MCQ Test: Idioms and Phrases- 2 - Banking Exams MCQ

Grabbing  the eye-balls (Idiom):

Gaining attention.

Turning the page(Idiom):

To move on to new involvements or activities; to make a fresh start.

Ex. You've been divorced for three years. It's time to turn the page and start looking for somebody else.

Giving a jumpstart (Idiom):

To give a super start to someone’s career.

Going berserk (Idiom):

To erupt in furious rage, become crazily violent.

Ex. When they announced the gymnast's score, her coach went berserk.

Beginning to see daylight (Idiom):

To realize that one is approaching the end of a project or task.

Ex. When I scheduled my thesis defense, I began to see daylight after two years of hard work.

Clearly, option B is the correct answer in the context of the sentence.

On ice (Idiom):

Suspended or left hanging.

Ex. This matter should be on ice for a while.

On cloud nine (Idiom):

Extremely happy.

Under the weather (Idiom):

Slightly unwell or in low spirits.

Ex. She was sufficiently under the weather to have to pull out of the championship"

On the rocks (Idiom):

(of a relationship or enterprise) experiencing difficulties and likely to fail.

Ex. His marriage was on the rocks.

On the scent (Idiom):

In possession of a useful clue in a search or investigation.

Ex. He might be on the scent of something.

Evidently, option A is the correct answer.

Rubber room (Noun phrase):

A room in which the walls are padded. It is typically found in psychiatric institutions, where it houses one who is not mentally stable, in an effort to prevent self-harm.

Gab room (Noun phrase):

A women’s restroom where women are said to chatter. She went to the gab room to powder her nose.

Elbow room (Idiom):

The freedom and ability to act as one wants.

Ex. If you're worried about her having too much elbow room as student council president, you should impose limitations.

Engine room (Idiom):

The main source of talent, power, or ability in a team or group, likened to the room that houses a ship's engine.

Ex. Sarah is our engine room, so with her injured, I'm not sure how we'll be able to win on Saturday.

Rumpus room (Idiom):

A family recreation room.

Ex. If you kids are going to play rough, you’ll have to go down to the rumpus room.

Clearly, option C is the correct answer.

Take to task (Idiom):

To scold, reprimand, rebuke or lecture someone on some wrong or error they have committed.

Ex. Mom took me to task over the alcohol she found in my car.

Take someone/something with a pinch of salt (Idiom):

To not completely believe something that you are told, because you think it is unlikely to be true.

Ex. You have to take everything she says with a pinch of salt, because she tends to exaggerate.

Give someone a cold shoulder (Idiom):

To intentionally ignore someone or treat someone in an unfriendly way.

Ex. I thought she really liked me, but the next day she gave me the cold shoulder.

Cut someone some slack (Idiom):

To allow one more latitude or freedom than usual; to be lenient with one.

Ex. Oh, you know I never make requests like this, cut me some slack.

Rain on someone’s parade (Idiom):

To prevent someone from enjoying an event; spoil someone's plans.

Evidently, out of the options given, only option A replaces the bold part most appropriately.

Option A is hence the correct answer.

Go the whole hog (Idiom):

To do something completely or thoroughly.

Ex. Vineeta decided to go the whole hog and joined the Army.

Be on toes (Idiom):

To stay active and alert.

This idiom could have been the correct choice, had ‘with minor details’ part not been there in the sentence.

Linger on (Idiom):

To remain alive; continue or persist, although gradually dying, ceasing, disappearing.

Ex. She lingered a few months after the heart attack.

Dot your i's and cross your t’s (idiom):

To pay complete attention to the details.

Ex. Your instructor is a tough grader, be sure to dot your 'i's and cross your 't's on your research.

Stay the course (Idiom)

To keep going strongly to the end of a race or contest.

Ex. Critics predicted the car could not stay the distance.

Clearly, option D implies the same meaning as given in bold in the sentence.

Option D is hence the correct answer.

I. Wrap your head around something means to comprehend something that one considers confusing, or a foreign concept. The statement conveys this meaning and is correct.

II. Give someone the cold shoulder means to Ignore someone. The statement conveys this meaning and is correct.

III. Cut the mustard means to do a good job. The statement here is absurd and does not convey this meaning.

Hence, option C is correct.

I. Take a rain check: If you take a rain check, you decline an offer now, suggesting you will accept it later.
Ex: I'm sorry, Mimi, I'm just too exhausted to go out tonight. Could I take a rain check?

The idiom is used correctly in statement I.

