Cut the mustard

I heard that phrase, 'cut the mustard', yesterday for the first time during the lecture.  From the context in which the professor was speaking, I gathered that it must mean something very difficult or requiring great precision.

It actually means, to succeed, to come up to expectations or high standards.

Couldn't find the real origin of the phrase though.  Some said that it actually meant harvesting the mustard plant and not the mustard itself.

Anyway, was amused to hear of it. 

An evening in and around Trichy

This evening we had an interesting prayer service animated by the Salesian Sisters. It was a good and refreshing break from the highly intellectual and formal prayers that we men, are used to! Like Joaquim said after the prayers, it was good to once feel your prayer! Of course, the Sisters were thoroughly fooled during and much later too for their creativity and methodology. But being part of the family they took it all well and are quite comfortable with us.

Earlier during the day we had the fortune of visiting one of the communities of this Province, AMSAM. It is a Parish and a technical school with nearly 80 boys. Besides the beautiful church they have, which Fr Albert Johnson, the Provincial told me over supper is being slowly promoted as a Shrine, we also visited the Province cemetery which has the remains of five (of the six) of their deceased Salesians. Most of those who passed away were quite young confreres and had tragic ends. We said a short prayer, had tea and then thanked the community to return to our session, back in the Provincial house.

One of the things I've been trying to find out is the correct spelling of the place where I presently am: Tiruchy or Trichy? Well no one seems to have the right answer, except for the fact that the former is a Tamil abbreviation of the full name (Tiruchirapalli) and the latter the Angliced form of the former! So much for the name!