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Question

Difficulty: HardIdioms and Idiomatic Expressions

During the parliamentary debate over trade tariffs, the opposition spokesperson attempted to put a spoke in the government's wheel by introducing an unexpected procedural motion.

Which of the following best expresses the meaning of the underlined idiomatic expression?

  1. A
    repair the damaged machinery used by official transport services
  2. B
    accelerate the legislative process to ensure swift approval of the policy
  3. deliberately obstruct or thwart the execution of the government's plansAnswer
  4. D
    provide critical structural support to stabilize the proposed bill

Answer

deliberately obstruct or thwart the execution of the government's plans
The idiomatic expression 'to put a spoke in someone's wheel' means to interfere with someone's plans and hinder their progress. In the context of a parliamentary debate where an opposition member introduces a surprise motion, the intent is clearly to thwart or delay the government's legislative goals.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the context of the sentence
The opposition spokesperson introduced an unexpected procedural motion during a debate, signaling an action intended to challenge or disrupt the governing party's progress.
Contextual clues in JAMB UTME questions clarify whether an action is supportive or obstructive.
2
Identify the figurative meaning of the idiom 'to put a spoke in someone's wheel'
Just as inserting a metal or wooden rod into a moving bicycle wheel stops it from turning, the idiom figuratively means to block, hinder, or prevent a plan from succeeding.
Idioms cannot be interpreted literally word-by-word; their established metaphorical meanings dictate the correct response.
3
Evaluate the options against the established figurative sense
The statement about deliberately obstructing or thwarting plans precisely aligns with the figurative definition.
Matching the contextual usage with the precise figurative definition yields the correct choice.

Key Concept

Idiomatic Interpretation in Context
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Topics

Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions

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