Complete the 12 sentences below. Choose the best answer for each one.
1The minister called the successful pilot scheme the exception ............... the rule, not a model the whole country could copy.
Wrong!
The fixed expression is "the exception to the rule", so the correct answer is "to".
2Her private account of the negotiations is ............... odds with the official transcript.
Wrong!
The idiom is "at odds with", meaning in disagreement with, so the correct answer is "at".
3Withholding the safety report would be tantamount ............... admitting liability.
Wrong!
Use "tantamount to" when one thing is effectively equivalent to another, so the correct answer is "to".
4The board delayed the announcement ............... fear of alarming investors.
Wrong!
The idiom is "for fear of", meaning because of the risk of something happening, so the correct answer is "for".
5She turned a fragile archive into a searchable database ............... dint of patience and meticulous cross-checking.
Wrong!
The idiomatic phrase is "by dint of", meaning by means of sustained effort, so the correct answer is "by".
6Although she criticised the timetable, she was not averse ............... a compromise.
Wrong!
The adjective takes the preposition "to": "averse to" something, so the correct answer is "to".
7The research team remained ............... tenterhooks until the replication results came through.
Wrong!
The fixed idiom is "on tenterhooks", meaning anxiously waiting, so the correct answer is "on".
8A courtroom atmosphere saturated with cameras is rarely conducive ............... careful thought.
Wrong!
Use "conducive to" to mean helping to produce a result, so the correct answer is "to".
9The publisher offered a prominent correction ............... lieu of a written apology.
Wrong!
The formal idiom is "in lieu of", meaning instead of, so the correct answer is "in".
10The committee commissioned the review ............... a view to reducing emissions without paralysing local industry.
Wrong!
The idiom is "with a view to", meaning with the aim of, so the correct answer is "with".
11Staff were instructed not to contact the witness ............... pain of dismissal.
Wrong!
The formal idiom is "on pain of", meaning subject to a specified penalty, so the correct answer is "on".
12Given the opacity of the settlement, it is incumbent ............... the regulator to explain why no fine was imposed.
Wrong!
In the sense of a duty or obligation, the pattern is "incumbent on", so the correct answer is "on".
Exercise complete
0 out of 12
correct answers
Answers
- The minister called the successful pilot scheme the exception to the rule, not a model the whole country could copy.
- Her private account of the negotiations is at odds with the official transcript.
- Withholding the safety report would be tantamount to admitting liability.
- The board delayed the announcement for fear of alarming investors.
- She turned a fragile archive into a searchable database by dint of patience and meticulous cross-checking.
- Although she criticised the timetable, she was not averse to a compromise.
- The research team remained on tenterhooks until the replication results came through.
- A courtroom atmosphere saturated with cameras is rarely conducive to careful thought.
- The publisher offered a prominent correction in lieu of a written apology.
- The committee commissioned the review with a view to reducing emissions without paralysing local industry.
- Staff were instructed not to contact the witness on pain of dismissal.
- Given the opacity of the settlement, it is incumbent on the regulator to explain why no fine was imposed.