IPMAT Indore 2026 · Verbal Ability · Question 25

IPMAT Indore 2026 previous year question on Idioms and Phrases, with the answer and a step-by-step solution.

Idioms and PhrasesVocabularyMultiple choiceEasy

Complete the following sentence by choosing the most appropriate word/phrase from the options given below.

While travelling on the highway my car had a flat tyre; to_________, it started to rain and I got drenched.

  1. A

    make matters worse

  2. B

    add to my complexities

  3. C

    perplex me further

  4. D

    befuddle me

Pick an option, then check.
Answer & solution

Answer: Option A

What the sentence needs. A set phrase introducing an additional misfortune: first a flat tyre, then rain.

The idiom. To make matters worse is the standard parenthetical connective for exactly this situation.

Why the others fail:

add to my complexities — not idiomatic; one speaks of adding to one’s troubles or problems, not complexities.

perplex me further / befuddle me — both mean to confuse or bewilder. But rain after a flat tyre is not confusing; it is simply worse. The sentence needs misfortune, not bewilderment.

Answer: Option 1 — make matters worse

Shortcut. The construction “to ______, …” is a fixed slot filled by very few phrases in English — to make matters worse, to add insult to injury, to top it all. Recognise the frame and the answer follows.

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