Question:
Select the correct meaning of the italicized idiom or phrase out of the four choices given.
His friends failed to see why he should ride the high horse just because he had won an election.
Select the correct meaning of the italicized idiom or phrase out of the four choices given.
His friends failed to see why he should ride the high horse just because he had won an election.
His friends failed to see why he should ride the high horse just because he had won an election.
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Picture a man mounted above the crowd. In English, height over others is the standard figure for pride, as in "look down on someone".
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
- become abnormal
- appear arrogant
- indulge in dreams
- hate others
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The Correct Option is B
Solution and Explanation
"Ride the high horse", also heard as "be on one's high horse", means to behave in a proud and superior way, as though you were above everyone else. The phrase goes back to the days when important people rode tall horses in processions, so height on horseback came to stand for airs and self importance.
- become abnormal: This would mean turning odd or unbalanced. Arrogance is a common enough failing and not a departure from normal behaviour, so this reading is far too strong and misses the sense.
- appear arrogant: This is the accepted meaning. Having won an election, the man began carrying himself as though he were above his friends, which is what riding the high horse means.
- indulge in dreams: This is closer to "build castles in the air". The idiom here is about how a person treats others, not about idle daydreaming.
- hate others: Hatred is active ill will. A person on a high horse looks down on people rather than hating them, and the two attitudes are not the same.
The correct option is (B) appear arrogant. The friends could not see why one election win should make him give himself such airs.
Let's summarize:
- Ride the high horse means to put on airs and act superior to others.
- "Become abnormal" overstates it, "indulge in dreams" belongs to a different idiom, and "hate others" swaps looking down on people for active ill will.
The answer is (B) appear arrogant.
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