Question:
Select the correct meaning of the italicized idiom or phrase out of the four choices given.
For the first week, the apprentice felt like a fish out of water.
Select the correct meaning of the italicized idiom or phrase out of the four choices given.
For the first week, the apprentice felt like a fish out of water.
For the first week, the apprentice felt like a fish out of water.
Show Hint
Ask what a fish on dry land actually feels. It is not angry or let down, it is simply in the wrong element.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
- frustrated
- homeless
- disappointed
- uncomfortable
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The Correct Option is D
Solution and Explanation
"A fish out of water" describes someone who feels awkward and out of place because the surroundings are new or unsuited to them. A fish taken from water is not angry or sad, it is simply in the wrong element. The idiom carries that same idea of being ill at ease in unfamiliar surroundings.
- frustrated: This means annoyed at being blocked from a goal. A new apprentice may feel that too, but the idiom is about not fitting the setting, not about being thwarted.
- homeless: This is a literal reading of the fish being away from where it lives. The idiom never means someone has no home, it means the present setting does not suit them.
- disappointed: This means let down because things fell short of hope. The idiom says nothing about expectations, only about being in the wrong element.
- uncomfortable: This is the accepted meaning. In his first week the apprentice was in a new workplace among strangers, so he felt awkward and out of place.
The correct option is (D) uncomfortable. "For the first week" fits well, since the awkwardness of a fresh setting wears off once a person settles in.
Let's summarize:
- A fish out of water means ill at ease and out of place in unfamiliar surroundings.
- "Frustrated" and "disappointed" name other feelings that do not turn on being in the wrong setting, and "homeless" reads the fish literally.
The answer is (D) uncomfortable.
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