please explain these

[lalda222]

dear sir, 1. put sb to the letmus test .2. he is undergoing an operation . 3. clean up your acts .4 overhead conditions . 5. mainstream political leader . 6. put sb on the back foot.



lots of thanks

[waseem gurmani]

dear i am explaining it according to my assessment....someone may better know
1.putting somebody to litmus test means giving him/her some options to chose one of them according to his/her will.the options are mostly difficult to decide. Actually litmus test in science tells us about the acid and basis(both being opposite in traits)
so putting someone to litmus test means giving him opposing and thoughtprovoking choices. litmus test judges the abilities of that person by seeing his/her choice. clear?
2.he is undergoing an operation means he is under the influence of an operation.well, the meaning can be molded according to the situation.
undergo means coming under the influence of something or opting for something. clear?

3.well i have no clear idea regarding "clean up your acts" i speculate its meaning would be to clean all the wrongdoings done by one or you can use "redeem" as alternative. i speculate

4.overhead conditions" can also be guessed by scrutinising the whole sentence. its meanings may be difficult or critical conditions in some specific matter.
5.mainstream political leader means important and famous political leader like "benazir is mainstream political leader in pakistan"
6.to put somebody at the backfoot means degrading somebody by neglecting his/her role in any matter. i suppose that as i am not sured




bhai jan aur kuch pochna ho tu zaroor batana.i am always there for the service of my paki brothers.

[Naamplao]

dear i am explaining it according to my assessment....someone may better know
1.putting somebody to litmus test means giving him/her some options to chose one of them according to his/her will.the options are mostly difficult to decide. Actually litmus test in science tells us about the acid and basis(both being opposite in traits)
so putting someone to litmus test means giving him opposing and thoughtprovoking choices. litmus test judges the abilities of that person by seeing his/her choice. clear?

Not quite but a good guess. As you said in chemistry a litmus test is a paper strip with a pH indicator impregnated in it to indicate whether a liquid is an acid or base.

When used outside of Chemistry, it means a single specific test to determine if something is true or not. For example, you might create a situation where someone is tempted to steal money (leaving money on a counter) and this would be a litmus test of that person's honesty.

2.he is undergoing an operation means he is under the influence of an operation.well, the meaning can be molded according to the situation.
undergo means coming under the influence of something or opting for something. clear?

No...it usually means (with no other context) that he is having surgery.

3.well i have no clear idea regarding "clean up your acts" i speculate its meaning would be to clean all the wrongdoings done by one or you can use "redeem" as alternative. i speculate

Not bad... "to clean up your act" (it is usually singular) means to put your life in a better order. Perhaps you were a criminal...now you have reformed. Perhaps you were a smoker...now you have stopped smoking and your health improves. Perhaps you were an overeater and were fat....now you eat properly and are getting slim.

4.Overhead conditions" can also be guessed by scrutinising the whole sentence. Its meanings may be difficult or critical conditions in some specific matter.

"Overhead conditions" is meaningless without context. Something is going on above your head, that is all you know.

5.Mainstream political leader means important and famous political leader like "Benazir is mainstream political leader in Pakistan"

Also add that they appeal to the popular sentiment of the people.

6.To put somebody on their back foot means degrading somebody by neglecting his/her role in any matter. I suppose this but I am not sure.

It is not a popular saying but I would guess it means "to put someone on the defensive". If you are being attacked physically your weight is usually on your back foot.

bhai jan aur kuch pochna ho tu zaroor batana.i am always there for the service of my paki brothers.

You did a good job trying to answer these questions. Even though you weren't 100% you were thinking them through. Watch your capital letters.

[waseem gurmani]

well, dear you have rightly guided me.
as for as capital letters are conerned i am not preparing for any exam. so in hurry i dont bother about that usually.
dear i have different veiwpoint regarding "undergoing an operation".
you are considering operation as an activity usually done by doctors for the treatment of diseases. but dear operation is also used as"military operation"
here it doesnt reflect the exact meaning.
moreover, undergo reflects something under the influence or effect of. so here it will mean different.......hope you have got which i wanted to deliver

[Naamplao]

well, dear you have rightly guided me.
as for as capital letters are conerned i am not preparing for any exam. so in hurry i dont bother about that usually.
dear i have different veiwpoint regarding "undergoing an operation".
you are considering operation as an activity usually done by doctors for the treatment of diseases. but dear operation is also used as"military operation"
here it doesnt reflect the exact meaning.
moreover, undergo reflects something under the influence or effect of. so here it will mean different.......hope you have got which i wanted to deliver

Well, simply because you are not preparing for an exam, is not a reason to write English incorrectly.

If you re-read my answer, you will see that I acknowledge that there are other meanings for "undergoing an operation". I said that in the face of no context information to suggest otherwise the "common interpretation" would be that the person has a medical problem requiring surgery.

Your interpretation would require some context to suggest this is the correct answer.