’s not ruin the fun by trying to second-guess what each player is going to do.”

“Second-guess? Does it mean to predict what someone is likely to do?”

“Very good! That’s one of the meanings of the word. When you second-guess someone, you anticipate what she’s going to say or do. You guess what she is going to do even before she actually does it. For example, it’s pretty easy to second-guess what the Prime Minister is going to say on Independence Day.”

“That’s true. The theme is always the same — be proud of India and be proud of being an Indian. How about this example? Reema has the irritating habit of trying to second-guess what I’ll do.”

“The rival team seemed to know what we would do. They second-guessed every move our captain made on the field. Oh, no! There goes the power.”

“Good thing too. It was getting tense. Not good for my BP. By the way, at the meeting, did your boss give the green signal to your proposal?”

“Yes, he did! Some of my friends were surprised. He usually turns things down.”

“I know! Does he really understand what it is that you’re trying to do?”

“As expected, I had to explain things to him several times. The fourth time around, the penny finally dropped.”

“Penny? What penny? Who dropped it? You?”

“When you say ‘the penny dropped’, what it means is that you’ve finally understood something. You’ve finally figured out something that you haven’t been able to for a while. It’s frequently used in British English in informal contexts. For example, when Rahul saw us, there was a frown on his face. A few seconds later, when the penny dropped, he gave us a big hug.”

“Understandable. He hasn’t seen you in over ten years. How about this example? Some of us found the rules of the game rather complicated. After playing a couple of rounds, the penny dropped, and then, we really began to enjoy ourselves.”

“Sounds good. I know which board game you’re talking about. My sister loves it. In her case, it didn’t take long for the penny to drop.”

“Tell me, what is the origin of this strange expression?”

“A penny, as you know, is a coin. In the old days, people dropped one into a machine for various things. Kids dropped pennies into candy machines. Adults dropped pennies to use public bathrooms, and …”

“I understand that. But what is the connection between dropping the penny and understanding? Did people….”

“Oh that! You see, sometimes the penny would get stuck, and it would take a certain amount of time for it to drop and for the machine to work.”

“So, the machine is being compared to our mind. Just like the machine, we often take time to figure things out. Our mind starts working when the penny drops.”

“Exactly! The penny has definitely dropped in your case.”

Life is very short, and if you worry what people think of you, if you second-guess yourself, you’re in trouble.

-Karen Brady

upendrankye@gmail.com