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I guess I am asking for trouble by agreeing to go in to bat right after Sachin. His batting is second to none and he is certainly a hard act to follow. Although my coach told me I had all the makings of a great batsman, and suggested I should go in after Sachin, but I should have thought better of it. The way the media insists on comparing my batting style with his really gets on my nerves. It is just not on! Yesterday, as usual, Sachin’s batting was out of this world. The Pakistani bowlers put up a formidable attack but he gave as good as he got. He made making a century look like a piece of cake. When it was my turn at the crease, I was a bundle of nerves but went all out to put up an impressive performance, but unfortunately I was out at 10. Since then the media has been giving me a hard time. Sports journalists began by poking fun at my attempts to match up to Sachin and then to add insult to injury, they started casting aspersions on my talent as a batsman. It was not a day I am likely to forget in a hurry but I guess I just have to come to terms with the fact that I am never going to be as good as the god of Indian batting. Key to idioms used Asking for trouble: doing things that were certain to result in trouble Second to none: to be better than anything or anyone else Be a hard/tough act to follow: to be so good it is not likely that anyone or anything else that comes after will be as good Have all the makings of something: to seem likely to develop into something Think better of it: decide that something isn’t a good idea Get/grate on someone’s nerves: to annoy someone, especially by doing something again and again It is just not on: used to express disapproval of a particular way of behaving Be out of this world: to be extremely good or enjoyable Give as good as you get: to treat people in the same way as they treat you, especially in an argument or a fight Be a piece of cake: be very easy Be a bundle of nerves: to be very nervous Go all out: use a lot of energy and effort to do something Give someone a hard time: to criticise someone and make them feel guilty about something that they have done To poke fun at: to make a joke about someone or something in an unkind way To add insult to injury: to make a bad situation even worse for someone by doing something else to upset them. Cast aspersions on something or someone: to criticise something or someone’s character Come to terms with something: to start to accept and deal with a difficult situation Interesting origins If something fits the bill for something, it meets the requirements of that particular purpose. Here, bill refers to a poster. This phrase is thought to have originated in America where a theatre performer whose name appeared in large letters on the theatre bill to the exclusion of all others, literally ‘fitted’ the bill. This phrase originally meant having importance but over the years its meaning changed as it moved beyond theatre circles, which understood its origins, to the public at large. (Reference: Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms and Concise Dictionary of Phrase and Fable) |
