In this question, you are given an English idiom. You must choose the alternative that best expresses the meaning of the idiom. Idiom: A man of letters.

Introduction / Context:
The question tests knowledge of English idioms that use metaphorical language. The phrase a man of letters does not refer literally to a person who handles mail or letters of the alphabet. Instead, it is a traditional expression used to describe someone who is highly educated, especially in literature and scholarly writing. Knowing such idioms is important for competitive exams, reading comprehension, and advanced vocabulary use.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The idiom given is A man of letters.
• The task is to choose the option that represents its meaning, not its literal wording.
• The options are letter writer, proof reader, postman, and scholar.
• We assume the idiom is used in a standard British or international English context.

Concept / Approach:
Idioms often cannot be translated word for word. The phrase a man of letters comes from an older usage where letters means literature, learning, or written works. Thus, a man of letters is a literary or scholarly person, usually an author, critic, or academic. The options letter writer, proof reader, and postman all focus on the physical handling of letters in the modern sense, but the idiom uses letters in the sense of literary studies. Therefore, the correct meaning is scholar.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recognise that the expression a man of letters is a fixed idiom in English. Step 2: Recall that in older usage, letters refers to literature, learning, and written knowledge, not postal mail. Step 3: Use this understanding to interpret the phrase as a person deeply involved in literature and study. Step 4: Compare this with the options. Letter writer is someone who writes letters, but this does not imply deep scholarship. Step 5: Proof reader is a person who checks printed material for errors, a technical role rather than a symbol of broad scholarship. Step 6: Postman is someone who delivers mail, clearly unrelated to scholarship or literary learning. Step 7: Scholar accurately describes a learned person, especially in literature or academic disciplines, which matches the idiomatic meaning.

Verification / Alternative check:
You can verify by remembering sentences where this idiom is used. For example, He was a distinguished man of letters who wrote many critical essays clearly refers to an intellectual or academic figure, not a mail carrier. Dictionaries and literary criticism also use man of letters to describe celebrated writers and scholars. This confirms that scholar is the correct interpretation.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Letter writer is wrong because it refers only to the mechanical act of writing personal or business letters. Proof reader is wrong because it is a technical occupation focused on correcting text rather than representing general scholarship. Postman is wrong because this job involves delivering mail, which is completely unrelated to the literary sense of letters in the idiom.

Common Pitfalls:
One common mistake is to interpret idioms literally and assume letters must mean postal letters. Another pitfall is not recognising that some English expressions preserve older meanings of words that have changed in everyday usage. To avoid such errors, learners should study idioms in context and note their figurative meanings rather than relying on the surface interpretation of each word.

Final Answer:
The idiom A man of letters means a scholar, that is, a highly learned literary or academic person.