Topic Idioms
Asked 12 times across 2 UPSC exams over 5 years (2016–2021), peaking in 2021.
Key insights
- Most tested in NDA — 10 of 12 PYQs
- Most asked in 2021
- Recurs across 2 years (2016–2021)
How it travelled across exams
First appearance in each exam — the same idea, reframed.
EPFO 2016 → NDA 2021
How the concept evolved
Rising — more than half its appearances (12 of 12) are since 2016.
Sample questions
You've seen the pattern — here are a few of the actual PYQs.
NDA2021
Overstep the mark
- A To tell people how successful you are
- B To step into someone else's areas of expertise
- C To upset someone by doing/saying more than you should ✓
- D To do something in an excited way
✓ Correct answer: (C)
English Language › Vocabulary
NDA2021
Palsy-walsy friends
- A Good friends ✓
- B Friends who help each other in difficult situations
- C Friends by choice, and not by chance
- D Unfriendly
✓ Correct answer: (A)
English Language › Vocabulary
NDA2021
Open a Pandora's box
- A To do something that causes a lot of new problems that you did not expect ✓
- B To do something out of compulsion
- C To do something beyond expectation
- D To do something out of the box, that causes awards and ceremonies for you
✓ Correct answer: (A)
English Language › Vocabulary
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