Question: Each of the following questions has a sentence/paragraph with one italicized word that does not make sense. Choose the most appropriate replacement for that word from the options given below the paragraph.
Or there is the most fingummy diplomatic note on record: when Philip of Macedon wrote to the Spartans that, if he came within their borders, he would leave not one stone of their city, they wrote back the one word - "If".
Terse means pointed and concise. What controls the replacement in the context is the word ‘if’ as used at the end of the sentence. We are looking for a word which would classify this word in the context of the threat and the counter threat.
Option 1 (witty) is eliminated first since it does not fit in, in the context of the “threats” in the paragraph.
Then we have rude and simple as options 2 and 3. Rude and simple are poor descriptions of the profound ‘if’ in the context.
Option 4 (terse) is the best choice.
Hence, the correct answer is option 4.