The village headman was unlettered, but he was no fool; he could see through the sophistry of the businessman’s proposition and promptly turned him down.

deception, forced
naivete, turned
potential, forced
sophistry, turned
No correction required

Correct answer: sophistry, turned

Solution

"Sophistry" means clever but misleading reasoning, which fits the businessman’s proposition. "Turned him down" is the correct idiomatic expression for rejecting someone. The original sentence had awkward wording, and this option corrects it best.

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