What are you doing here? I thought you were taking two weeks off, and going to…”

“Got a call from my sister a couple of days ago. Her company isn’t doing too well, and…”

“Not doing too well! That’s a very mild way of putting it. According to most newspaper reports, the company your sister works for is going under.”

“Going under? Does it mean it’s sinking?”

“Exactly! The company is being compared to a sinking ship.”

“I read somewhere that when the Titanic hit the iceberg, the ship went under very quickly.”

“When you use ‘went under’ with a company, it means that it’s going bankrupt. It’s likely to close down soon. It’s like a sinking ship.”

“In other words, it’s a company that’s failing.”

“Yes! Here’s an example. During the epidemic, several well-known businesses in our state went under.”

“When one company goes under, there’s usually a chain reaction.”

“That’s true. If the bank doesn’t give us a loan, the project is likely to go under.”

“That’s the good news! The company that my sister works for is likely to get a substantial loan from the bank.”

“That should keep the company afloat for a while. Is your sister worried about the downsizing that is likely to happen?”

“Downsizing? What are you talking about? Are you talking about people getting fired?”

“Companies don’t use the term ‘fire’ anymore. They ‘lay off’ people or they talk about ‘downsizing’ the company. In other words, they reduce the number of people working.”

“In other words, you downsize by firing some of your workers.”

“That’s right! The result is the same. People lose their jobs. But downsize sounds better, that’s all! It’s the politically correct term. The CEO told the Managers that they should find ways to downsize the workforce by 20%.”

“I don’t think there’ll be any downsizing in my sister’s company.”

“It’s bound to happen. In everyday contexts, downsize is used to mean to move into a smaller accommodation. After retirement, my aunt and uncle downsized, and moved into a small flat.”

“That’s what my mother wants to do. But my father doesn’t believe in downsizing.”

“Men generally don’t. It’s probably because they aren’t really involved in the running of the house. The cleaning, maintenance, and….”

“I know what you mean. The good news is the company that my sister is working for is replacing the CEO.”

“Really? That was quick. Any idea who the replacement is?”

“It’s your friend Ramesh’s cousin – Jagdeep. Know him?”

“No, I don’t! I hope he’s nothing like Ramesh.”

“Why not? Ramesh is a nice guy.”

“I agree with you completely. The problem is, he has nothing between his ears.”

“Nothing between his ears? What are you talking about?”

“The expression is mostly used in informal contexts to talk about one’s intelligence.”

“I see. So, when you say that someone has nothing between the ears, what you mean is that he’s not bright.”

“Exactly! He lacks intelligence. No real common sense. Why would you go to someone like Jyothi for advice? The girl has nothing between the ears.”

“I find it difficult to have a conversation with my neighbour. The guy has nothing between the ears.”

“But he has a lot of money. That’s good enough.”

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