<B>The British Council Language Clinic with ?Dr Danny? </B>

Hello and welcome to the English Language Clinic. When I first received this week?s question, my immediate reaction was not to answer it. ?Upon further reflection? (after thinking about it), I decided that it would be better if I did. The question was ?what is a ?knee-jerk reaction??? This idiomatic expression takes its name from the physiological phenomena known as the ?patellar reflex? (when a doctor taps just under your knee cap (patella) with a tendon hammer and (hopefully your leg kicks), which is used to test the function of certain nerves.

This idiom is used to describe a response to a statement or action as being immediate and purely emotional; a ?reflex? response. It is often used to describe the reaction of an individual or group who feel so strongly about something that they do not stop to consider the logic or results of their actions. For example, a toy shop owner noticed that children were responsible for the majority of thefts from his premises. He immediately banned all children from the shop. As, before his ?knee-jerk reaction?, the majority of his customers had been children, the shop was soon forced out of business.

This story could also illustrate another idiom based on the human body. If the owner was aware that his actions would affect him negatively, we might say that he ?cut off his nose to spite his face?.

In last week?s article, I stated that I was attempting to ?diffuse any offence caused?, this was an error. It was not my intention to ?diffuse? (spread widely) the offence, rather, I hoped to ?defuse? it (to make harmless). Apologies all round.

Please send your comments, queries and questions to ?Dr Danny? at the British Council Language Clinic by emailing [email protected].