Idioms in Current Affairs – Choose the option that BEST explains the highlighted expression. Sentence: The recent film “Secular India” has tried to keep the pot of the Muslim Women’s Bill boiling.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Keep a controversy alive

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
“Keep the pot boiling” is an idiom used in political commentary and media criticism. It means to maintain public interest, excitement, or controversy so that an issue remains in active discussion. In the sentence, the film is said to have sustained debate around the Muslim Women’s Bill, ensuring it stayed newsworthy and contentious.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • The idiom is applied to a legislative issue with social sensitivity.
  • The verb “keep” signals continuation rather than initiation.
  • The phrase must relate to public attention and debate, not literal cooking.


Concept / Approach:
Media and politics often use culinary metaphors. A “boiling pot” suggests continued simmering activity. The correct paraphrase emphasizes sustaining controversy or interest. Options that interpret the expression literally or redirect it to survival economics are inappropriate.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Identify idiom: keep the pot boiling = sustain interest/controversy.Discard literal readings involving pots or bills physically boiling.Select the choice that explicitly states “keep a controversy alive.”Check alignment with media discourse around sensitive bills.


Verification / Alternative check:
Replace the idiom: “has tried to keep the controversy about the Muslim Women’s Bill alive.” The meaning is preserved.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • Earning enough …: unrelated to debate; that is a different idiom (“keep body and soul together”).
  • Boil the bill / Boil something in a pot: purely literal, not idiomatic.


Common Pitfalls:
Taking press idioms literally; missing that “boiling” here signals sustained agitation in public discourse.


Final Answer:
Keep a controversy alive

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