Choose the exact meaning of the idiomatic phrase underlined below – The boy turned a deaf ear to the advice of his well wishers.

The correct answer is D) Refused to listen. To turn a deaf ear means to deliberately ignore someone's advice or request, pretending not to hear it. The boy did not lack the ability to hear; he chose not to act on what his well-wishers said.

• A) Listened carefully is the exact opposite of the idiom.
• B) Was deadly opposed suggests active hostility, which the phrase does not express. He simply ignored the advice.
• C) Posed indifference is a distractor. The idiom describes ignoring advice, not putting on a show of not caring.

This is a vocabulary question, and idioms like this appear regularly in UPPSC English sections. For Mains, such phrases help you read the tone of editorials and essays accurately.

Trap: Aspirants pick C because it sounds like a feeling of not caring. Idiom questions reward the action in the phrase, not the emotion around it.