Question:easy

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.

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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

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
The idiom uses a comparison, so the way to crack it is to ask what the compared thing actually experiences. The phrase "for the first week" also tells us the feeling was temporary and tied to newness.

Step 2: Key Formula or Approach:
Work from the image outward. Ask what a fish taken out of water is going through, then find the option that names the same experience in human terms.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
A fish on dry land is not hurt by anyone and has not been let down by anyone. Its problem is that it has been moved into an element it was never built for, so nothing works the way it should.
Carry this across to a person. Someone in a strange office, a strange country or a strange group feels awkward because the surroundings do not suit them. That is the human version of the fish's plight.
The words "the apprentice" and "for the first week" both back this reading. An apprentice is new to the trade, and the feeling is limited to the first week, which is how the awkwardness of a new place behaves.
Test "frustrated". This needs a blocked goal. The sentence names no goal and no obstacle.
Test "disappointed". This needs an expectation that was not met. Nothing in the sentence sets up an expectation.
Test "homeless". This takes the fish literally. Idioms are read whole, and an apprentice starting a job is not being described as having no roof.
Test "uncomfortable". This names being ill at ease in a setting, which is exactly the fish's condition.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The idiom names awkwardness in an unfamiliar setting, so the answer is option (D), uncomfortable.
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