Read the given sentences carefully. Choose the options that demonstrate correct usage of the underlined idioms:-
(A) The global economy has been in the doldrums ever since armed conflicts began on multiple fronts.
(B) Being up with the lark always leaves me in a foul mood as I am a morning person.
(C) Accessibility to artificial intelligence and large language models has led to the unfortunate practice of students copying lock, stock and barrel from them, rather than doing their own research.
(D) Bureaucrats and politicians who indulge in unethical practices such as corruption do justice to their positions.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:-
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → (A) and (C) only
(A) The global economy has been in the doldrums ever since armed conflicts began on multiple fronts. — Correct. In the doldrums means inactive, stagnant or in low spirits, which fits an economy held back by wars. The doldrums are the calm seas near the equator where sailing ships could lie still for days.
Example: The housing market has been in the doldrums for two years.
(B) Being up with the lark always leaves me in a foul mood as I am a morning person. — Incorrect. Up with the lark means up very early in the morning. A morning person enjoys being up early, so it would not put the speaker in a foul mood; the idiom is used against its sense.
Correct form: Being up with the lark always leaves me in a good mood as I am a morning person.
Example: Farmers are up with the lark in the harvest season.
(C) Accessibility to artificial intelligence and large language models has led to the unfortunate practice of students copying lock, stock and barrel from them, rather than doing their own research. — Correct. Lock, stock and barrel means completely, including everything, which fits copying whole answers. The lock, the stock and the barrel are the three main parts of an old gun, so the phrase means the whole thing.
Example: They sold the shop lock, stock and barrel.
(D) Bureaucrats and politicians who indulge in unethical practices such as corruption do justice to their positions. — Incorrect. To do justice to something is to treat it as well as it deserves. Corrupt officials bring disgrace to their positions, so the idiom says the opposite of what the sentence intends.
Correct form: Bureaucrats and politicians who indulge in unethical practices such as corruption bring disgrace to their positions.
Example: The photograph does not do justice to the beauty of the valley.
The following words have also been asked in other CUET (UG) English papers:
| Word | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| in the doldrums | 18-05 S1 21-05 S2 31-05 S1 | – | – | 22-06 S1 | – |
| up with the lark | 19-05 S1 | – | – | – | – |
| lock stock and barrel | – | – | – | 21-05 S2 | – |