NDA (II) 2018 General Ability Test · Question 39 of 146

Correct — D, to be in a difficult situation. In this phrase 'fix' is a noun meaning a predicament or a tight corner, so to be in a fix is to be stuck in an awkward position with no easy way out.

• (a)to receive strong criticism — That is the sense of phrases such as 'to be in hot water' or 'to come under fire'. Being in a fix is about being stuck, not about being blamed.
• (b)to support oneself — Nothing in the phrase carries the idea of self-support, which would be 'to stand on one's own feet'.
• (c)to fix problems — This reads 'fix' as the familiar verb and so reverses the phrase. In the idiom 'fix' is a noun, and the person in one has solved nothing.

An idiom item resting on the noun 'fix', meaning an awkward or difficult position.

The trap here is one of part of speech rather than of meaning. 'Fix' is so common as a verb meaning to repair that option (c) reads naturally, but the printed phrase is 'in a fix', and the article 'a' shows that 'fix' is being used as a noun. Reading the whole printed phrase, rather than only its most familiar word, disposes of the option at once.

• Close equivalents include 'in a tight spot', 'in a jam' and 'in a bind'.
• 'Fix' as a noun also means a determination of position, as in a navigational fix, which is unrelated to this idiom.

• Reading a familiar word in its commonest part of speech and ignoring the article printed in front of it.

Asked as an idiom item in which the key word is a very common verb being used as a noun.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the meaning of the phrase — <u>in hot water</u>

  • (a)in a comfortable position
  • (b)in trouble
  • (c)in a hurry
  • (d)in good health

  Answer(b) in trouble.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the meaning of the phrase — <u>in a tight spot</u>

  • (a)in a crowded place
  • (b)in a difficult situation
  • (c)in a small room
  • (d)in a firm grip

  Answer(b) in a difficult situation.