UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Know your English

Q1. Which one of the following best conveys the idiomatic meaning of 'to bite the bullet'?

  • A. To force oneself to accept and endure a difficult or unpleasant situation with courage, rather than avoiding it
  • B. To always retaliate immediately and aggressively against any provocation
  • C. To completely abandon a task the moment it becomes inconvenient
  • D. To speak so bluntly that one invariably offends every listener

Q2. When a Finance Minister says the government must 'bite the bullet' on a tough reform, the phrase primarily signals which one of the following?

  • A. A willingness to accept a painful but necessary course of action
  • B. A decision to postpone the reform to a later, safer time
  • C. A refusal to consider the reform under any circumstance
  • D. A plan to reverse an earlier decision entirely

Q3. With reference to the 'battlefield surgery' theory of the origin of 'bite the bullet', consider the following statements: 1. It holds that, in the pre-anaesthesia era, soldiers undergoing operations were given something to clench between their teeth to endure the pain. 2. Wooden sticks and leather straps are reported to have been used more commonly in practice than actual bullets. 3. There is conclusive documentary evidence that bullets were routinely used for this purpose. 4. Lexicographers accept this theory as the definitively proven origin of the idiom. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. It holds that, in the pre-anaesthesia era, soldiers undergoing operations were given something to clench between their teeth to endure the pain.
  2. Wooden sticks and leather straps are reported to have been used more commonly in practice than actual bullets.
  3. There is conclusive documentary evidence that bullets were routinely used for this purpose.
  4. Lexicographers accept this theory as the definitively proven origin of the idiom.
  • A. 1 and 2
  • B. 2 and 3
  • C. 1, 3 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4 only

Q4. The 'battlefield surgery' explanation of 'bite the bullet' is chiefly located in which historical period?

  • A. The pre-anaesthesia era of the 18th–19th centuries
  • B. The trench medicine of the First World War (1914–18)
  • C. The Napoleonic field hospitals of the 1660s
  • D. The antiseptic-surgery period of the late 20th century

Q5. The greased-cartridge controversy often linked to the phrase 'to bite the cartridge/bullet' involved the introduction of which one of the following firearms into India?

  • A. The Pattern 1853 Enfield rifle-musket
  • B. The Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifle
  • C. The Snider-Enfield breech-loading rifle
  • D. The Brown Bess flintlock musket

Q6. The soldiers who mutinied at Meerut on 10 May 1857—an event closely tied to the greased-cartridge grievance—belonged principally to which one of the following?

  • A. The Bengal Army of the East India Company
  • B. The Madras Army of the East India Company
  • C. The Bombay Army of the East India Company
  • D. The Hyderabad Contingent

Q7. The earliest recorded literary use of the idiom 'bite the bullet' is generally attributed to which one of the following writers?

  • A. Rudyard Kipling
  • B. Charles Dickens
  • C. George Orwell
  • D. Francis Grose

Q8. In which of Rudyard Kipling's works does the earliest recorded use of the idiom 'bite the bullet' appear?

  • A. The Light That Failed (1891)
  • B. Kim (1901)
  • C. The Jungle Book (1894)
  • D. Plain Tales from the Hills (1888)

Q9. In the expression 'the officer concerned', the word 'concerned' primarily conveys which one of the following?

  • A. The officer who is dealing with, or is responsible for, the matter in question
  • B. An officer who is deeply worried or anxious
  • C. An officer of the most senior rank present
  • D. An officer who is entirely uninvolved in the matter

Q10. Which one of the following correctly states the rule governing the placement of the word 'concerned'?

  • A. Placed before the noun ('the concerned officer') it means 'worried'; placed after the noun ('the officer concerned') it means 'in question/relevant'
  • B. Placed before the noun it means 'relevant'; placed after the noun it means 'worried'
  • C. Its position never changes its meaning; both forms mean 'worried'
  • D. Both forms invariably mean 'the officer in question' regardless of position

Q11. The long-running 'Know your English' column that explains idioms, word origins and grammar nuances is authored by, and published in, which one of the following?

  • A. S. Upendran, in The Hindu
  • B. S. Upendran, in The Indian Express
  • C. R.K. Narayan, in The Hindu
  • D. Mrinal Pande, in The Times of India

Q12. With reference to the causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857, consider the following statements: 1. The doctrine of lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie in the late 1840s. 2. Awadh (Oudh) was annexed by the British in 1856. 3. The greased cartridges of the newly introduced Enfield rifle acted as an immediate trigger. 4. There is conclusive evidence that the cartridges in question were actually greased with cow and pig fat. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. The doctrine of lapse was introduced by Lord Dalhousie in the late 1840s.
  2. Awadh (Oudh) was annexed by the British in 1856.
  3. The greased cartridges of the newly introduced Enfield rifle acted as an immediate trigger.
  4. There is conclusive evidence that the cartridges in question were actually greased with cow and pig fat.
  • A. 1, 2 and 3
  • B. 2 and 4 only
  • C. 1 and 4
  • D. 3 and 4 only