Question

question 13 of 20
read the following excerpt from life on the mississippi by mark twain:

i went meekly aboard a few of the boats that lay packed
together like sardines at the long st. louis wharf, and
humbly inquired for the pilots, but got only a cold shoulder
and short words from mates and clerks.

how does twain use an idiom in this excerpt?

a. to show a contrast between twains expectation and the reality of
the situation

b. to describe the way that the mates and clerks tapped twain on
the shoulder

c. to compare two unlike things, boats and sardines, by using the
word like

d. to show how twain was deliberately made to feel unwelcome

Explanation:

The idiom here is "cold shoulder". The phrase "cold shoulder" means to be deliberately unfriendly or unresponsive to someone. In the excerpt, Twain inquired for pilots humbly but received a cold shoulder (unfriendly treatment) from mates and clerks, which shows he was made to feel unwelcome. Option A is incorrect as the idiom isn't about expectation - reality contrast. Option B misinterprets "cold shoulder" as a literal shoulder tap. Option C describes a simile (comparing boats to sardines with "like"), not the idiom's use.

Answer:

D. To show how Twain was deliberately made to feel unwelcome