The board dismissed the audit findings as a mere ______ designed to distract from management's real achievements.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. red herring
- Step 1: A 'red herring' is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant, central, or important issue. Dismissing the audit as a red herring implies it was introduced deliberately to sidetrack attention from success. Answer: red herring. Why not the others: "foregone conclusion" is an outcome or result that was completely predictable and certain from the start; "blanket endorsement" is a total, comprehensive, and unconditional approval of a policy or person; "silver bullet idea" is a simple, miraculous, and immediate solution to an extremely complex problem.
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More Advanced Academic and Formal Lexis questions
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