Question

Choose the correct option out of the four choices given.
Your conduct smacks __________ recklessness.

• A. of
• B. with
• C. from
• D. in

Hint:

This is the figurative "smack", meaning to have a trace of something about it, as in "the deal smacks ___ nepotism".

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
The subject is "your conduct" and the complement is "recklessness", so the verb has to link a behaviour with a quality it hints at. We need the preposition that goes with "smack" in that job.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Spot the sense of the verb first, because "smack" has two lives. Literally it means to strike with an open hand and takes a direct object with no preposition: "she smacked the table". Figuratively it means to carry a trace of something, and in that use it is always followed by "of". Since a piece of conduct cannot hit anything, the figurative sense must be the one at work.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
The figurative "smack of" grew out of the older meaning of taste. Something that smacks of a flavour has that flavour about it, and English extended this from tastes to qualities. So conduct that smacks of recklessness has recklessness about it.
Recall the standard examples: "the appointment smacks of nepotism", "the deal smacks of a cover up". Every one of them uses "of", never another preposition.
Run the other choices through the same frame. "The appointment smacks with nepotism" is not said. "The appointment smacks from nepotism" is not said. "The appointment smacks in nepotism" is not said. The phrasal verb admits only one partner.
Substituting gives "Your conduct smacks of recklessness", a natural sentence carrying a note of blame.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The figurative verb takes exactly one preposition, so the answer is option (A), of.