Question

Choose the word which best expresses the meaning of the italicised bold part of the sentence:
He kept his eyes peeled and his ears pricked up for some important clue.
a) hint
b) inkling
c) intimation
d) signal

Answer 1

Hint: The word ‘clue’ refers to ‘a piece of evidence or information used in the detection of a crime’. It is used as a noun in the given sentence, and it is qualified by the adjective ‘important’.

Complete answer:
In order to replace the italicized word without changing the meaning of the sentence, we need the synonym of the given word. A synonym is a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase in the same language, for example, ‘shut’ is a synonym of ‘close’.
In the given sentence, the word ‘clue’ is used to tell us that the person was suddenly alert as he found a big piece of the puzzle. It gives us essential information about the context of the sentence.

Now, we know the meaning of the given word. Let’s look at the given options-
a) hint - The word ‘hint’ refers to ‘a slight or indirect indication or suggestion'. This word has the exact same meaning as the given word. This is the synonym of the given word as it would not change the meaning of the sentence. This is the required answer. So, this is the correct option.
b) inkling - The word ‘inkling’ refers to ‘a slight knowledge or suspicion'. This word does not have the exact meaning as the given word. This is not the synonym of the given word as it would change the meaning of the sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
c) intimation - The word ‘intimation’ refers to ‘an indication'. This word does not have the exact meaning as the given word. This is not the synonym of the given word as it would change the meaning of the sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.
d) signal - The word ‘signal’ refers to ‘a gesture, action, or sound that is used to convey information or instructions'. This word does not have the exact meaning as the given word. This is not the synonym of the given word as it would change the meaning of the sentence. This is not the required answer. So, this is an incorrect option.

Note:
Understand the meaning of the given sentence. Go through the options one by one and guess the meaning of each one. Choose the option with the exact same meaning as the given word, i.e. a synonym.