Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Being in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
The idiom fish out of water is a common English expression used in spoken and written language. Competitive exams frequently test such idioms because they reveal how well a candidate understands natural, figurative English rather than just literal meanings. This question asks you to select the option that best captures the figurative sense of the phrase, not the literal picture of an actual fish outside water.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Literally, a fish out of water is in danger and cannot survive comfortably. English uses this image metaphorically for a person who is in an unfamiliar environment, situation, or social group and therefore feels awkward, uneasy, or out of place. The correct answer must express this sense of discomfort and unfamiliarity, rather than anything about actual thirst, aquariums, or physical dehydration.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Visualise the image of a fish out of water: it is struggling, not in its natural environment, and clearly uncomfortable.
Step 2: Translate this image into human experience: a person who is in a situation where they do not know how to behave or do not fit in.
Step 3: Read option C: Being in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation. This matches the figurative idea exactly.
Step 4: Check option A: Feeling dehydrated or lacking water is a purely physical meaning and ignores the idiomatic, figurative sense.
Step 5: Check option B: Being in a very comfortable and familiar position is the opposite of what the idiom suggests.
Step 6: Options D and E focus on literal fish or natural environments and therefore miss the idiomatic usage for people.
Verification / Alternative check:
Consider example sentences. If someone says, "At my first job in a foreign country, I felt like a fish out of water," we immediately understand that the person felt uncomfortable and out of place, not thirsty or safe. Similarly, "He is a fish out of water at formal parties" means he does not know how to behave and feels awkward. These contexts strongly support option C as the only correct interpretation of the idiom in standard English.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A confuses the metaphor with a literal physical condition and ignores the social or emotional aspect of feeling out of place.
Option B reverses the meaning by suggesting comfort and familiarity rather than awkwardness and unfamiliarity.
Option D simply describes a fish in an aquarium and has no idiomatic meaning for people or situations.
Option E talks about being happy in one’s natural environment, which again is the opposite of being out of place.
Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake is to treat idioms word by word and look for literal meanings instead of the established figurative sense. Another pitfall is to choose an option that sounds pleasant or safe without asking whether it truly reflects the emotional feeling described by the idiom. When you see idioms involving animals or body parts, remind yourself that they often describe feelings or attitudes rather than physical states.
Final Answer:
The idiom "fish out of water" means being in an unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation.
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