Answer Key to "Which Word is Correct?"

Sentence with Correct Word	Answer and Explanation
1. Anchors aweigh, my boys!	‘Aweigh’ means to lift (or weigh) the anchor and thereby enable the ship to move.
2. He waited with bated breath.	Think ‘abated’ and you’ll see how this means ‘as if breathing has stopped for the moment.’
3. You’ll have to grin and bear it.	‘Bear’ (a verb) means to hold something up, or support it, as if on your shoulders.
4.Give us a quick sound bite.	A ‘bite’ is something small – give us a word or two here. A ‘byte’ is a bit of stored info in a computer’s memory.
5. Massachusetts is famous for bloc voting.	A ‘bloc’ is a combination of persons, groups, or nations forming a unit with a common interest or purpose.
6. Isner was seeded fifth as the tournament began.	To ‘seed’ a player in a tournament is to plant his name in a spot where he fits in line with the skills of the other players in the same tournament.
7. We’re champing at the bit!	‘Champ’ means to show impatience of delay or restraint. The phrase has swerved over time so much that most people do say ‘chomping’ – but that is incorrect!
8. He arrived with a full complement of soldiers.	Use the mnemonic ‘complete’ to remember which word applies. If it is something that adds to whatever is there in quantity, it ‘completes’ the number, or is a ‘comple’ment to the number.
9. His words struck a responsive chord.	Words can be ‘music to my ears,’ as if they are sweet-sounding. So a ‘chord’ is a pleasing combination of harmonious musical notes – so pleasing that they elicit a response by the listener.
10. Daisy the gossip got her just deserts.	This is a very common mistake. The word here has nothing to do with cake and ice cream, and nothing to do with barren sands, but everything to do with what Daisy deserves to get for her mean gossiping.
11. Your tricks don’t faze me.	‘Faze’ means to disturb the composure of. ‘Phase’ is a noun.
12. She has a flair for fashion.	‘Flair’ is from the French for sense of smell. You can tell good fashion by the smell!
13. We were delayed by foul weather.	‘Foul’ derives from Old German for rotten. Now, the confusing point is that rainy weather is great for ducks.
14. He’s hale and hardy.	‘Hale’ means free from defect; ‘hardy’ means bold and robust. Plants that do well in cold weather are said to be hardy.
15. He came within a hair's breadth of winning the contest.	He came as close as the width of a strand of hair, which is very close!
16. The world is one, a seamless whole.	The whole thing is without seam, as it is one solid piece never to come apart.
17. A friend in need is a friend indeed.	The person who needs something from you will certainly be friendlier, a sad commentary on the human condition.
18. Your story does not jibe with her story.	Leave ‘jive’ for glib, deceptive, or foolish talk. ‘Jibe’ means to be in accord. Really!
19. The outlaws stayed on the lam for weeks.	This is somewhat of a slang term for ‘on the run.’ The word ‘lam’ has its orgins in Old Norse for ‘thrash’ – which approaches ‘beat’ - which came to ‘beat it’ or leave hurriedly, so ‘on the lam’ is going somewhere hurriedly, which is something a robber would want to do.
20. He was to the manner born.	The meaning in this phrase is that the subject was born for such a purpose, or born to such expectations. It has been a play on words in recent decades, and the British television show ‘To the Manor Born’ is a famous example.
21. The governor declared martial law as the storm descended on the city.	The word ‘martial’ relates to things military, and is derived from ‘Mars,’ the god of war. The word ‘marshall’ has an altogether different etymology, coming from ‘a horse servant.’
22. This storm will definitely test one's mettle.	‘Mettle’ means quality of temperament or disposition.
23. The might and main of the British Empire are at your command.	‘Main’ as a noun means ‘physical strength.’
24. This shocking behavior really does go well beyond the pale.	‘Pale’ derives from ‘pole’ (as a pole in the ground) and in this context means an area marked that, when gone outside, is beyond the allowable limits.
25. The whistling sound really tends to pique one’s interest.	‘Pique’ derives from the French verb for ‘prick,’ as if with a pin.
26. His hopes were all pie in the sky.	A pie in the sky is something unattainable.
27. He spoke pidgin English when he had to.	‘Pidgin’ is from Chinese for ‘business’ – as if the speaker knows just enough English to do a small amount of business.
28. I took plane geometry in eighth grade.	A ‘plane’ is a surface in which if any two points are chosen, a straight line joining them lies wholly in that surface. ‘Plane geometry’ is the study of such surfaces.
29. The editor will pore over the article for hours.	The only time ‘pore’ is a verb, and it has an etymology completely apart from that of the word for a hole in your skin.
30. I caught a praying mantis.	Thusly named for the angles at which the mantis holds its front legs, as if in a posture of prayer. Confusing because this insect is a noted predator that preys on other bugs.
31. It’s strictly a matter of principle.	The other way (‘pal’) is your friend at school.
32. I’ll rack my brain for an answer.	This word comes from the torture rack, which stretches its victim. So working your brain hard is like stretching its so-called muscles.
33. I’m giving you free rein to create an entirely new organization here.	I’m letting go of the reins so you can wander where you will. Think of a horse wandering without direction from its rider.
34. The frat boys raised Cain all night.	An alternate term for ‘raising hell,’ equally biblical.
35. The kids paid rapt attention to the spooky narrator.	‘Rapt’ has ‘seized’ in its etymology, as if one’s attention was seized by the narrator.
36. It was done with reckless abandon.	There is no word as ‘wreckless’ in English. None at all.
37. The storm wreaked havoc.	The word’s etymology includes drive, punish and avenge. People often confuse with ‘wrecked’ here. While the preferred pronunciation is with a long e, rhyming with ‘seek,’ an alternate pronunciation for ‘wreak’ rhymes with ‘neck.’
38. It was a solemn rite of passage.	As in a religious rite or ceremony.
39. She is a shoo-in to win the election.	It just is.
40. Stop or I’ll sic the dog on you!	‘Sic’ is from a variation of seek. I’ll have my pit bull seek you out and chew you up.
41. It seems his wealth was all gained by some amount of sleight of hand.	‘Sleight’ derives from ‘sly.’
42. She is the spit and image of her pa.	Yes – it really IS ‘spit and image’ – as if the people who originated this phrase back in the 1800s knew how the DNA in one’s saliva could trace one to one’s forebears. The more common ‘spitting image’ is an alteration. Avoid alterations!
43. I’m happy to be back in my old stamping grounds	Actually, either way works. Stamping or stomping – your choice.
44. Use this tourniquet to stanch the flow of blood.	‘Stanch’ is a verb. ‘Staunch’ is an adjective.
45. We’re really in dire straits here.	As in a narrow waterway – one wrong move and we’ll be bashed to pieces on the rocky shore.
46. Matilda was a tow-headed youth.	If your hair is very, very light in color – almost white – you are a tow-head. That is, your hair is as light as a tow, which is short or broken fiber (as of flax, hemp, or synthetic material) that is used especially for yarn, twine, or stuffing. Tow rhymes with toe.
47. We’ll all now have to toe the line around here from now on.	That is to say, we’ll have to put our toes up to the line and look sharp for whoever is inspecting our work.
48. She swore like a trouper.	People who work in circuses are troupers (not state police) and they can swear a blue streak.
49. Trouble is, it was all in vain.	‘Vain’ means ‘having no real value.’
50. This cookbook will sure whet your appetite!	‘Whet’ derives from ‘sharp’ – so the cookbook will sharpen your desire for the food it shows.