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#Indianisms that will make you fall off the chair laughing!
Quaint, confounding and sometimes just wrong -- here are more words and phrases that only Indians seem to use... and understand...
Last month we ran this list of ten English Indianisms.
You, our dear readers, added more words and phrases to this list on our discussion board and ZaraBol.
With a few of our own additions and some of your suggestions, we bring you more English words and phrases that only Indians seem to understand.
What to do? We are like that only!
All photographs used for representational purposes only.
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Hi-Fi
We start with 'hi-fi', the short form for 'high fidelity', an acoustics term that somehow in India has come to imply something upmarket.
Thank you, Ranjit Uchil for pointing this out!
Above is a fine example of what most of us call a 'hi-fi' dinner.
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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At or on?
Grammar may not necessarily be on your mind when you're mindlessly listening to announcements at a railway station that go: "Train number 123 is arriving on Platform 1."
Deepak Mahendru points out: "The train arrives at a platform and not on it."
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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Cooling glass
Often used in parts of south India, 'cooling glass' refers to sunglasses.
True story!
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Cutex
Similarly, Cutex is often used as a synonym for nail polish in parts of south India, much like Bisleri is used interchangeably with mineral water and Cadbury is almost often the synonym for chocolate.
Cutex, if you haven't worked it out, is a nail polish brand! :-)
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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Covering jewellery
Covering jewellery is yet another common south Indian term for fake jewellery, used thus because it's a 'cover up'.
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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At the rate
Often used while reading out your email address to someone, 'at the rate' is perhaps one of the most archaic usage that is yet to make its way out of Indian English.
Though not incorrect, saying 'at' instead of 'at the rate' is more acceptable now.
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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Run through
A public relations executive recently told us that she needed to run something through her client.
Needless to say we were concerned if the said something was a knife or a sharp object that would cause the poor client bodily harm.
We are happy to report that the client is safe and sound because all the PR intended to do was run something by the client.
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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Do one thing
Why don't you do one thing and never use this phrase ever again?
Do one thing is a translation of the colloquial Hindi sentence -- ek kaam karo.
The acceptable usage in this instance is: "Could you please do this for me?"
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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Ate lunch?
What else would you do with lunch?
Ok perhaps you would play with it or throw it, depending on how you're feeling at the time.
But asking someone if they'd 'eaten' their lunch is incorrect for the same reason as saying 'ATM Machine' -- redundancy.
Instead ask: Have you had your lunch?
And should you be asked about it, reply: Yes, I've had my lunch!
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Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
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Head-bath
We wind up with the classic Indianism, head-bath -- that refreshing (often weekly) act of shampooing your hair.
Are there more #Indianisms you can think of?
We would love to hear from you!
Post your gems on ZaraBol -- #Indianisms -- and we will publish the best ones right here on Rediff.com!