This is his <u>maiden</u> appearance on the screen. (Select the word or group of words that is most similar in meaning to the underlined word.)

Correct: A, 'first'. Used before a noun, 'maiden' means first of its kind: a maiden speech, a maiden voyage, a maiden appearance. The sentence is placing this screen appearance at the start of the person's film career, and 'first' carries exactly that.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  last: This reverses the sense; a maiden appearance opens a career rather than closing it.
• (c)
  girlish: This is the trap set by the noun 'maiden', meaning a young unmarried woman; the adjective before a noun has moved away from that sense, and the sentence is about a man.
• (d)
  shy: Shyness is a manner, and the word says nothing about how the appearance was carried off.

As an adjective, 'maiden' marks the first occasion of something: the first speech a member makes in a legislature, the first voyage of a ship, the first flight of an aircraft.

Key facts

• A maiden speech is a member's first speech in a legislature.
• A maiden voyage is a ship's first journey after being commissioned.
• 'Maiden name' is the surname a woman used before marriage, which preserves the older noun sense.

Common traps

• Picking 'girlish' from the noun sense of 'maiden'.
• Missing 'his', which rules out any reading tied to a young woman.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice, not a real PYQ

  Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'maiden' in 'The ship completed its maiden voyage.'

  • (a)final
  • (b)first
  • (c)longest
  • (d)safest
  Answer(b) first: a maiden voyage is a ship's first journey.
• practice, not a real PYQ

  Choose the word nearest in meaning to 'inaugural' in 'She gave the inaugural lecture of the series.'

  • (a)closing
  • (b)opening
  • (c)annual
  • (d)informal
  Answer(b) opening: an inaugural lecture is the first in a series.