Final Word from Thursday, January 21, 2016
"Fix" is one of those multipurpose words with several standard definitions, as either a noun or verb, and an entire trove of slang meanings. You can "fix" (repair) a broken pipe, or you can "fix" (rig) a contest. We heard this week about how tennis matches can be "fixed" at the very top. If you like to win steeplechases, you can give your horse a "fix" (a dose of drugs). If you're a lawyer, you can get "fixed for life" (really rich) if you join the bankruptcy mafia, but you might also get "fixed" (taken care of) if your name is Ivo Hala and you run up against Andrej Babiš in the process. If you want to win at the arbitration court and haven't been "fixed up" with a certain Prague lawyer, you can forget it, because everyone knows the "fix is in." If you're out of your league, you better hire a "fixer." We could go on and on, but Czech readers might now see why foreigners find it so appropriate and amusing that they are met at Prague Airport by a FIX taxi. [Czech Republic insolvency Pardubice]
Glossary of difficult words
the fix is in - steps have been taken to ensure that a plan or event favors whoever has paid the bribe, arranged the deal, etc.;
trove - a store of valuable or delightful things;
to rig - to manage or conduct (something) fraudulently so as to produce a result or situation that is advantageous to a particular person;
to fix someone up with someone - to arrange a meeting or date for someone with someone else;
to be out of one'e league - to be in a situation which one is poorly prepared to handle;
fixer - one who arranges or adjusts things, a go-between, esp. in illegal matters.