What we need is a stop-gap solution

His hubris led him to think he could solve it on his own. It only made matters worse

How is the word ‘hubris’ pronounced? (Dr. Jayanth)

There are different ways of pronouncing this word of Greek origin. A simple way is to make the ‘hu’ in the first syllable rhyme with the words, ‘cue’, ‘due’ and ‘few’, and the ‘i’ in the second, sound like the ‘i’ in ‘knit’, ‘chit’ and ‘bit’. The word can be pronounced ‘HYUUbris’ with the stress on the first syllable. It comes from the Greek ‘hybris’ meaning arrogance or insolence. Hubris was looked down upon by the Greeks, and in Greek literature, those that had too much of it, were usually punished by the gods. Achilles, Icarus and Odysseus are three examples. You know what they say, ‘pride goes before a fall’! Nowadays, the word ‘hubris’ is mostly associated with those who have excessive pride and foolish selfconfidence — as a result, they behave in an outrageous manner, with little or no regard for the norms followed by all.

The movie mogul’s hubris ultimately led to his downfall.

Please be careful. You’re losing a lot of goodwill because of your hubris.

What is the meaning and origin of the expression ‘stop-gap’? (Khan Ashraf, Thane District)

A ‘stopgap’ solution to a problem is a temporary, and not a permanent solution to an existing problem. You hope to find a better solution, but till such time, you will continue to use the makeshift solution. Another term which is frequently used to refer to such a solution is ‘bandaid solution’.

The two people we want to hire cannot join till the end of summer. Until then, we need someone as a stopgap.

Till the inverter was fixed, we used the old diesel generator as a stopgap.

Stopgap is the shortened form of the expression ‘stop a gap’; the ‘stop’ in the expression means to plug or close. So, when you ‘stop a gap’ what you are doing is plugging a hole as quickly as possible. You make use of whatever is available to plug or fix the leak.

What is a female administrator called? ( Jyostsana Gulati, Rohtak)

This is a strange question to ask because, of late, the English language has been trying to become gender neutral. People, for example, have stopped using the suffix ‘ess’ to denote the female gender. Its use is considered rather old fashioned. Native speakers of English prefer to use the word ‘actor’ to refer to both male and female artists. Similarly, the suffix ‘man’ in words like ‘chairman’, ‘spokesman’, etc. has been replaced by ‘person’. The words ‘chairperson’ and ‘spokesperson’ do not really indicate if the individual in question is a male or female. So, to answer your question, most people today would refer to her as the ‘administrator’.

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