2014-10-06 09:00:54

The coach's post-game tirade was full of ______ attacks on his team's lack of effort and equally acerbic criticisms of its sloppy play.

(A) vitriolic
(B) dowdy
(C) benign
(D) obliging
(E) irrefutable

The correct answer is A
Explanation: To find the missing word, try to predict its meaning by using keywords in the sentence. Here, the best clues are the words "equally acerbic criticisms" and the use of the conjunction "and," which links the "attacks" to the criticisms, implying that the attacks were similar to those criticisms. As such, the missing word must mean something similar to "acerbic criticisms," implying that the "attacks" were harsh. Choice A is correct, then, since "vitriolic" means "filled with bitter criticism or malice."

None of the other choices work, either:

dowdy: unfashionable
benign: harmless
obliging: helpless
irrefutable: undeniabl