Select the most appropriate idiom to fill in the blank. I'm _______________ about whether to accept the job offer or continue freelancing. Both options have their advantages.
- (a)up in arms
- (b)left out in cold
- (c)on the fence
- (d)cutting corners
Answer
Why
Correct — C. The clue is the sentence after the blank: 'Both options have their advantages.' The speaker has not chosen, so the idiom must name indecision.
To be on the fence is to be undecided between two courses — sitting on the boundary instead of coming down in either field.
It also takes the preposition the sentence supplies: you are on the fence about something. Option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)up in arms — Up in arms means angry and protesting. Nothing here shows resentment, only a balanced choice the speaker has yet to make.
- (b)left out in cold — The paper prints left out in cold (usually 'left out in the cold'), meaning ignored or excluded. The speaker is choosing freely, not being shut out.
- (d)cutting corners — Cutting corners means doing a job cheaply or carelessly by skipping steps. It describes how work is done, not a decision left open.
Concept
An idiom is a fixed expression whose meaning cannot be read off its words, so these items are solved from the context, not from the picture.
This stem hands you a paraphrase right beside the blank — 'Both options have their advantages.' Read that first, then look for the idiom that means it.
The image behind on the fence helps you keep it: a fence divides two fields, and someone sitting on it has committed to neither side.
The blank sits after 'I'm', so the idiom must work as a complement of be. 'On the fence' does. That grammatical fit is a second, independent check on the meaning.
Key facts
- On the fence means undecided between two options or two sides.
- The usual forms are to sit on the fence and to be on the fence about something.
- Up in arms means angrily protesting about something.
- To cut corners is to do something in the easiest or cheapest way, at the cost of quality.
Study next
Common traps
- Taking 'both options have their advantages' as approval of both and picking an idiom about enthusiasm
- Matching the word fence to a literal image of exclusion and choosing the out-in-cold option
SSC sets idioms both as a blank to fill and as a meaning to choose. The fill-in form keys 'pat myself on the back' at 24 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.1.
The meaning form comes back later in this same 10 Sep 2024 morning shift at English Q.13, where 'On the ball' is keyed to being aware of developments and quick to react.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.