Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word
First catch your _____ and then cook it.
a) hare
b) hair
c) heir
d) car
e) bear

Answer 1

Hint: The given question is an idiom. An idiom is a phrase that has an underlying meaning which is connected to the meaning of the phrase but is not the literal meaning of it. For example, “too many cooks spoil the broth” is an idiom. This does not refer to the literal meaning of a lot of cooks spoiling the food called broth but has an implied meaning that if too many people work on the same thing, it is most likely that the work will not be very well done.

Complete answer:
The given sentence is talking about catching something and then cooking it. From the given options, it is obvious the answer is “hare” since the other things cannot be cooked and then eaten. “First catching a hare” means to first get/acquire/achieve something and then decide what you would like to do with that acquired thing. Thus, the correct answer is option a.
Option b is wrong because “hair” refers to hair on our head. We cannot cook it. All the hair treatments she carried out in the past month has ruined her hair.
Option c is incorrect because “heir” means the next person to inherit a throne/will. They are called successors. The heir to the current king is a ten-year-old child.
Option d is also wrong because “car” cannot be caught and cooked. We buy a car, we don’t catch it and it most definitely cannot be cooked. They bought a new car but unfortunately, its color is neon yellow.
Option e is “bear” which is either the animal or the action of tolerating something. We are bearing (tolerating) her bad attitude just because she is the class monitor. The bear (the animal) was wounded but it managed to escape.

Note:
It can be understood that the options are homonyms of the word “hare” because they sound the same but mean different. This is to confuse the students. It is important to know the meanings of not only the idioms but also have a good vocabulary. Reading books and articles help in building a rich vocabulary.