SSC CPO Paper I 2020, 2022, 2023, 2024 PYQs

Concept: Dainty means delicately small, pretty and graceful.

1. Elegant = graceful and stylish – the closest synonym.
2. Vulgar = crude, opposite in sense; Sable = black (colour) or a small animal – unrelated.
3. 'Fine' is too general (it has many meanings: good, thin, penalty) and does not specifically convey grace.

Trick: Dainty dress, dainty steps – think 'delicate and elegant'.

Answer: (C) Elegant

Concept: Filthy means extremely dirty.

1. Dirty = unclean – direct synonym.
2. Tidy and Shiny suggest cleanliness – opposite in sense; Visual = related to seeing – unrelated.
3. Example: His shoes were filthy (dirty) after the rain.

Trick: Filth = dirt → filthy = dirty.

Answer: (D) Dirty

Concept: Life is a bowl of cherries = life is wonderful and pleasant.

1. The underlined part 'life is wonderful and pleasant' is exactly this idiom.
2. Up in the air = uncertain; Face the music = accept punishment; Change one's tune = change one's opinion.
3. Sentence: It makes me believe that life is a bowl of cherries.

Trick: Cherries are sweet → a bowl of them = a sweet, happy life.

Answer: (D) life is a bowl of cherries

Concept: Check the '-ary / -ory / -ery' endings carefully.

1. directory – correct.
2. dictionery → dictionary; dispensery → dispensary; machinary → machinery.
3. So only option A is spelt correctly.

Yaad rakhein: dictionARY, dispensARY, machinERY, directORY.

Answer: (A) directory

Concept: Fit as a fiddle = in very good health, fit and energetic.

1. Mathew completing a marathon in his eighties shows he is healthy and full of energy.
2. So the idiom is replaced by 'a fit and energetic person'.
3. Options about a horse, great qualities or being proud do not match the idiom.

Trick: A well-tuned fiddle (violin) = everything in perfect condition.

Answer: (D) a fit and energetic person

Concept: Bring someone to book = make someone answer for, or be punished for, their wrong conduct.

1. The stenographer did illegal money transactions; the manager finally decided to hold her responsible.
2. So 'make her accountable for her conduct' is correct.
3. 'Detailed investigation' is only a step, not accountability; 'take into confidence' and 'safe position' are opposite in spirit.

Trick: Book = the record of accounts → being 'brought to book' = made to account for your deeds.

Answer: (D) make her accountable for her conduct

Concept: Read each word of the sentence and spot the misspelt one.

1. 'hermony' is wrong; the correct spelling is harmony (agreement, peaceful balance).
2. encourage, tourism and ensure are already correct in the sentence; options A, C, D are misspellings of them.
3. Correct phrase: done in harmony with the environment.

Yaad rakhein: HARMony – think 'harm-ony': no harm to nature.

Answer: (B) Harmony

Concept: The idiom think outside the box = think creatively, in an original and unconventional way.

1. Mihir's creative thinking helps the team solve complex problems – the idiom fits.
2. 'The room', 'the cupboard', 'the bowl' do not form any idiom.
3. Sentence: Mihir's ability to think outside the box always gives our team the upper hand.

Yaad rakhein: Fixed idiom: think outside the box = creative thinking.

Answer: (C) the box

Concept: Carry on (a business) = to continue or conduct it.

1. 'Carry out my business in my absence' means continue running my business – carry on.
2. 'Carry at', 'carry for', 'carry in' are not standard phrasal verbs with this meaning.
3. Sentence: My son will carry on in my absence.

Yaad rakhein: Carry on = continue; carry out = execute (a plan/order).

Answer: (B) carry on

Concept: The scientific study of human beings – their origin, societies and cultures – is anthropology.

1. Anthropo = man/human, -logy = study → anthropology.
2. Biology = study of all living organisms; Biography = life story of a person written by another; Autobiography = life story written by oneself.
3. So 'the study of Man' = Anthropology.

Trick: Anthropos (Greek) = man; think 'anthropoid' (man-like ape).

Answer: (B) Anthropology

Concept: Sequence of tenses: a past-tense reporting/main verb is followed by a past tense in the dependent clause.

