English MCQs – Page 77 (Q761-770)

The correct answer is 'To make a bad situation worse' because this idiom describes an action that compounds existing harm or difficulty rather than alleviating it. The phrase traces back to an ancient fable by the Roman writer Phaedrus, in which a bald man, already suffering the indignity of a fly biting his head, is further humiliated when he slaps himself trying to kill it, missing the fly and worsening his own pain, vividly capturing the sense of an already bad situation being made even worse.

The correct answer is 'To avoid getting to the point' because this idiom describes talking around a subject indirectly rather than addressing it directly, often to avoid an uncomfortable topic. The phrase originates from hunting practices, where beaters would strike bushes to drive game birds out into the open for hunters, working around the bush's edges rather than directly grabbing the animal hiding within, a physical circling-around action that became a metaphor for verbal evasiveness.

The correct answer is 'To work or study late into the night' because this idiom describes staying up working or studying well past the usual bedtime. The phrase originates from the era before electric lighting, when oil lamps were the primary source of illumination for those working after dark, and someone still working past midnight would literally be burning oil in their lamp to see, a literal practice that became a fixed figurative expression for late-night diligence, still used today despite the shift to electric lighting.

The correct answer is 'Something very easy' because this idiom describes a task requiring minimal effort or difficulty to complete. The comparison likely draws on how effortlessly and pleasurably a piece of cake can be eaten compared to more demanding foods, giving rise to the figurative sense of easy accomplishment, contrasted with the distractor 'something difficult', its near-opposite meaning, and 'something delicious' or 'something expensive', both describing unrelated qualities of cake rather than the ease of a task.

The correct answer is 'To achieve two goals with a single action' because this idiom describes efficiently accomplishing two objectives at once through one effort, drawing on the vivid image of a hunter managing to strike two birds simultaneously with just one thrown stone, an unusually efficient and lucky outcome that became a standard metaphor for multitasking efficiency in everyday and professional contexts, distinct from the more literal, harm-related interpretations offered among the distractor options.

The correct answer is 'To joke or tease someone' because this idiom describes playfully deceiving or teasing someone in a lighthearted, non-malicious way, often by telling an exaggerated or false story for amusement. The distractor 'to insult someone seriously' misses the playful, harmless intent central to this idiom, since 'pulling someone's leg' implies affectionate teasing rather than genuine harm, a distinction frequently tested to ensure students grasp the idiom's specifically lighthearted, joking connotation.

The correct answer is 'To describe something exactly right' because this idiom describes making a precisely accurate statement or observation, especially in identifying the exact cause or solution to a problem. The phrase derives from carpentry, where striking a nail squarely on its head drives it in cleanly and efficiently, unlike a glancing, inaccurate blow that would bend the nail or miss entirely, making this a fitting metaphor for verbal or intellectual precision and accuracy.

The correct answer is 'To join a popular trend or activity' because this idiom describes adopting a cause, activity, or opinion simply because it has become popular or fashionable, sometimes with a slightly negative connotation of following the crowd rather than acting independently. The phrase originates from nineteenth-century American political campaigns, where bandwagons, wagons carrying musicians, would lead parades, and supporters would literally jump onto the wagon to show public allegiance to a candidate, a practice that gave rise to this now widely used figurative expression.

The correct answer is 'To deliberately ignore something' because this idiom describes intentionally overlooking or refusing to acknowledge a wrongdoing or problem one is fully aware of. The phrase is popularly, though perhaps apocryphally, attributed to British Admiral Horatio Nelson, who, blind in one eye, reportedly raised his telescope to that blind eye during the Battle of Copenhagen to avoid seeing a signal ordering him to retreat, allowing him to press forward with the attack, giving the idiom its vivid connection to willful, strategic disregard.

The correct answer is 'To watch or monitor carefully' because this idiom describes paying close, ongoing attention to someone or something, often to ensure safety or detect problems early. The distractor options, 'to close one's eyes', 'to lose track of', and 'to ignore completely', all describe the direct opposite of careful attention, reversing the idiom's meaning entirely, making this a straightforward but important test of whether students can distinguish the idiom's watchful intent from actions that reduce or eliminate observation.