From...

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

(a story about a dog who speaks)

When Enzo was picked out of the litter, he says of the person who was to be his owner:

'It was my first glimpse of the rest of my life.'

Some more word-pictures -

About driving in the rain - Drive 'very gently. Like there are eggshells on your pedals, and you don't want to break them.'

I particularly liked this one - 'Memory is time folding back on itself. To remember is to disengage from the present.'

Some very apt words...

Jeremiah - A person who complains continually, has a gloomy attitude, or one who warns about a disastrous future

Micawber - An eternal optimist

Pollyanna - A naively cheerful and optimistic person

Don't we actually come across such people? Now we have the words for them...

A little about these characters:


Jeremiah also called the "Weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets in Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. Jeremiah’s sole purpose was to reveal the sins of the people and explain the reason for the impending disaster.

Wilkins Micawber is a fictional character from Charles Dickens's 1850 novel, David Copperfield. Micawber is known for asserting his faith that "something will turn up". His name has become synonymous with someone who lives in hopeful expectation. This has formed the basis for the Micawber Principle, based upon his observation: "Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery."

Pollyanna is a best-selling 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is now considered a classic of children's literature, with the title character's name becoming a popular term for someone with the same optimistic outlook.  Pollyanna Whittier, a young orphan who goes to live in Beldingsville, Vermont, with her wealthy but stern Aunt Polly. Pollyanna's philosophy of life centers on what she calls "The Glad Game", an optimistic attitude she learned from her father. The game consists of finding something to be glad about in every situation.

This phrase...

caught my eye:

"Dubai gold" still retains cachet. - Forbes

Cachet meaning prestige.

Spellings, and informal wording...

need to be checked...

Finance Ministry reccomends 9.75 pc interest for 2G payout installments - Economic Times

Another one from the Economic Times -
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution has shot a show cause notice to the National Spot Exchange Ltd (NSEL).

Should be shot off - since one is trying to say that the Ministry has issued a show cause notice. In any case, shot off would be informal usage. Best would be to edit it to 'issued', or 'sent'...

Here are some from Business Standard -
Most smartphone users are left wanting in terms of battery life.

left wanting? Obviously what we are meant to understand is that the charge in batteries doesn't last very long in smartphones.  'Wanting' means 'lacking in' or 'deficient'.

So, should it not be -  'battery life is wanting in smartphones' ?

And in the same news item - While smartphones keep getting bigger, faster and smarter, the trade-off is that the battery life isn't what it used to be.

Trade-off, according to the Oxford dictionary means - a balance achieved between two desirable but incompatible features; a compromise

Trade-off as it is used in the sentence hardly fits in with what the fact is...a shortened battery life is a 'drawback' not a 'trade-off' to smartphones that keep getting bigger, faster and smarter.