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Difficulty: MediumFigurative Use of Language and Connotations

When questioned about the sudden disappearance of the project funds, the accountant offered a rather elastic explanation that failed to satisfy the auditing panel. In the sentence above, what is the intended connotation of the word elastic?

  1. Vague, evasive, and easily manipulated to suit the speaker's convenienceAnswer
  2. B
    Physically flexible and capable of stretching without breaking
  3. C
    Comprehensive, highly adaptable, and helpful to the panel
  4. D
    Stretching across several distinct financial periods and accounting entries

Answer

The word 'elastic' is used figuratively to convey an explanation that is vague, evasive, and untruthful because it can be stretched or distorted easily.
The correct answer accurately identifies the figurative connotation of 'elastic'. Applied to an explanation in a suspicious context, 'elastic' implies that the statement is flexible in a dishonest way—lacking fixed truth, evasive, and manipulated to dodge tough questions.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context of the sentence
The accountant is being questioned about missing funds, and the auditing panel remains unsatisfied.
Contextual clues reveal whether a word carries a positive, neutral, or pejorative connotation.
2
Evaluate the figurative meaning of 'elastic' in relation to 'explanation'
An 'elastic explanation' is one that lacks rigidity, firm facts, or truth, allowing the speaker to alter its meaning under scrutiny.
Figurative language applies physical attributes (flexibility/stretchiness) to abstract concepts (statements/arguments) to highlight instability or evasiveness.

Key Concept

Figurative Use of Language and Connotations
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Topics

Figurative Use of Language and Connotations

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