I was prepared <u>to show my hand</u> provided he agreed to do the same.
- (a)to yield
- (b)to shake hands
- (c)to conceal my plan
- (d)to lose my ground
Correct — C, 'to conceal my plan'. 'To show one's hand' is a card-table idiom for revealing your intentions — turning your cards face up so that the other players can see what you hold. Its opposite is keeping those intentions hidden, which is exactly what 'to conceal my plan' says.
- (a)to yield — Means to give way in a contest; a player can reveal a very strong hand without giving up anything at all.
- (b)to shake hands — Answers the literal word 'hand' instead of the idiom, which is the trap the item is built on.
- (d)to lose my ground — Means to lose an advantage already held, which reverses winning rather than revealing.
'To show one's hand' means to disclose one's intentions or resources; the idiom comes from card play.
An idiom has to be reversed as a whole, not word by word. Anyone who takes 'hand' at face value is pushed towards 'to shake hands', and the item is designed to catch exactly that. The sentence itself gives good cover — 'provided he agreed to do the same' describes a bargain about disclosure, two people agreeing to reveal together, which fits the card table and not the handshake. English keeps several idioms from the same source, among them playing one's cards close to the chest, having an ace up one's sleeve and laying one's cards on the table.
- 'Show your hand' and 'lay your cards on the table' both mean to reveal what you intend.
- 'Play your cards close to the chest' means the opposite — to keep your intentions hidden.
- An idiom is reversed as a phrase; reversing one of its words gives the wrong answer.
- Answering the literal word 'hand' instead of the phrase it belongs to.
- Choosing an option about winning or losing when the idiom is about revealing.
Asked as an antonym item — pick the words most nearly opposite in meaning to the underlined expression.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The idiom 'to play one's cards close to the chest' means to
- (a)reveal one's plans
- (b)keep one's plans secret
- (c)gamble heavily
- (d)give up a contest
Answer(b) keep one's plans secret.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The idiom 'to have an ace up one's sleeve' means to have
- (a)a hidden advantage
- (b)a serious injury
- (c)an old debt
- (d)a formal invitation
Answer(a) a hidden advantage kept in reserve.