NDA (I) 2021 General Ability Test · Question 27 of 149

Correct — C, 'A strong request'. A 'clarion call' is a clear, strongly expressed demand or appeal for action or support, which option (c) captures.

• (a)A trumpet call — A clarion was literally a shrill medieval trumpet, so this is the word's literal origin, not its idiomatic meaning of a rousing appeal.
• (b)An intimidating voice — The phrase signals a rallying, persuasive appeal, not a threatening or frightening voice.
• (d)An urgent order — Closer, but a clarion call is a stirring request or appeal for action, not a formal command; the tone is persuasive, not an order.

'A clarion call' is a clear and strongly expressed appeal or demand for action; the word 'clarion' comes from a shrill trumpet.

No directly related past PYQ was found.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Choose the correct meaning of the phrase 'a rallying cry'.

  • (a)A whispered secret
  • (b)A stirring appeal that urges people to act
  • (c)A funeral song
  • (d)A quiet complaint

  Answer(b) A stirring appeal that urges people to act — very close to a clarion call.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The word 'clarion' originally referred to —

  • (a)a drum
  • (b)a shrill trumpet
  • (c)a bell
  • (d)a flute

  Answer(b) a shrill trumpet — from which the figurative 'clarion call' (a clear, rousing appeal) is derived.