Mediocre

Today’s Word: mediocre

Pronunciation: /mi:di’ǝukǝ/

Part of Speech: adjective

Meaning: not very good

Usage: Hers was a mediocre performance.

Wrong Usage: She is a mediocre.

Synonym: average

Antonym: excellent, superb

Derived Form: mediocrity

General Note: Mediocre is not a noun but an adjective. An adjective qualifies a noun. It is wrong to say:

I don’t want to marry a mediocre.

              You should rather say:

I don’t want to marry a mediocre lady.

                It’s also very important to note that the first ‘e’ in mediocre is pronounced as /i:/, but not as /e/. Its primary stress also falls on ‘o’.

Mien

Today’s Word: mien

Pronunciation: /mI:n/

Part of Speech: noun

Etymology: possibly of French origin

Meaning: a person’s appearance or mood

Usage: His nonchalant mien made him to lose the opportunity.

Synonym: demeanour, countenance

Euthanasia

Today’s Word: euthanasia

Pronunciation: /ju:θǝ’nasia/

Part of Speech: noun

Etymology: of Greek origin

Meaning: the act of killing someone without pain, especially someone who is suffering from a disease that cannot be cured

Usage: Euthanasia seems to be the only solution to the patient’s endless pain.

Synonym: mercy killing, assisted suicide

Immure

Today’s Word: immure

Part of Speech: verb

Pronunciation: /Iˈmjuə/

Meaning: to keep somebody in a place

Usage: They were arrested and immured in a cell for three years.

Synonym: imprison, incarcerate

Derived Form: immured (adjective)

Headquarters

Today’s Word: headquarters

Pronunciation: /hedˈkwɔ:təz/

Part of Speech: noun

Meaning: the main offices from which an organization, business company, etc is controlled; the people that are working there

Usage: The company’s headquarters is/are in Abuja.

Wrong Usage: The company’s headquarter is in Abuja.

Synonym: head office

Derived Form: headquartered (adjective)

General Note: Headquarters is always in a plural form. That is, it always ends in an s. It is wrong to write it without an s. However, headquarters may be followed by a singular or plural verb.

For example: Headquarters has/have agreed to it.

The word has its primary stress on the first syllable.

Half loaf.

Today’s Idiom: half a loaf is better than no bread.

Meaning: to have a little of something is better than not having it at all.

General Note: It is wrong to render this idiom as ‘half a loaf is better than none.’

A bird in hand.......

Today's Idiom: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
 
Meaning: It is better to value what you already have than to think that what you don't have yet is better than what you already have.
 
General Comments: Note that idioms are fixed sayings. And as such, you must not add anything to it or remove from it. It is therefore wrong to say:  a bird in hand is worth two in bush. 

You must know that 'hand' and 'bush' must be preceded by article 'the'.

Cut your Coat......

Today's Idiom: cut your coat according to your cloth.
 
Meaning: do not go beyond your financial capacity.
 
General Notes: It is wrong to say 'cut your coat according to your SIZE' or any other wrong version apart from 'cut your coat according to your cloth.'

Much of a muchness

Today’s Idiom: much of a muchness

Meaning: very similar

Usage: The twins are just much of a muchness.

Synonym: alike, similar

Better the devil you kinow.......

Today's Idiom: better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
 
Meaning: It is sometime wise to stay in a bad situation and deal with it than to attempt to jump into a new situation which may latter be much worse than the former one.
 
General Notes: It is wrong to render the idiom as: 'better the 

devil you know than the ANGEL you don't.' It is, however 

correct if you only stop at saying 'better the devil you know.'

Plaintive vs. Plaintiff

Today’s Word: plaintive

Pronunciation: /ˈpleιntιv/

Part of Speech: adjective

Meaning: sounding sad

Usage: The songs were rendered in a plaintive tone.

Synonym: mournful, plangent, sombre, melancholy

General Note: Plaintive is different from plaintiff. A plaintiff is a person who lodges a formal complaint against somebody in court of law.

Playwright

Today’s Words: playwright

Pronunciation: /pleIraIt/

Part of Speech: noun

Meaning: a person who writes plays

Usage: Her mother was a playwright.

Synonym:  scriptwriter

General Note: Don’t make the mistake of calling a person that writes plays a playwriter. You should rather say a playwright.

Gratis

Today’s Word: gratis

Pronunciation: /ˈgrætιs/

Part of Speech: adverb

Meaning: free of charge

Usage: She gave it to me gratis

Synonym: free

General Note: Gratis is an adverb, and it can also be used as an adjective.

As an adverb: She gave it to me gratis.

As an adjective: She gave me a gratis copy of the book.