NCERT Solutions Poorvi Chapter 3 (Idioms)My Brother's Great Invention — Let us learn
Book page 103 Updated on2026-09-05
Q1.
III Complete the following sentences by filling in the blanks with suitable idioms from the text given in the box below (leaving the coast clear / get on our nerves / fell over ourselves / frighten me half to death / get a shelling). 1. Shekhar knew he would _______________________ for breaking his mother's favourite flower vase.
Answer
Shekhar knew he would get a shelling for breaking his mother's favourite flower vase.
Why it happens:To get a shelling means to be scolded severely — the image is of being fired at with shells. In the story Anita uses it as a warning: "If you get a shelling, don't bring me in." A broken favourite vase is exactly the sort of thing that earns one.
Q2.
III 2. We _______________________ trying to help the injured dog and get it to the vet as quickly as possible.
Answer
We fell over ourselves trying to help the injured dog and get it to the vet as quickly as possible.
Why it happens:To fall over oneself means to be so eager to do something that one becomes clumsy about it. Anita uses it when the neighbours arrive: 'Both Anand and I fell over ourselves trying to explain.' The picture is of people tripping in their hurry to be helpful.
Q3.
III 3. Faizy distracted Kanchan, _______________________ for us to get inside the room to prepare the birthday surprise.
Answer
Faizy distracted Kanchan, leaving the coast clear for us to get inside the room to prepare the birthday surprise.
Why it happens:To leave the coast clear means that no one is watching, so it is safe to act. It comes from smugglers waiting until no coastguard could be seen on the shore. In the story it explains how Boppa chose his night: 'He knew exactly when the occupants were out, leaving the coast clear.'
Q4.
III 4. The constant power fluctuations during meetings can _______________________.
Answer
The constant power fluctuations during meetings can get on our nerves.
Why it happens:To get on someone's nerves means to irritate them, especially by doing the same annoying thing again and again. The word 'constant' in the sentence is the clue — a single power cut annoys, a constant flicker wears you down. In the story it is Anand who 'got on Papa's nerves'.
Q5.
III 5. When I am alone at home, any unexpected loud noise in the night can _______________________.
Answer
When I am alone at home, any unexpected loud noise in the night can frighten me half to death.
Why it happens:To frighten someone half to death is a deliberate exaggeration (a hyperbole) meaning to terrify them. Anita uses it of her brother, who has 'frightened someone half to death in the house' more than once — and the story then does exactly that to her, with a scratching at the door at half past eleven.
Tip: An idiom must be used whole. You cannot say 'frightened me a quarter to death' or 'left the coast open' — change one word and the expression stops being English.