HSC English Grammar

Select the best explanation of A cut-throat competition.

• Not in any possible way
• Fixed and not open to change
• Very severe competition in which people may act ruthlessly
• A general practical method based on experience rather than exact calculation

Which meaning best matches the idiom A foregone conclusion?

• A personal benefit or strong stake in an outcome
• To provide evidence or proof of something
• A practical, realistic, and sensible way of dealing with something
• A result that is certain before it happens

What does the phrase A full-fledged member mean in standard English?

• A complete and officially recognized member
• Hidden from public view or not openly known
• At the beginning or edge of a new stage
• A decisive moment when an important change begins

Choose the correct meaning of A great deal of.

• A decisive moment when an important change begins
• A warning action meant to prevent stronger action later
• To try any small hope when desperate
• To create division or hostility between people
• A large amount or quantity of something

In English grammar, how should A hair’s breadth be understood?

• To make something very clear and noticeable
• A victory that brings little satisfaction or real benefit
• To be in a difficult situation with very few choices
• A very small distance, difference, or margin

Which option gives the closest meaning of A hard-headed approach?

• An urgent effort to finish something before a deadline
• A practical, realistic, and sensible way of dealing with something
• To give little attention, sympathy, or consideration
• A large amount or quantity of something

For HSC English, what is the meaning of A hollow victory?

• To find one’s position or understand a situation
• Very severe competition in which people may act ruthlessly
• To become legally or officially active
• A victory that brings little satisfaction or real benefit
• A starting point for discussion, study, or change

Which meaning best matches the idiom A bitter pill to swallow?

• As a result of something
• To give little attention, sympathy, or consideration
• Advice that accepts failure and offers no real hope
• An unpleasant fact or result that is difficult to accept
• During the most intense or advanced stage of something

Identify the correct meaning of the expression A hue and cry.

• Unfair treatment
• To have a personal stake or benefit in something
• A loud public protest or strong complaint
• Much better than others of the same type

What does the phrase A blot on the landscape mean in standard English?

• To provide evidence or proof of something
• Something ugly or unpleasant that spoils an otherwise attractive place
• To return to the original position or situation
• After taking all facts and circumstances into account

Choose the correct meaning of A breach of trust.

• To die or disappear like all living things
• With general agreement
• Briefly and without much detail
• An act that breaks confidence, honesty, or responsibility

Select the best explanation of A leap in the dark.

• To emphasize a point strongly and repeatedly
• To have power, control, or influence
• A risky action taken without knowing the result
• An unpleasant fact or result that is difficult to accept
• To understand something after thought or investigation

In English grammar, how should A change of tack be understood?

• To support or defend a person, idea, or cause
• Very obvious or easy to understand
• A change in method, plan, or direction
• To suspend or postpone something temporarily
• To discuss a point hypothetically

Which meaning best matches the idiom A means to an end?

• Fixed and not open to change
• To harm or criticize someone who helps or supports you
• Something done only to achieve a larger purpose
• Automatically because no other choice is made

Which option gives the closest meaning of A checkered career?

• To manage to speak when others are talking a lot
• Automatically because no other choice is made
• A career marked by both successes and failures or controversies
• After taking all facts and circumstances into account

For HSC English, what is the meaning of A cog in the machine?

• To apply influence or force to make someone act
• To create division or hostility between people
• A situation likely to lead to failure, danger, or serious trouble
• A small and unimportant part of a large system

Identify the correct meaning of the expression A counsel of despair.

• A harmful cycle in which one problem causes another and makes the first worse
• Because of the request or command of someone
• Very obvious or easy to understand
• To harm or criticize someone who helps or supports you
• Advice that accepts failure and offers no real hope