In this idiom question, choose the option that best expresses the meaning of the phrase: Weal and woe.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Good times and bad times

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Idiomatic expressions often use old or uncommon words that candidates may not meet in everyday speech. The phrase weal and woe comes from older English, where weal means well being, prosperity, or happiness, and woe means sorrow or misery. Understanding these roots allows you to interpret the overall idiom accurately.


Given Data / Assumptions:
- Idiom: Weal and woe. - Options: Friends and enemies, Be in danger, Adversity, Good times and bad times. - Context is not given, so the meaning must be recalled from vocabulary knowledge.


Concept / Approach:
Weal represents prosperity or happiness, while woe represents suffering or misfortune. When combined with and, the phrase weal and woe covers both extremes of human experience. Therefore, it refers to good times and bad times taken together, often used in expressions about loyalty, such as standing by someone in weal and woe.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that weal is related to well being and prosperity. Step 2: Recall that woe means sorrow, trouble, or misfortune. Step 3: Combine the two words logically: happiness and sorrow, prosperity and adversity. Step 4: Compare with options. Good times and bad times perfectly captures this contrast and balance. Step 5: Friends and enemies focuses on people rather than states of fortune, so it does not match. Step 6: Be in danger captures only a negative sense and misses the idea of good times. Step 7: Adversity alone again covers only bad conditions, not the pair of opposites.


Verification / Alternative check:
Look at a typical sentence: The couple promised to remain loyal to each other in weal and woe. The context is clearly that they will stay together in both prosperity and hardship. Replacing the idiom with in good times and bad times preserves the sense exactly. None of the other options can be inserted smoothly without changing the meaning of the sentence.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Friends and enemies refers to different kinds of people, not different states of life. Be in danger suggests only a situation of risk or threat, not a pair of contrasting conditions. Adversity refers only to difficulties and hardships, missing the positive side implied by weal.


Common Pitfalls:
Because the word weal is unfamiliar, some candidates focus only on woe and guess a purely negative meaning such as adversity. Others match by sound or emotional impression. To avoid this, try to break the phrase into parts and recall any related modern words, such as welfare (connected to weal) and woeful (connected to woe), which hint at good and bad conditions.


Final Answer:
The idiom Weal and woe means Good times and bad times.

Discussion & Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Join Discussion