Question

What do you mean by the sweat of his brow?
A) Very hard work
B) The tiny droplets of sweat on the forehead
C) The wrinkles visible on the forehead
D) The sign of innocence

Answer 1

Hint: ‘Sweat of his brow’ is an idiom that describes a symbolic meaning in the sentence, which means by one’s own effort.

Complete answer:
The usage of the idiom ‘sweat of his brow’ first appeared in the bible when God explains to Adam that if by any case, Adam eats the forbidden fruit, he will have to work extremely hard to earn his bread. However, in present times the idiom, ‘sweat of his brow’ is used commonly when someone works hard to achieve a certain goal.
For example, Rob explained to his son, ‘with the sweat of the brow, I was able to build such a big house.’
Let us examine the given options to find the correct meaning
Option A, ‘Very hard work’ is the correct option as ‘sweat of his brow’ means to work diligently by putting one’s all effort in a particular task. Option B, ‘The tiny droplets of sweat on the forehead’ suggests tiny droplets of sweat that occur on the forehead, which can be either through physical work or stress, therefore it is not a correct option. Option C, ‘The wrinkles visible on the forehead’ means the fine lines that start to appear on the forehead after the age of 35 or 40, therefore it is not a correct option. Option D, ‘The sign of innocence’ suggests childlikeness, therefore it is not a correct option.

Note:
Many a time meaning of the sweat of his brow i.e. very hard work is often confused with ‘The tiny droplets of sweat on the forehead’ However, remember that sweat in the idiom is used to denote the tiny droplets of water, which has fallen from the brow due to the rigorous hard work to achieve a certain goal.