After the following sentence, a list of possible interpretations is given. Choose the interpretaion that is…

Step 1: Analyze the question The sentence uses an idiom: "washing our dirty linen in public." We are asked what the mother's warning really means.

Step 2: Explain the concept An idiom has a figurative meaning that differs from its literal words. "To wash one's dirty linen in public" means to discuss private or embarrassing personal or family matters openly, where other people can hear. "Linen" refers to clothes and bedsheets, and "dirty linen" stands for shameful or private affairs.

Step 3: Work through the options

• A. not to discuss private matters in public. This matches the idiom's meaning exactly.
• B. to fetch enough water for washing. This takes the idiom literally, and it has nothing to do with "in public."
• C. not to soil our clothes. This is also a literal reading and misses the point.
• D. to keep our mouths shut. This is too broad. The mother is not asking for total silence, only that private family matters stay private.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is A.

Tip: When a WASSCE question gives a strange or oddly worded phrase, check whether it is an idiom. If it is, reject the literal options (here B and C) first. Then choose the option that matches the specific figurative meaning, not the one that is merely general (like D).