Re: The trainer apparently said in a TV interview, that he had trained...

Feebs11 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:10:16 GMT

Jackson6612
Prashant Sawant is a known name in Bollywood. No! He isnât any established (=already in use or existing for a long period of timeIn this context, it means that the person is recognised as a star) star or an upcoming newcomer to watch out for (=to pay close attention in a particular situation because you are expecting something to happen). The man is a personal trainer, who is best known in the film industry for having trained none other than the badshah (=Hindi/Urdu word for king) of bollywood, the king Khan himself, Shah Rukh Khan. But this time he is in the news for not so good reasons. The trainer, whom the local Greek God Hrithik Roshan had been eager to sign, has been dropped by the the superstar after just a dayâs work.

Hrithik had heard a lot about the work of Prashant as a trainer. But after hiring him, he was not satisfied by the training that he got. And after just a dayâs work with him, the megastar told him that his style of training wasnât going well enough. But birdies in Bollywood are citing more than just this as a reason why Prashant was dropped by Hrithik like a hot potato. The reason being cited, is that Prashant tried to cash in on his new found fame, by using Hrithik and Suzanneâs (=Suzanne is Hrithik's wife) name.

The trainer apparently said in a TV interview, that he had trained not just Hrithik, but his wife as well. Not just that, he claimed that he had got good feedback from them too. And after this, Hrithik called him up and asked him about why he had used his wifeâs name in the interview. Even as Prashant apologised, it was too late for Prashant. Hrithik was done (=finished) with him.

Hrithik is popular for the fact that no matter how busy he is, he makes sure that he pumps iron (=exercise) at least an hour a day. The actor has been appreciated by many in the film industry, as the one who gives not a hundred, but a three hundred percent to whatever he does, in order to get it right. And he had to lose a lot of muscle in order to get the schoolboy image right, in the blockbuster hit Koi Mil Gaya. And all eyes are now set on his look in the Ashutosh Gowarikerâs next, opposite Aishwarya Rai, Jodha Akbar.

Questions:
1: I couldn't understand the function of ''himself''. It makes perfect sense without the ''himself''. It emphasises that it is specifically this person.
2: Can ''no'' be used instead of ''not''? "No" cannot be used with "so". You would have to re-write the sentence as "for no good reason". This sentence is saying something has happened that is contrary to his previous good reputation.
3: What does ''Greek God'' mean? A Greek god is used as a term to indicate a person is very handsome.
4: Does ''a day's work'' mean ''one day's work? In this context, yes
5: What does ''birdies'' mean? Euphemism for people who gossip about others. It comes from the saying "A little birdie told me", which is used when you so not want to let someone know who told you something.
6: What does ''hot potato'' mean? A hot potato cannot be held because it burns the hand - so metaphorically he is being dropped very quickly
7: What does the author by saying ''his new found fame''? Is he referring to the fact that training Hrithik contributed to the fame of Prashant? Yes
8: I don't see any need of using ''as'' in the expression ''even as''.It is a collocation.

The trainer apparently said in a TV interview, that he had trained...

Jackson6612 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 19:01:16 GMT

Prashant Sawant is a known name in Bollywood. No! He isnât any established (=already in use or existing for a long period of time) star or an upcoming newcomer to watch out for (=to pay close attention in a particular situation because you are expecting something to happen). The man is a personal trainer, who is best known in the film industry for having trained none other than the badshah (=Hindi/Urdu word for king) of bollywood, the king Khan himself, Shah Rukh Khan. But this time he is in the news for not so good reasons. The trainer, whom the local Greek God Hrithik Roshan had been eager to sign, has been dropped by the the superstar after just a dayâs work.

Hrithik had heard a lot about the work of Prashant as a trainer. But after hiring him, he was not satisfied by the training that he got. And after just a dayâs work with him, the megastar told him that his style of training wasnât going well enough. But birdies in Bollywood are citing more than just this as a reason why Prashant was dropped by Hrithik like a hot potato. The reason being cited, is that Prashant tried to cash in on his new found fame, by using Hrithik and Suzanneâs (=Suzanne is Hrithik's wife) name.

The trainer apparently said in a TV interview, that he had trained not just Hrithik, but his wife as well. Not just that, he claimed that he had got good feedback from them too. And after this, Hrithik called him up and asked him about why he had used his wifeâs name in the interview. Even as Prashant apologised, it was too late for Prashant. Hrithik was done (=finished) with him.

Hrithik is popular for the fact that no matter how busy he is, he makes sure that he pumps iron (=exercise) at least an hour a day. The actor has been appreciated by many in the film industry, as the one who gives not a hundred, but a three hundred percent to whatever he does, in order to get it right. And he had to lose a lot of muscle in order to get the schoolboy image right, in the blockbuster hit Koi Mil Gaya. And all eyes are now set on his look in the Ashutosh Gowarikerâs next, opposite Aishwarya Rai, Jodha Akbar.

Questions:
1: I couldn't understand the function of ''himself''. It makes perfect sense without the ''himself''.
2: Can ''no'' be used instead of ''not''?
3: What does ''Greek God'' mean?
4: Does ''a day's work'' mean ''one day's work?
5: What does ''birdies'' mean?
6: What does ''hot potato'' mean?
7: What does the author by saying ''his new found fame''? Is he referring to the fact that training Hrithik contributed to the fame of Prashant?
8: I don't see any need of using ''as'' in the expression ''even as''.

ESL General English Grammar Questions

Re: The trainer apparently said in a TV interview, that he had trained...

The trainer apparently said in a TV interview, that he had trained...