English Language: similes

as clean as a whistle

1. if someone is as clean as a whistle, they are not involved in anything illegal. 

He hasn't got a criminal record - he's clean as a whistle.

2. to be very clean. The café's as clean as a whistle, and the food's excellent.

The modern-day whistle is made of metal but in the past whistles were made of wood, particularly a reed, like those used in wind instruments such as the clarinet. In order to get a clear sound the whistle had to be free from dust & other impurities. Hence our modern expressions clean as a whistle, clean or empty.

It may well relate to steam engine locomotives where the brass, especially the whistle was always bright and gleaming.

Do you have lollypops with whistles tied to the end of the stick in the school canteen?

Have you seen Railway Station Master’s whistle?

What are wind instruments?

Is church organ a wind instrument?

Do we have wind instruments made of reed in Sri Lanka?

Have you seen steam engine locomotives?

Well, we still have a steam engine locomotive run by a private company carrying tourists in the Colombo Kandy railway line. Do you know the name of it? Ok,  you can see a photo of it in this post.

Similes

Similes are old as the hills & are used by most people almost instinctively. A simile is a figure of speech that compares two supposedly similar objects or describes a similar property that two different objects each possess.

as clean as a whistle, as white as a sheet, as drunk as a lord, as fit as a fiddle, as old as the hills

Keep you name as clean as a whistle. Do not get your name tarnished.

What's in a name? Everything.

Music, Dance and Fun; Conga

At the ball

Many dances are named after places.

Conga

Conga, a dance performed by a line of boys & girls, & consisting of three steps forward & a side-kick. It is a dance of the mid-1930s, originating in Latin America. Conga is the Spanish feminine of Congo, the region & river of central Africa, & the name acknowledged the African infuemce on the dance.

Read Joseph Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' set in Congo, Africa.

If you would like to listen to Gloria Estefan's 1986 hit song "Conga", pls. click here. 

Gloria rocks; conga drummers roll; everybody's toes get tingled. Soon all are on the floor, dancing.

More dances to follow. 

Ok, till I come round again, here is another one that begins with a CONGA DRUM beat in the dark: Hotel California, one of the best guitar solos ever. 

Little Banda: Cruelty to Children

Our Little Banda is nuts over the School Bag & resorts to quote a great writer. Banda is a terror: he gets the best advocate for his cause. When our little Banda is on full swing no devil can cite scriptures for his purpose. Beware of Little Banda!

"The school-bag has become an inevitable burden for the child. I am now pleading for abolition of the school-bag, as a national policy, by an ordinance if necessary. I have investigated & found that an average child carries strapped to his back, like a pack-mule, not less than six to eight kgs of books, notebooks & other paraphernalia of modern education in addition to lunch-box & water bottle. Most children on account of this daily burden develop a stoop & hang their arms forward like chimpanzee while walking, & I know cases of serious spinal injuries in some children too. Asked why not leave some books behind at home, the child explains it is her teacher's orders that all books & notes must be brought every day to the class, for what reason God alone knows."

Writer R. K. Narayan's maiden speech as a Member of Parliament delivered at the Rajya  Sabha, India in 1989. 

R. K. Narayan was never awarded the Noble prize of Literature

Proverbs 1

The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose

Even things that are good in themselves (such as Bible) can be twisted to serve bad purposes. This proverb comes from the play The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare.

American Slang 1

Click nuts

Little Gems: Bigger than the biggest

Little Gems1

Bigger than the biggest: Avvaiyar Part 2

Which is bigger than the biggest?  Asked the boy

Avvaiyar recited a song:

The universe is the biggest

Bigger than that is the Four-Faced Brahma

Brahma’s support is Vishnu

Vishnu rests on the wavy ocean

The wavy ocean is but a little

Water on the palm of the microcosmic sage Agastaya

Agastaya came out of a pot

The pot is but a handful of mud out of earth

The Earth is just a load on one of the thousand heads of the mighty snake.

The mighty snake is a ring adorning the little finger of Parvathi

Parvathi is just a half of her spouse Shiva

Who resides in the heart of a true devotee

Is there anything to measure the expanse

of a devotee’s heart

The boy said, ‘You seem to be very learned, granny.’

Avvaiyar replied, ‘It is my unique fortune to hear that compliment from your lips.’ She made obeisance to him.

The boy said, ‘you may go your way now, granny. Don’t forget me.’ ‘Who can ever forget you? Replied Avvaiyar as she started on her onward journey.

What is the meaning of above song?

Who was the boy?

Who was Avviayar?

If you have Hindu teacher or neighbour, you may ask him. The lesson would help you to respect the faith of others too.

Little Gems for the kids are  presented by Blog Administrator bunpeiris.