In the sentence 'In the match against the uplanders team, the sub mariners turned out to be the "dark horse",' the phrase "dark horse" means
"Dark horse" refers to an unexpected winner, not favored to succeed but surprising everyone by winning.
In the sentence 'Only the "small fry" get punished for such social misdemeanors,' the phrase "small fry" means
"Small fry" denotes people of little importance, often punished while significant figures escape.
In the sentence 'He spoke with his "heart in his mouth",' the phrase "heart in his mouth" means
"Heart in his mouth" indicates extreme nervousness or fear during speech or action.
In the sentence 'The "leader" in today’s issue of our popular newspaper focuses on inflation,' the word "leader" means
In newspapers, "leader" refers to the editorial, expressing the publication’s opinion.
In the sentence 'From the ways my friend talks, you can see he is such a "bore",' the word "bore" means
A "bore" is someone dull or uninteresting, causing others to lose interest.
In the sentence 'His jail terms were to run "concurrently",' the word "concurrently" means
"Concurrently" means serving multiple sentences at the same time, not one after another.
In the sentence 'There is some "obvious symmetry" in the whole presentation,' the phrase "obvious symmetry" means
"Obvious symmetry" implies a balanced, harmonious arrangement, suggesting order.
In the sentence 'The bill has to wait as we are now "insolvent",' the word "insolvent" means
"Insolvent" means unable to pay debts, synonymous with being bankrupt.
In the sentence 'All his plans "fell through",' the phrase "fell through" means
"Fell through" means plans did not succeed or were abandoned.
In the sentence 'The balance sheet at the end of the business year shows that we "broke even",' the phrase "broke even" means
"Broke even" means no profit or loss, with expenses equaling income.
In the sentence 'He was appointed specifically to "put the recruits through",' the phrase "put the recruits through" means
"Put the recruits through" means to train or prepare them rigorously.
In the sentence 'The result of his experiment represents a "breakthrough" in medical science,' the word "breakthrough" means
A "breakthrough" is a significant achievement, especially in science.
In the sentence 'Being an optimist, our professor always sees the "bright" side of most things,' the word "bright" means
"Bright" side refers to the positive or hopeful aspect, aligning with optimism.
In the sentence 'The state government appointed a commission of inquiry to "go into" the community’s complaints carefully,' the phrase "go into" means
"Go into" means to thoroughly examine or investigate, as in an official inquiry.
In the sentence 'The traffic situation in Lagos can lead to disastrous consequences; a man lost a lucrative job because he was "held up" by it,' the phrase "held up" means
"Held up" by traffic means being delayed due to congestion.
In the sentence 'Mrs. Dada has been deserted by her husband because he feels she has a "heart of stone",' the phrase "heart of stone" means
"Heart of stone" means being cold or unfeeling, best described as "hard hearted."
The sentence 'Mr. Jack could be a successful businessman if he paid more attention to the more intricate aspects of his account' means
The conditional suggests success is possible with more attention, implying a good chance.
The sentence 'If my father had not arrived, I would have starved' means
The subjunctive indicates a hypothetical scenario avoided because the father arrived.
In the sentence 'The two sprinters were running "neck and neck",' the phrase "neck and neck" means
"Neck and neck" means being very close or equal in a race, running side by side.
In the sentence 'He "stared" at her,' the word "stared" means
"Stared" means to look intently or fixedly, closely aligned with "gazed."
In the sentence 'When the man was caught by police, he presented a "bold" front,' the word "bold" means
A "bold" front means acting bravely or confidently, even if scared inside.
When the beggar was tired, he ___ down by the roadside.
The past tense of "lie" (to recline) is "lay," so the beggar "lay down" when tired.
He didn’t like ___ leaving the class early.
"Us" is the object pronoun required after "like," fitting "he didn’t like us leaving."
Before long the operation, the dentist found that his patient’s teeth ___.
Present perfect "have long been decayed" indicates a past condition continuing to the present.
The employer, not the salesman and his representative, ___ responsible for the loss.
The singular subject "employer" requires the singular verb "is."
The boy was born before his parents actually got married and so the court has declared him ___.
A child born before the parents’ marriage is traditionally termed "illegitimate" legally.
As he was still owing me two naira, I was careful not to ___ him any more money.
"Lend" means to give money expecting repayment, fitting the context.
Last week the ___ at the theater was the longest I had ever seen.
In a theater, the group watching a performance is the "audience."
The boxer was highly rated ___ his doggedness and ability to absorb heavy punches.
"For" indicates the reason for the rating, as in rated highly for specific qualities.
Many lives are lost on Nigerian roads ___ lack of consideration for other road users by many crazy drivers.
"Owing totally to" attributes the loss of lives directly to drivers’ lack of consideration.
The man no longer feared his opponent after their spokesman had assured him they were well disposed ___ him.
"Well disposed to" means having a favorable attitude toward someone.
My little boy is hyper-active and he is therefore prone ___ accidents.
"Prone to" means likely to experience something, like accidents.
His horrible high-pitched laugh ___ on my nerves.
"Jars on my nerves" means to irritate or annoy, fitting the context.
The train rattled along ___ full speed.
"At full speed" uses "at" to indicate the speed of the train.
You wouldn’t have thought that somebody would have informed me ___.
"Wouldn’t you" is a tag question seeking agreement in a conversational tone.
If this had happened to you, what ___?
The past perfect "had happened" requires "would you have done" for a hypothetical past scenario.
What a relief that the strike ___ when it did!
The simple past "ended" matches the past event indicated by "when it did."
We should take care ___ the robbers come back.
"In case" indicates precaution against a possible event, like robbers returning.
The plaintiff made very "cogent" submissions to the trial judge. Choose the word that most closely expresses the opposite meaning of "cogent."
"Cogent" means convincing or compelling; the opposite is "weak," meaning unconvincing.
In the sentence 'She managed to keep her "head above water" despite financial difficulties,' the phrase "head above water" means
"Head above water" means to stay financially stable or avoid being overwhelmed by difficulties.
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