WORD POWER
Nothing to lose
Prerana Trehan

Failure is not a pleasant experience as many of our sportspersons undoubtedly found out in Athens. However, losing is a valuable teacher and among the many things it has to teach are some interesting idioms.

Have no time to lose: it is important to do something immediately.

I have no time to lose if I want to finish this assignment by tomorrow.

Lose face: do something which makes other people stop respecting you.

The minister lost face when details of his involvement with the underworld came to light.

Lose heart: stop believing that you can succeed.

My parents tell me that I should do my best in my exams but I should not lose heart if I don’t do well.

Lose touch: stop having regular communication with someone.

When I left my hometown to pursue higher studies, I lost touch with most of my school friends.

Lose your touch: be unable to do something as well as you could before.

Even though Martina Navratilova is way past her prime, she has still not lost her touch on court.

Lose track: no longer know what is happening to something or someone.

There are so many characters in the book that I have lost track of the plot.

Lose your cool: suddenly become very angry and start shouting.

My father is very punctual and he loses his cool if someone is late for an appointment.

Lose your edge: lose the qualities or skills that made you successful in the past.

Revlon was the leader in the cosmetics market but ever since Lakme introduced competitively priced cosmetics, Revlon has lost its edge.

Complete the following sentences:

The teacher lost his`85when caught the students cheating in the exam.

The accident victim is badly injured and we have no`85in taking him to a hospital.

I do not want to lose`85with my friends so I make it a point to write to them regularly.

(Reference: Cambridge International Dictionary of Idioms)