Choose the correct one-word substitute for: 'Extremely old-fashioned; belonging to a time before the biblical flood'.

Correct — C. Read the roots: Latin ante, 'before', + diluvium, 'flood', the source of deluge.

So antediluvian literally means from before the Flood, and figuratively extremely old-fashioned. The definition gives both senses.

Antediluvian → option (c).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Tale — Tale is a noun meaning a story. It says nothing about age, and a noun cannot replace a definition built on 'old-fashioned'.
• (b)
  Obsolete — Obsolete means no longer in use, out of date. It covers 'old-fashioned' but not 'before the biblical flood', so it misses half the definition.
• (d)
  Medieval — Medieval means of the Middle Ages, a set historical period. It does not mean before the Flood, and it is not a word for extreme old-fashionedness.

A one-word substitute often hides its answer in its roots. This definition spells the etymology out: 'a time before the biblical flood' is ante (before) + diluvium (flood).

Ante- means before, as in antecedent, anteroom and antedate. Do not confuse it with anti-, against.

The figurative sense follows from the literal: something so dated it seems to come from before the Flood.

Key facts

• Antediluvian = ante (before) + diluvium (flood): literally before the biblical Flood, figuratively extremely old-fashioned.
• Ante- = before (antecedent, antedate). Anti- = against (antidote, antibody).
• Deluge, a great flood, comes from the same Latin diluvium.

Common traps

• Reading ante- as anti- and guessing the word means against something.
• Choosing Obsolete because it fits 'old-fashioned', ignoring the flood half of the definition.

No directly related past PYQ was found.