Idioms and Phrases Questions and Answers

Q: To cry wolf

To cry wolf means to give false alarm: to call for help when there is no need, so that one is not believed when there really is danger.It comes from the fable of the shepherd boy who kept shouting 'Wolf!' as a joke. When a wolf really came, the villagers ignored his cries.The other choices are the meanings of other expressions: to be all ears (to listen eagerly), to turn pale, and to keep the wolf from the door (to keep off starvation), which shares a word with this idiom but not its meaning.

Q: To make clean breast of

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.

Q: To keep one's temper

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.

Q: To catch a tartar

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.

Q: To drive home

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.

Q: To have an axe to grind

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.

Q: To cry wolf

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.

Q: To end in smoke

It means to ruin oneself.To end in smoke is to come to nothing, all the substance having gone up in vapour.

Q: To pick holes

It means to criticise someone.To pick holes is to find fault, as one picks at a fabric until it gives way.

Q: To leave someone in the lurch

It means to desert someone in his difficulties.The lurch is a losing position in the old game of lourche, so to leave someone in it is to abandon him when he most needs help.

Direction for [ Question No: 91 To 91 ] :

Choose the appropriate meanings of the phrases/idioms given below :

91.

To cry wolf

A.To listen eagerly
B.To give false alarm
C.To turn pale
D.To keep off starvation

Exam Year(s)

Tripura Public Service Commission - 2026,

Answer: B

To cry wolf means to give false alarm: to call for help when there is no need, so that one is not believed when there really is danger.

It comes from the fable of the shepherd boy who kept shouting 'Wolf!' as a joke. When a wolf really came, the villagers ignored his cries.

The other choices are the meanings of other expressions: to be all ears (to listen eagerly), to turn pale, and to keep the wolf from the door (to keep off starvation), which shares a word with this idiom but not its meaning.

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Direction for [ Question No: 92 To 100 ] :

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.

92.

To make clean breast of

A.To gain prominence
B.To praise oneself
C.To confess without reserve
D.To destroy before it blooms
E.None of these

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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93.

To keep one's temper

A.To become hungry
B.To be in a good mood
C.To preserve one's energy
D.To be aloof from
E.None of these

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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94.

To catch a tartar

A.To trap wanted criminal with great difficulty
B.To catch a dangerous person
C.To meet with disaster
D.To deal with a person who is more than one's match
E.None of these

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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95.

To drive home

A.To find one's roots
B.To return to place of rest
C.Back to original position
D.To emphasise
E.None of these

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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96.

To have an axe to grind

A.A private end to serve
B.To fail to arouse interest
C.To have no result
D.To work for both sides
E.None of these

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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97.

To cry wolf