Select the most appropriate option to substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. Raju’s job as a clerk seemed to be bad at first because of the low salary, but resulted in something good happening later because it saved him from being unemployed.

Correct — A. The sentence hands you the definition: the job 'seemed to be bad at first' but 'resulted in something good happening later'.

That is exactly a blessing in disguise — a misfortune whose benefit only appears afterwards. The low salary looked like a poor bargain, yet the job saved Raju from unemployment.

Of the four options, only (a) is an established English idiom; the others swap the noun and break the fixed phrase.

Why the others are wrong

• (b)
  a boon in disguise — 'Boon' already means a benefit, so 'a boon in disguise' would be a good thing disguised as a good thing. The idiom needs the first impression to be bad.
• (c)
  a jolt in disguise — 'Jolt' is a sudden shock, so it reports an unpleasant outcome where the sentence reports a good one — and 'a jolt in disguise' is not an idiom at all.
• (d)
  a gift in disguise — 'Gift' names something already welcome, so nothing is disguised as misfortune. It is the nearest in feel to 'blessing', which is what makes it the strongest decoy.

An idiom is a fixed expression: its words cannot be traded for synonyms, however close the synonym is on its own.

'A blessing in disguise' names one specific shape of event — it looks like bad luck when it happens and turns out to be an advantage later.

SSC's substitution items describe that shape in ordinary words inside the sentence, then offer one real idiom against three near-misses built by replacing the noun.

Match the description, then check the option is a phrase you have actually met in print.

Key facts

• 'A blessing in disguise' means something that seems unfortunate at first but proves beneficial later.
• The noun inside an idiom is fixed — 'boon', 'gift' and 'jolt' cannot replace 'blessing' here.
• In 'in disguise', 'disguise' is a noun, so the phrase never becomes 'in disguised'.

Common traps

• Choosing (d) because 'gift' feels close to 'blessing' — synonym substitution is the standard idiom decoy.
• Answering on meaning alone without asking whether the option is a real fixed phrase at all.

No directly related past PYQ was found.