He who laughs last laughs longest

Today’s Idiom: he who laughs last laughs longest

Meaning: this saying is usually used to warn a person that seems to be too proud of his or her present success because another person may later be more successful

Usage: Don’t let this success enter into your head. Just know that he who laughs last laughs longest.

Wrong Usages: Don’t let this success enter into your head. Just know that he who laughs last laughs best.

General Note: You shouldn’t replace longest with best.

Out of the frying pan

Today's Idiom: out of the frying pan into the fire.
Meaning: coming from a bad situation into a worse one.
General Notes: This idiom is not 'from frying pan to fire.' It is rather 'out of the frying pan into the fire.' You must include 'out of,' 'into,' and also avoid the omission of  article 'the'

Tricky

Today’s Word: tricky

Pronunciation: /trIki/

Part of Speech: adjective

Meaning: (1) difficult to tackle (2) likely to trick you

Usage: (for 2) I always try to avoid clients that are tricky.

Wrong Usage: I always try to avoid clients that are trickish.

Synonyms: sly, deceptive, difficult

Antonyms: straightforward

General Note: There is no word like trickish. Avoid saying or using it.

Devout

Today’s Word: devout

Pronunciation: /dIˈvaut/

Part of Speech: adjective

Meaning: having a strong belief in a particular religion and strictly adhering to its laws

Usage: That lady seems to be a devout Christian.

Wrong Usage: That lady seems to be a devoted Christian.

Synonyms:  religious, pious

Antonyms: impious

General Note: We should not wrongly use devote in place of devout. Devout is used in religious sense. Devote is a verb while devout is an adjective. However, to be devoted to something is to give it much attention.

Fatal

Today’s Word: fatal

Pronunciation: /feItl/

Part of Speech: adjective

Meaning: (1) causing death (2) bringing disaster (3) caused by fate

Usage: (for 1) His brother died in a fatal road accident last year.

Wrong Usage: (for 1) His brother died in serious road accident last year.

Synonyms: deadly, ghastly

Derived Form: fatally (adverb)

General Note: When an accident involves a loss of life, it is said to be fatal. But a serious accident is the one that does not bring about a loss of life.

Plethora

Today’s Word: plethora.

Pronunciation: /’pleθƏrƏ/  

Part of Speech: noun.

Etymology: from Latin, plethora.

Meaning: an amount that is more than is needed.

Usage: There is a plethora of gifts to be distributed here today.

Synonyms: surplus, excess.

Antonyms: dearth, shortage.

Half a 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.

Wrong Usage: It is wrong to render this idiom as ‘half a loaf is better than none.’ or 'half bread is better than no bread at all' or 'half loaf is better than nothing'.

General Note: Idiomatic expression should be rendered the original way it was rendered. You don’t have the liberty to thwart the worlds arrangement.

Troubleshooter.

Today’s Word: troubleshooter.

Pronunciation: /trɅbl∫u:tƏ/

Etymology: a word formation from trouble and shooter.  

Part of Speech: noun

Meaning: a person who specializes in solving problems.

Usage: He was a famous troubleshooter in the organization.

Wrong Usage: There is a need for the government to arrest all the troubleshooters in our community.

Derived Form: troubleshooting (noun, adjective).

General Note: A troubleshooter, contrary to its popular misuse, is a person that helps to solve problems. We should not take a troubleshooter for a person that foments trouble.

Remonstrate.

Today’s Word: remonstrate.

Pronunciation: /’remƏnstreɪt/

Etymology: from Latin.

Part of Speech: verb.

Meaning: to protest with somebody about something.

Usage: The students remonstrated with the school authorities about the issue.

Synonyms: demonstrate, protest, oppose, complain.

Derived Form: remonstrance (noun).

General Note: Remonstrate is synonymous with demonstrate. The noun form of demonstrate is demonstration while the noun form of remonstrate is remonstrance.

With flying colours.

Today’s Idiom: with flying colours.

Origin: In the past, ships used to arrive at the port with flags after a long journey.

Meaning: with good performance.

Usage: I pray all of you will pass your exams with flying colours.

Wrong Usage: My ward passed her exams in flying colour.

General Note: You should not replace with with  in. You should also know that it is colours, but not colour.

Converge

Today’s Word: converge

Pronunciation: /kənˈvɜ:dɜ/

Part of Speech: verb

Etymology: from convergere (Latin)

Meaning: 1. To assemble in a particular place.

                  2. To cause two or more lines to meet.

                  3. (Of opinions, ideas, etc.). To be very similar.

Usage: They were all asked to converge on Cairo for the international conference.

              Students must converge on this hall every morning for prayers.

Wrong Usage: We converged in New York.

Synonyms: gather, assemble, join, meet, intersect.

Antonyms: diverge, disperse

Derived Forms: convergence (noun), convergent (adjective)

General Note: When converge is used to mean to gather or to assemble, it is wrong to use in or at with it. The correct preposition to use with it is on. For example: Let’s all converge on the lobby for a brief deliberation.

Synonymous with

Today’s Phrase: synonymous with

Usage: Opportunity seems to be synonymous with privilege.

              Money is not synonymous with love.

Wrong Usage: Huge is synonymous to big.

Note: Always use the preposition ‘with’ with synonymous. Don’t use ‘to’.

Workplace

Today’s word: workplace

Pronunciation: /ˈwɜ:kpleιs/

Part of Speech: noun

Meaning: a particular place that you work

Usage: She must be at her workplace by now.

            My workplace is far away from my home.

Wrong Usage: She must be at her working place by now.

 She must be at her work place now.

Comment: You should avoid saying working place. It is incorrect. You should rather say workplace or place of work.

Note that work and place are written together in workplace.

Malinger

Today’s Word: malinger

Pronunciation: / məˈlɪŋɡə /

Part of Speech: verb

Etymology: from old French, mal +haingre

Meaning: to pretend to be unwell in order to avoid doing any work.

Usage: I don’t feel like going anywhere today. I’ll try to malinger.

General Note: Malinger is not a noun hence it is wrong to call somebody malinger.

Charlatan

Today’s Word: charlatan

Pronunciation: /∫a:lǝtǝn/

Part of Speech: noun

Meaning: a person who pretends to have skills that they do not have.

Etymology: from French and Italian ciarlatano

Usage: Mr. Jerry is a charlatan; he often professes to know what he doesn’t really know.

Synonyms: fake, fraud, quack, pretender

Derived Form: charlatanistic (adjective), chalatanry (noun)

Mammoth

Today’s Word: mammoth

Pronunciation: /’mæmǝθ/ 

Part of Speech: noun, adjective

Etymology: from Russian mamot

Meaning: (as a noun) a large animal like an elephant that lived thousands of years ago.

                 (as an adjective) gigantic.

Usage: This is a mammoth responsibility.

              The crisis is of mammoth proportion.

Synonyms: humongous, huge, colossal, giant, massive

Antonyms: minute, trivia, miniature, diminutive, puny

Ad infinitum

Today’s Word: ad infinitum

Pronunciation: /æd InfIˈnaItəm/

Part of Speech: adverb

Etymology: Latin

Meaning: not having an end; repeatedly

Usage: She kept saying it ad infinitum.

             His father stayed with us ad infinitum.

Synonyms: endlessly, eternally, again and again.