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Difficulty: HardPhrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

During the parliamentary committee hearing, the minister attempted to __________ the panel with evasive responses regarding the unaccounted project funds. Which of the following phrasal verbs correctly completes the sentence?

  1. fob offAnswer
  2. B
    fob over
  3. C
    gloss over
  4. D
    palm away

Answer

fob off
The phrasal verb 'fob off' accurately fits the idiomatic pattern 'to fob someone off with something', meaning to attempt to deceive or appease a person using evasive or unsatisfactory excuses. In the given sentence, the minister tries to put off 'the panel' with 'evasive responses'.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context and grammatical structure of the sentence.
The sentence requires a transitive phrasal verb that takes a person/group ('the panel') as its direct object and collocates with 'with evasive responses' to express deceiving or putting someone off with inadequate answers.
Understanding both the syntactic frame (verb + object + with + noun) and semantic meaning is necessary to choose the exact phrasal verb.
2
Evaluate the idiom 'fob off'.
'Fob off' correctly fits the construction 'fob [someone] off with [something]', meaning to give someone an unsatisfactory explanation to avoid answering properly.
It matches standard British English idiomatic usage required by JAMB UTME assessments.

Key Concept

Phrasal Verbs with Specific Complement Structures
Estimated Time:1m 0s
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Topics

Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs

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