Which word is the best fit to complete the following phrase? __ is to cooking as paintbrush is to painting. * A Restaurant B Knife C Meal D Hunger
The correct answer and explanation is:
The best word to complete the phrase is B. Knife.
Phrase:
____ is to cooking as paintbrush is to painting.
Correct completion:
Knife is to cooking as paintbrush is to painting.
Explanation:
This phrase is an analogy, a comparison showing the relationship between two pairs of words. The structure is:
- The first blank should be a tool or instrument used in cooking.
- The second part is “paintbrush is to painting,” where a paintbrush is a tool essential for the act of painting.
So, the phrase means:
“The thing that corresponds to cooking, similar to how a paintbrush corresponds to painting.”
Let’s analyze the options:
- A. Restaurant — A restaurant is a place where cooking happens, not a tool or instrument used in cooking. This doesn’t fit the relationship of the analogy.
- B. Knife — A knife is a fundamental tool used in cooking for chopping, slicing, and preparing food. It corresponds to the paintbrush, which is a fundamental tool used in painting. This option fits perfectly.
- C. Meal — A meal is the result or product of cooking, not a tool or instrument. The analogy is looking for a tool like the paintbrush, not the product.
- D. Hunger — Hunger is a feeling or desire that motivates cooking or eating, not a tool or instrument. It doesn’t fit the analogy.
Why is Knife the best fit?
A paintbrush is an essential tool for painting. Without a paintbrush, painting in a traditional sense is difficult or impossible. Similarly, a knife is an essential and primary tool used in cooking. It helps prepare ingredients by cutting, chopping, and shaping food. Both are fundamental tools associated directly with their activities.
This analogy highlights the relationship between the tool and the activity it is used for:
- Paintbrush → Painting
- Knife → Cooking
Thus, the phrase “Knife is to cooking as paintbrush is to painting” correctly completes the analogy.