'Pogonotrophy': Shashi Tharoor tweets a new word about PM's beard- know what it means
New Delhi, Jul 2: Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, known for his penchant for rarely used English words, sent the Twitterati running for their dictionaries on Friday with another head scratcher -- pogonotrophy.
Tharoor said he learnt of the new word pogonotrophy, which means the growing or cultivation of a beard, from a friend. He also used the word to take an apparent dig at Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
A Twitter user reached out to Tharoor, saying she was waiting to learn a new word and the former Union minister was quick to oblige.
"My friend Rathin Roy, the economist, taught me a new word today: pogonotrophy, which means 'the cultivation of a beard'. As in, the PM's pogonotrophy has been a pandemic preoccupation ," he said in a tweet.
Tharoor's tweet left many bemused with a Twitter user saying, "If the world has Oxford dictionary Why not India has Tharur Dictionary (sic)?"
"Thanks for sharing this one from Tharoorictionary," said another user.
This is not the first time Tharoor has sent Twitterati scurrying for their dictionaries.
In May, Tharoor engaged in a friendly banter with TRS working president K T Rama Rao over COVID-19 medicine names and threw in another head scratcher -- floccinaucinihilipilification.
Oxford dictionary describes floccinaucinihilipilification as the action or habit of estimating something as worthless.
Tharoor has been a man of many words earlier too.
In the past, he has stumped people with rarely used English words such as "farrago" and "troglodyte". While farrago means a confused mixture, a troglodyte means a person regarded as being deliberately ignorant or old-fashioned.
Tharoor has also started a new weekly column on words in the Weekend Magazine of the 'Khaleej Times' of Dubai.
My friend Rathin Roy, the economist, taught me a new word today: pogonotrophy, which means "the cultivation of a beard". As in, the PM's pogonotrophy has been a pandemic preoccupation... https://t.co/oytIvCKRJR
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 1, 2021
If the world has Oxford dictionary
— Abhishek Singh (@Abhi1234525Y) July 1, 2021
Why not India has Tharur Dictionary??
Thanks for sharing this one from Tharoorictionary
— राघव चांडक (@raghavc1) July 2, 2021
Started a new weekly column on words in the Weekend Magazine of the @khaleejtimes of Dubai. Here’s the inaugural piece, today: pic.twitter.com/6hPGV6u7T2
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) July 2, 2021
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DoT directs telcos to block 28,200 mobile handsets, re-verify 20 lakh mobile numbers
New Delhi, May 10: The Department of Telecom (DoT) has directed telecom operators to block 28,200 mobile handsets and carry out immediate reverification of 20 lakh mobile connections for their alleged link with cyber crimes, according to an official statement on Friday.
DoT, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and state police have joined hands for curbing the misuse of telecom resources in cyber-crime and financial frauds and aim to dismantle networks of fraudsters and protect citizens from digital threats, it said.
"Analysis carried out by MHA and state police has revealed that 28,200 mobile handsets were misused in cybercrimes. The DoT further analysed and found that a staggering 20 lakh numbers were used with these mobile handsets.
"Subsequently, DoT issued directions to telecom service providers for pan India blocking of 28,200 mobile handsets and to carry out immediate reverification of 20 lakh mobile connections linked to these mobile handsets and disconnect failing re-verification," the statement said.
The DoT launched Chakshu portal two months ago to handle telecom fraud-related grievances.
Since the launch of the portal, the department has blacklisted 52 entities involved in sending malicious and phishing SMSes, blocked 348 mobile handsets across the country, and flagged 10,834 suspected mobile numbers for re-verification.
Besides, DoT has blocked 1.58 lakh unique mobile device identification number IMEI due to involvement in cyber crimes and financial frauds or mobile connections taken on fake or forged documents.
Till April 30 this year, DoT disconnected 1.66 crore mobile connections, of which 30.14 lakh were disconnected based on users' feedback and 53.78 lakh for exceeding individual limit to buy new SIM cards, as per official data.