II. Let sleeping dogs lie: This means to not disturb a situation and leave it as it is to avoid further trouble or complications.
Ex: Jane knew she should report the accident but decided to let sleeping dogs lie.

The statement above conveys the opposite and is incorrect.

III. Steal someone's thunder refers to take credit for something someone else did.
Ex: She did not announce the news at the party because her friend was getting married and she did not want to steal her thunder.

The statement above conveys the meaning well. This is correct.

Hence, option D is correct.

I. To tell someone that you’re now playing hardball means you’re not taking it easy any more. You will do anything that is necessary to achieve what you want, even if this involves being harsh or unfair. This is correct.
Eg: I think it's time we play hardball with the suspect—he's not going to talk otherwise.

II. This idiom means trying to run before you can walk. It refers to something that is done contrary to a conventional or culturally expected order or relationship. This is correct.
Eg: With sudden clarity he realized that he needed to backtrack and make better plans, he’d been putting the cart before the horse and it was time to make corrections. This is correct.

III. To be cut from the same cloth means that you’re identical or very, very similar to someone else.
Eg: That boy and his dad are definitely cut from the same cloth.

Hence, option D is correct.

I. The correct idiom is in the heat of the moment and refers to a rash decision made in a frantic moment. This is incorrect.
Eg: Reckless spending is almost always the result of a heat-of-the-moment decision- an unplanned, impulse purchase where you hand over your credit card without thinking.

II. To have a cow is an idiom which means to have a fit. The original is thus incorrect.
Eg: He had a cow when he saw the mess we made

III. Egg on your face refers to being caught in an awkward moment and means that you’re embarrassed and ashamed. This is incorrect.
Eg: This latest scandal has left the government with egg on its face.

Hence, option E is correct.

Smell a rat (Idiom):

To suspect that someone is guilty of betrayal, deception, or causing a situation to go wrong.
Ex. He thought he could smell a rat when he saw smith walking away from the scene of the crime.

Hence, option D is the correct answer.

Once in a blue moon (Idiom): Occasionally; very rarely.

Ex. Rohan only comes out for a drink once in blue moon now that he has kids.
Option B is hence the correct answer.

Piece of cake- A very easy task or accomplishment.
Ex. I thought I was going to fail the test, but it turned out to be a piece of cake!

Option A is hence the correct answer.

At sixes and sevens (Idiom): In a state of total confusion or disarray.
Ex. After taking care of three sick kids all week,  I'm totally at sixes  and sevens.

Option C is hence the correct answer.

At bay (Idiom): forced to face or confront one's attackers or pursuers; cornered.
Ex. They lit smoky fires to keep the mosquitoes at bay.
Hence, option C is hence the correct answer.

Gave a mouthful: Talk to or shout at someone in an angry or critical way.
Example: When I asked her politely to move, she gave me a mouthful.
Clearly, option A- Angry conveys the correct meaning here.
Hence, option A is correct.

To raise eyebrows: To elicit shock or offense, typically through unconventional actions or words.
Example: His outspoken comments raised quite a few eyebrows at the meeting.
The most suitable word that conveys the meaning is disapproval.
Hence, option C is correct.

A moot point: Something that is subject to debate, dispute, or uncertainty.

Example: Whether Shakespeare actually wrote the poem remains a moot point among critics.

The meaning conveyed by the explanation is depicted by option D- disputed.

Hence, option D is correct.

To keep a lid on: To control the level of something in order to stop it increasing.

Example: The administration has intervened to keep a lid on inflation.

Out of the given options, the most suitable fit is control as per the explanation given above.

Hence, option A is correct.

The fragment ‘must strengthen their respective fire and safety regulations’ seems to imply that the two cities have parts/areas that are likely to catch fire and cause loss of lives and property.

Looking at the various options:

Extremely crowded and Dangerously uncontrollable are clearly incorrect as population has no relevance to being a tinderbox. Also, dangerously uncontrollable is too vague an option.

Out of Full of inflammable waste and Readily ignited, Readily ignited is the most suitable fit as it conveys the meaning which is most similar to the word tinderbox in the present context.

Hence, option D is the correct answer. 

Comparing apples to oranges: Comparing two things that cannot be compared.

Example: You can't compare your job as a nurse to mine as an engineer—that's comparing apples and oranges!

Option A is opposite of what the idiom means.

Options C and D are both irrelevant.

Option B correctly conveys the actual meaning of the idiom.

Hence, option B is the answer.