Question

Choose the correct meaning of the idiom/phrase.
See eye to eye
A) Stare at each other
B) Agree
C) Depend on
D) Make an effort

Answer 1

Hint: Idioms are groups of words or phrases which do not mean the same as their literal meaning. Hence, they are said to be a figurative language. For e.g. Just stop beating around the bush. This sentence actually means, ‘stop talking about unimportant things and come to the point.’ The idiom ‘beating around the bush’ means to ‘talk in roundabouts to avoid confronting a sensitive or unpleasant topic.

Complete answer:
The figurative meaning of the phrase ‘see eye to eye’ is to agree to something. To choose the correct option we must first reject all options that portray a literal meaning of the idiom. This is because, if the idiom has a literal meaning, it would no longer be an idiom.

Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) Stare at each other – This is not the correct meaning of the idiom ‘see eye to eye’. It is the literal meaning of the phase, whereas in order for a phrase to be an idiom its meaning should not be literal. Therefore, this option is incorrect.
Option B) Agree – This is the correct meaning of the idiom ‘see eye to eye’. It can be used in a sentence in the following manner; My sister and I see eye to eye on almost everything. It means that my sister and I agree on almost everything. Hence, this is the correct option.
Option C) Depend on – This is not the correct meaning of the phrase, ‘see eye to eye’. The idiom which means the same as Option C) is “To have a lot riding on (something). For e.g. He had a lot riding on this contract. It means that he was depending a lot on that contract. Thus, this option is incorrect.
Option D) Make an effort – This is also not the correct meaning of the idiom ‘see eye to eye’. There is a different idiom which has a similar meaning to ‘make an effort’, which is “to go the extra mile”. For e.g. You’ll have to go the extra mile to win the game. It means, you’ll have to make extra effort to win the game. Thus, this option is wrong.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (B) i.e, Agree.

Note: There are many other idioms which have a similar meaning to ‘see eye to eye’. Some of them are;
i) To bury the hatchet – it means to agree, make peace or end a dispute.
ii) To go along – it also means to agree, but it is often provisionally.
iii) To let bygones be bygones – it means to agree to forget about conflicts in the past.
iv) To play ball – means to agree to participate.