IDIOMS/PHRASES
 22. He has to abide by the hard and         30. The party high command wanted         37. I don’t know why she has
       fast rule of the company.                   to stave off an open battle.            become stand-offish recently.
       (1) flexible (2) strict                     (1) postpone                            (1) angry
       (3) difficult (4) honest                    (2) wait and see                        (2) hilarious
 23. She goes to her mother’s house                (3) allow it to take its own course     (3) indifferent
       off and on.                                 (4) prevent                             (4) unmanageable
       (1) frequently     (2) rarely                                                   38. Why don’t you put an end to
                                             31. Ramesh takes after his father.
       (3) occasionally (4) sometimes              (1) follows       (2) imitates          blowing your own trumpet ?
 24. The robber murdered, the                                                              (1) playing your own trumpet to
                                                   (3) obeys         (4) resembles
       woman in cold blood for the                                                             produce music
       sake of the jewels.                   32. They made no bones about
                                                   acknowledging their debt to his         (2) making too much noise
       (1) a mu rder done without
                                                   genius.                                 (3) praising your own abilities
           feeling
                                                   (1) did not have any hesitation             and achievements
       (2) a murder done in revenge
                                                       in                                  (4) None of these
       (3) a murder done in great anger
                                                   (2) did not have any faith in       39. I knew he had an axe to grind
       (4) a murder done in enmity
                                                   (3) demanded compensation for           and turned down his offer of
 25. Indians are going places in the                                                       help.
       field of software technology.               (4) had problems in
                                                                                           (1) a blunt axe
       (1) going abroad                      33. It is evident from the minister’s
                                                                                           (2) a sharp tongue
       (2) going to spaces                         statement that heads will roll
                                                   in the Secretariat.                     (3) a private interest to serve
       (3) talented and successful
                                                   (1) transfers will take place           (4) a tendency to fight
       (4) friendly and amicable
                                                   (2) heads will be cut off           40. The saint’s life was an open
     Direction s (26-35) : In the
                                                                                           book.
following questions, four alternatives             (3) people will die
are given for the Idiom/Phrase in bold                                                     (1) an uncomplicated one
                                                   (4) dismissals will occur
in the sentence. Choose the alternative                                                    (2) one that held no secrets
                                             34. During the last moments of his
which best expresses the meaning of                                                        (3) an example to all
                                                   life, the criminal made a clean
the Idiom/Phrase given in bold.                    breast of everything he had             (4) an interesting biography
               (SSC Section Officer (Audit)        done.                               41. Reading between the lines I
                       Exam. 14.12.2003)           (1) showed his breast                   realised that my friend wanted
 26. The poet drew on his fancy, not               (2) fought like a hero                  to keep something from me.
       his knowledge of Nature, when                                                       (1) looking for meanings that are
                                                   (3) confessed without reserve
       he wrote his poem on birds.                                                             not actually expressed
                                                   (4) faced bravely
       (1) used his understanding                                                          (2) reading carelessly
       (2) used his knowledge                35. She tries very hard to keep up
                                                                                           (3) reading with anxiety
       (3) used his imagination                    with her rich neighbours.
                                                                                           (4) glancing over the lines
                                                   (1) to imitate
       (4) used his skill                                                              42. Sometimes, it happens that we
                                                   (2) to keep in touch
 27. My neighbour had to pay                                                               have to give the devil his due.
       through his nose for a brand                (3) to avoid
                                                                                           (1) to gi ve credit to even a
       new car.                                    (4) to be on par                            notorious person
       (1) pay huge loans                        Directio ns (36-46) : In the              (2) to give encouragement even
       (2) pay a reasonable price           following questions, four alternatives             to the enemy
       (3) pay an extremely high price      are given for the Idiom/Phrase in bold         (3) to invite the devil
       (4) make a quick buck                in the sentence. Choose the alternative
                                                                                           (4) to stand in the way of the
                                            which best expresses the meaning of
 28. Very ambitious people do not like                                                         devil
                                            the Idiom/Phrase.
       to rest on their laurels.                                                       43. The king had been made to eat
                                                    (SSC Tax Assistant (Income Tax &
       (1) to be unhappy                                                                   humble pie.
                                                    Central Excise) Exam. 05.12.2004)
       (2) to be motivated                                                                 (1) to eat slowly
                                             36. He went on sowing wild oats;
       (3) to be impatient                                                                 (2) to have an excellent dish
                                                   he reaped suffering in his later
       (4) to be complacent                        life.                                   (3) to eat a good pie
 29. If he phones again, I am going                (1) inviting troubles as a boy          (4) to apologise
       to give him a piece of my                                                       44. He was given Hobson’s choice
                                                   (2) warni ng others as a
       mind.                                                                               by the employer.
                                                       youngman
       (1) to be nice to him                                                               (1) excellent choice
                                                   (3) irresponsi ble pleasure
       (2) to take revenge on him
                                                       seeking in young age                (2) no real choice at all
       (3) to reprimand him
                                                   (4) sowing grains called oats           (3) choice to live or die
       (4) to support him
                                                       when young                          (4) first choice
                                                            SEE–710