After each of the following sentences, a list of possible interpretations is given. Choose the interpretation…

Step 1: Analyze the question The question tests your understanding of idioms. The idiom is "cut the ground from under my feet."

Step 2: Explain the concept To "cut the ground from under someone's feet" means to remove the basis of a person's position, argument, or plan, leaving them with no support. Picture standing on a platform and having the floor pulled away: you can no longer stand, and everything you built on it collapses.

Step 3: Work through the options

• A. ruin my plans: This fits. If the ground is cut away, the foundation of my plans is destroyed.
• B. support my plans: This is the opposite. Cutting away support does not provide it.
• C. promote my plans: Promoting means advancing something. The idiom is negative, so this is wrong.
• D. expose my plans: This is a tempting distractor because the sentence mentions "revealing information." But the idiom is about undermining, not about making something public. Revealing the information is the cause, and the ruin of the plans is the effect.

Step 4: Answer The correct answer is A. ruin my plans.

Tip: For idiom questions, decide first whether the idiom is positive or negative. "Cut the ground from under (someone's feet)" is always negative: it means to undermine or leave someone defenseless. Also watch for distractors that repeat words from the sentence, like "revealing" and "expose."