EPFO 2016 PYQ with Answer — ‘He was hoist by his own petard’ refers to

2016 · Q3

‘He was hoist by his own petard’ refers to

General EnglishVocabulary

AHe had problems as a result of his own plans to hurt others
BHe was high up on the pole
CHe would usually run away from trouble
DHe was indifferent to his surroundings

Explanation

A petard was a small explosive used to breach gates; to be “hoist with one’s own petard” — a phrase from Shakespeare’s Hamlet — means to be blown up, i.e. harmed, by one’s own scheme against others. It matches option (A) exactly. The other options take “hoist” literally (a pole, running away, indifference) and miss the idiom. Hence (A).