Business - in September last year I explained the difference between businesspeople and entrepreneurs (positive versus negative evocations, basically), but it was back in July 2000 that I looked at the word "business", so I feel it's time for another look.

First it is necessary to understand the difference between "some business" and "a business". The latter is easier because it means a company, a firm or a practise, or "an enterprise" as in Offshore English (the variety of English used by the international business community), as in: "They have set up their own business." The other "business" has a range of meanings.

It could be "podnikanie", like: "They should go into business together." It could be "podnikateľský zámer", as in: "We've been in the power-tools business for seven years now." It could be "záležitosť", like: "The whole business was very embarrassing." Or it could be informal, like "vec", as in: "Mind your own business!"

If you hear someone describe the latest technology or a new music band as "the bee's knees", they are not concerned with insect anatomy - it's a special pronunciation of "business", meaning the latest development, something absolutely up-to-date or impressively relevant. DJ Tráva's "deep up", let's say - but only ironically…