TWO months ago, I was in the same boat as millions of youth in India, doing small-time jobs in small towns. I often thought of going to a bigger city, but kept my plans to myself because I was afraid of rocking the boat at home. I wanted to steer clear of the trouble I foresaw convincing my parents to let me go.

My friends often told me that if I didn’t do something to put my plans into action, I would soon miss the boat. Then, by what I now consider a stroke of luck, things became exceptionally bad in our company and I knew I would be in deep water if I didn’t jump ship soon. I told my boss I wanted to leave, even though my parents had warned me that I would be burning my bridges by doing so.

Within weeks, I came to live in the city, though I must confess that there were times when I felt as if I had jumped in at the deep end. To begin with, it was not plain sailing but fortunately, I made some very good friends who showed me the ropes when they realised that I was completely at sea in my new surroundings. Now, after only a couple of months in the city, there has been a sea change in my attitudes and behaviour.

To be in the same boat: to be in the same unpleasant situation as other people

Rock the boat: do or say something that causes problems, usually when you try to change a situation that other people do not want to change

To steer clear: to avoid someone or something because it is dangerous for you

To miss the boat: to be too late to get something you want

Stroke of luck: something good that happens to you by chance

To be in deep water: to be in a difficult situation which is hard to deal with

Jump ship: to stop doing a job or an activity

Burn one’s boats/bridges: do something that makes it impossible for you to go back to the situation you were in earlier

Jump in at the deep end: to start a new job or activity without being prepared for it

To be plain sailing: to be very easy

Show someone the ropes: to explain to someone how to do a job or an activity

To be (all) at sea: to be very confused

Sea change: a complete change

Achilles’ heel or tendon: In Homer’s Iliad (probably 8^th century BC), the story of the siege of Troy, Achilles is the great Greek hero who kills Hector, the commander of the Trojan army. According to legend, when Achilles was an infant his mother Thetis immersed him in the Styx, a river of the underworld, to make him invulnerable to harm. However, the heel by which she held him was untouched by the water and hence remained vulnerable. Paris, the Trojan prince, knew this and so was able to kill him by shooting him in the heel with a poisoned arrow (though this part of the story is not in Iliad).

A person’s Achilles’ heel is, therefore, his vulnerable spot or fatal weakness — his only one, strictly speaking. The Achilles’ tendon, between the heel and the calf, is often strained by athletes and is so called because of its position and its vulnerability.

(Reference: Cambridge Idioms and A Concise Dictionary of Phrase and Fable)