1. 'Last night I dreamed' is in the past, so the dream clause must also be past: I was looking for…
2. 'I am looking for the' (present continuous) breaks the sequence – this is the error.
3. Correct: Last night I dreamed that I was looking for the abominable snowman high up in the Himalayas.

Yaad rakhein: Past main verb → past in the that-clause (unless a universal truth).

Answer: (C) I am looking for the

Concept: A slap on the wrist = a very mild punishment.

1. The sentence says criminals should get more than a very mild punishment – 'a slap on the wrist'.
2. An axe to grind = a personal grievance/motive; A blessing in disguise = good that seems bad at first; A taste of their own medicine = same bad treatment they gave others.
3. Sentence: …get more from the authorities than a slap on the wrist.

Trick: A slap on the wrist hardly hurts → a token punishment.

Answer: (A) a slap on the wrist

Concept: A large open-air fire lit as part of a celebration is a bonfire.

1. A huge fire for celebration on Diwali = bonfire.
2. Lohri is a festival (not the fire itself); Flash = a sudden brief light; Firecracker = a small explosive used for noise.
3. Sentence: There was a bonfire on the occasion of Diwali.

Yaad rakhein: Bonfire = big celebratory outdoor fire.

Answer: (C) Bonfire

Concept: Words ending in '-ary', '-ery' and '-ory' must be learnt individually.

1. granary, dictionary, directory – all correct.
2. 'chancellary' is wrong; the correct spelling is chancellery (office of a chancellor).
3. So option D is the incorrectly spelt word.

Yaad rakhein: chancellERY (like bakery, nursery); granARY, dictionARY, directORY.

Answer: (D) chancellary

Concept: Between the devil and the deep blue sea = caught between two equally bad choices; in a dilemma.

1. Life often forces us to choose between two difficult options – a dilemma.
2. 'In the deep sea' takes the words literally; 'good condition' and 'choose wisely' miss the idea of two bad choices.
3. So 'To be in dilemma to choose' is correct.

Yaad rakhein: Devil on one side, deep sea on the other – both dangerous → dilemma.

Answer: (A) To be in dilemma to choose

Concept: An afternoon (daytime) performance of a film or play is called a matinee.

1. Matinee = a show held during the day, especially in the afternoon.
2. Cinema and Theatre are places/forms of entertainment, not a time-specific show; Dramatics = the art of acting.
3. So the answer is Matinee.

Trick: Matin (French) = morning → matinee = daytime show.

Answer: (B) Matinee

Concept: Supernatural = beyond the laws of nature, relating to magic or mystical powers.

1. Occult = relating to magic, mystical or supernatural powers – the matching word.
2. Questionable = doubtful; Obtuse = slow to understand; Evident = clear/obvious – none means supernatural.
3. Sentence: …promotion of occult practices.

Yaad rakhein: Occult practices = black magic, witchcraft, supernatural rituals.

Answer: (C) Occult

Concept: The fixed expression is in more than one way (manner is expressed with 'in').

1. We say 'in one way', 'in many ways', 'in more than one way' – so 'be taken in more than one way'.
2. 'by', 'on', 'for', 'of' are not used with 'way' to express manner here.
3. Correct: The same judgement can often be taken in more than one way.

Yaad rakhein: Manner → in a way, in this way, in more than one way.

Answer: (B) be taken in more than

Concept: Avoid double comparison: 'better' is already comparative, so 'comparatively' is redundant.

1. 'Comparatively better' uses two comparative ideas together – the error.
2. Correct: My father is much better today (or 'comparatively well today').
3. 'My father', 'is', 'today' are correct.

Yaad rakhein: Never use more/comparatively + comparative form (more better, comparatively better ✗).

Answer: (A) comparatively better

Concept: Check each key word: skilled, delicately, intricate, steady.

1. A: delicatly ✗, stedy ✗.
2. B: intrecate ✗ (should be intricate).
3. C: skiled ✗, delicatly ✗, stedy ✗.
4. D: skilled, delicately, intricate, steady – all correct.

Trick: Eliminate any option with even one misspelt word.

Answer: (D) The skilled surgeon delicately performed the intricate procedure, saving the patient's life with his steady hands and unwavering focus.