Select the most appropriate idiom that can substitute the underlined words in the following sentence. The politicians had always been an easy target for the media.
sitting ducks
What the underlined words mean: people who can be attacked or criticised without difficulty.
The answer. Sitting ducks comes from shooting, where a duck resting on the water is an easy shot. It means people who are defenceless and easy to attack — matching ‘an easy target’ exactly. The plural also agrees with ‘The politicians’.
Why the others fail:
Fishes out of water — people who feel awkward and out of place in unfamiliar surroundings. A matter of discomfort, not vulnerability.
Dark horses — people whose abilities are unknown until they surprise everyone. Almost the reverse of being an obvious target.
The Achilles' heel — the closest wrong answer, since it does concern vulnerability. But it names a single point of weakness in something otherwise strong, not the person who is attacked; and its singular form does not fit the plural ‘The politicians’.
Takeaway: when substituting an idiom, check number and grammar as well as sense. A singular idiom cannot replace a phrase describing several people.
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