Question

Choose the word which is closest to the opposite in meaning to the italicized word:
You cannot blame him because all his dealings are above board.
a. under board
b. boring
c. underhand
d. beneath

Answer 1

Hint: Doing something ‘above board’ means to do something very honestly and in a legitimate manner. There is an element of fairness in doing something above board.

Complete answer:
The opposite meaning of doing something above-board would be to do something in a secretive and dishonest manner with the intention of cheating others. The word which is close to such a meaning is ‘underhand’.

Therefore, the correct answer is option c.
Option a, ‘underboard’, does not have any meaning in the English language. Thus, it is the wrong option.
Option b is wrong because ‘boring’ means something which is dull. For example, ‘The performance got boring after a while’. It is not related to the word ‘above board’.
Option d, ‘beneath’, means being below something. For example, ‘He was wearing a thick sweater beneath his t-shirt’. It is not an opposite meaning to the word ‘above board’. Thus, it is incorrect.

Note: Though the opposite of ‘above’ is ‘under’, words take up different meanings when they are attached to another word. Therefore, it is necessary to know the correct meaning of words. There is a difference between ‘above board’ and ‘overboard’. Overboard means when someone does something more than what is required, for example, ‘He went overboard with the expenses for the marriage’. This means he spent excessively on the marriage.