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Difficulty: HardIdioms and Idiomatic Expressions

Complete the sentence below by providing the appropriate idiomatic expression that means becoming complacent as a result of past success.

Answer:Following three successive years of record profits, the executive board cautioned the management team against 【resting on their laurels】 ahead of the major market expansion.

Answer

The correct idiomatic expression is 'resting on their laurels' (or 'resting on one's laurels'), which signifies relying on past achievements and ceasing to make further effort.
The expression 'rest on one's laurels' originates from ancient Greece and Rome, where victors were crowned with laurel wreaths as symbols of triumph. Figuratively, it refers to becoming overly satisfied with past accomplishments to the point of neglecting current or future efforts. In the sentence, the management team is advised against such complacency.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the sentence context and required figurative meaning
The sentence describes an executive board cautioning a successful management team against becoming self-satisfied prior to an expansion project.
Identifying the contextual clue ('cautioned... ahead of expansion') confirms the need for an expression indicating complacency after success.
2
Select and grammatically adjust the appropriate idiomatic phrase
The core idiom is 'rest on one's laurels'. Governed by the preposition 'against', the gerund form 'resting on their laurels' correctly fits the sentence structure.
Idioms possess fixed lexical components and must align with the grammatical context of the host sentence.

Key Concept

Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions
Estimated Time:1m 30s
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Idioms and Idiomatic Expressions

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