What is the meaning of the expression ‘voting with the feet’? (D. Rajeswari, Chennai)

When a shop decides to increase the price of all its products for no reason at all, what is the normal reaction of the people who frequent the place? Some band together and organise a protest, hoping that the management will come to its senses, and lower the prices. Others, simply choose to walk out; they show their displeasure by taking their business elsewhere. They actively look for and find new places to buy their daily needs; they do the disappearing act. This manner of expressing one’s anger or dissatisfaction by choosing to walk out of a situation is usually referred to as ‘vote with the feet’.

When the Board decided to hike the price of tickets, many fans chose to vote with their feet, and stopped going to matches.

What is the meaning of ‘pudgy’? How is the word pronounced? (S. Alok, Kolkata)

The word consists of two syllables; the first rhymes with ‘fudge’, ‘budge’ and ‘nudge’. The final ‘y’ sounds like the ‘i’ in ‘bit’, ‘kit’ and ‘sit’. The word, which is mostly used in informal contexts, is pronounced ‘PUDJ-i’, with the stress on the first syllable. According to scholars, the word comes from the English ‘pudsy’ meaning ‘fat and thick’.

Today, it is very common to hear people referring to a child as being ‘’pudgy’ – meaning the child is a little overweight. He is not fat; and though overweight, he is rather cute to look at – as chubby kids, usually, are. ‘Pudgy’ can also be used to describe an individual’s – both an adult’s and a child’s – fingers, etc. When you say that someone’s fingers are ‘pudgy’, what you are suggesting is that the person has short, thick fingers. The very opposite of how most people would like their fingers to be – long and slender.

The cute baby tried to hold the new toy in its pudgy little hand.

Jack became very jealous when he saw Jyothi sitting next to the pudgy man.

Is there a difference between ‘enough money’ and ‘money enough’? (P. Deepa, Hyderabad)

Some people believe that ‘money enough’ is ungrammatical; this however, is not true. Of the two, ‘enough money’ is heard much more frequently in everyday contexts. ‘Money enough’ is considered literary, and therefore, not used as frequently as ‘enough money’. In terms of meaning, most books claim there is not much of a difference between the two. Careful users of the language maintain there is a subtle distinction between the two. When you say that you have ‘enough money’ to buy a car, what you are suggesting is that you have sufficient money to buy the car. If you say that you have ‘money enough’ to buy a car, you are implying you have more than enough money. In other words, you will have money left after buying the car.

We have enough money to get from here to Chennai.

We have money enough to buy everyone what they want.

Published - July 31, 2026 10:57 pm IST