Choose the correct meaning of idiom: To sup with the devil
- (a)To confess in secret
- (b)To act with false modesty
- (c)To collaborate with someone morally compromised
- (d)To punish without justice
Answer
Why
Correct — C. Sup is a dated verb meaning to eat supper. To sup with the devil is to share a table with evil: to deal closely with someone wicked or untrustworthy.
It echoes the proverb 'he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon': if you must deal with such a person, keep your distance.
Working alongside a morally compromised partner is exactly that → option (c).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)To confess in secret — Confess in secret is about owning up to a wrong. The idiom is about whom you deal with, and nothing in sharing a meal suggests a confession.
- (b)To act with false modesty — False modesty is pretending to think little of your own merits. The idiom concerns the company you keep, not how you present yourself.
- (d)To punish without justice — Punish without justice describes an unfair judge. In the idiom nobody is punished; you are dealing with a wicked partner and risking harm from it.
Concept
The idiom has two parts to decode. Sup is dated English for having supper, and sharing a meal stands for close dealings. The devil stands for someone evil or dishonest.
Together they describe entering into dealings with such a person, at your own risk. The proverb's long spoon is the advice that follows: keep your distance.
That makes collaborate the load-bearing word in the keyed option. The idiom is about partnership, not punishment, confession or modesty.
Devil does not always mean evil. In daredevil it marks recklessness: a daredevil is a reckless person who enjoys doing dangerous things.
Key facts
- Sup is a dated verb meaning to eat supper.
- The proverb 'he who sups with the devil should have a long spoon' warns anyone dealing with a dangerous or dishonest person to be careful.
- A daredevil is a reckless person who enjoys doing dangerous things.
Study next
Common traps
- Guessing from the devil alone, which makes every option about wrongdoing look plausible
- Choosing To punish without justice because devil suggests cruelty, when the idiom is about whom you deal with
The frame 'Choose the correct meaning of idiom' is also used at 12 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.2 (Hobson's choice, keyed No real choice at all).
Devil carries a different sense at 13 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.4, where daredevil is keyed a fearless person.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.