Come to terms…

It took Kaka a lot of time to come to terms with his lost superstardom

Come to terms – thats the phrase we discuss in this step towards better English communication skills.

Lets see the phrase in action:

1. It is time you came to terms with the fact that Sanju is a grown up boy now and he will take his life’s decisions. You can give suggestions but you shouldn’t feel bad when he chooses not to go with them.
2. Her father died when she was a kid and it took her a long time to come to terms with the tragedy.

Come to terms means to accept something, to internalize it as true. It is generally used when a situation changes and the people concerned have to realize that things have changed and are no longer what they used to be.

Let’s take some more examples:

1. The old generation of politicians should come to terms with the new generation of young, ambitious and articulate India. You cannot pretend to be a holy cow just because you’ve won an election. They will ask questions and force you to answer.
2. It is very difficult for a superstar to come to terms with his declining popularity. For someone who is used to so much adulation to be neglected all of a sudden can be a nerve racking experience.
3. For the earlier kings and their families, coming to terms with democracy was a difficult proposition.

A changed situation and someone adjusting to the changed situation – thats the idea of coming to terms.

More examples:

1. He needs to quickly come to terms with his party’s defeat in the elections.
2. Sumit was hooked on to the T-20 world cup. He desperately wanted India to win the world cup. When India could not reach semi-finals, he became sad and depressed. It took him two days to come to terms with India’s ouster.