In the following questions four alternatives are given for the idiom/phrase italicised and underlined in the sentence. Choose the alternative which best expresses the meaning of idiom/phrase.
The old beggar ran amok and began to throw stones at the passers-by.
Answer: B
It means ran about wildly.
To run amok is to rush about in a frenzy, from the Malay amuk, describing a murderous rage.
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I cannot conceive of a time when I was without a refrigerator.
Answer: A
It means imagine.
To conceive of something is to form an idea of it in the mind.
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Some proverbs/idioms are given below together with their meanings. Choose the correct meaning of proverb/idiom, If there is no correct meaning given, E (i.e.) 'None of these' will be the answer.
To make clean breast of
Answer: C
It means to confess without reserve.
To make a clean breast of something is to admit it fully, the breast being the seat of what one conceals.
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To keep one's temper
Answer: B
It means to be in a good mood.
To keep one's temper is to stay calm and not give way to anger - the opposite of losing it.
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To catch a tartar
Answer: B
It means to catch a dangerous person.
To catch a Tartar is to tackle someone who proves too strong - from the story of a soldier who called out that he had caught a Tartar and, asked to bring him along, replied that the Tartar would not let him go.
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To drive home
Answer: D
It means to emphasise.
To drive something home is to make a point so forcibly that it cannot be missed - the image is of hammering a nail all the way in.
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To have an axe to grind
Answer: A
It means a private end to serve.
To have an axe to grind is to have a selfish motive behind an apparently disinterested act, from Franklin's story of the man who flattered a boy into turning the grindstone for him.
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To cry wolf
Answer: B
It means to give a false alarm.
From Aesop's shepherd boy who called wolf for amusement until, when the wolf came, nobody believed him.
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To end in smoke
Answer: B
It means to ruin oneself.
To end in smoke is to come to nothing, all the substance having gone up in vapour.
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To pick holes
Answer: C
It means to criticise someone.
To pick holes is to find fault, as one picks at a fabric until it gives way.
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