Question:easy

Select the correct meaning of the italicized idiom or phrase out of the four choices given.
Mrs. Hashmi has been in the blues for the last several weeks.

Show Hint

Think of what the colour blue stands for in English feelings, and why sorrowful music is called the blues.
Updated On: Jul 17, 2026
  • abroad
  • unwell
  • depressed
  • penniless
Show Solution

The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

Step 1: Understanding the Question:
An idiom built on a colour word is given, along with the time phrase "for the last several weeks". The colour and the time span are both useful clues.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Use the colour code English attaches to feelings. Green stands for envy, red for anger or embarrassment, and blue for sadness. So an idiom built on blue is very likely about low spirits. Then confirm the reading against the rest of the sentence.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
Recall where else this colour turns up. A person feeling low is said to be feeling blue. The music born of sorrow in the American South is called the blues. Both point the same way.
So "in the blues" should mean sunk in sadness, and "for the last several weeks" fits, since a mood can hang over someone for weeks.
Check "abroad". No colour idiom in English means travel. The trap comes from the different phrase "out of the blue", which means without warning, and that phrase has nothing to do with this one.
Check "unwell". Illness in idiom is usually "under the weather", not "in the blues". The two states often go together, but the words are not interchangeable.
Check "penniless". English has "in the red" for being in debt, and that is the colour for money trouble, not blue.
Check "depressed". This matches the sadness code exactly and reads naturally in the sentence.

Step 4: Final Answer:
Blue is the colour of low spirits, so the answer is option (C), depressed.
Was this answer helpful?
0


Questions Asked in CLAT exam