Retired Moderator
Joined: 07 Jun 2014
Posts: 4815
Given Kudos: 0
WE:Business Development (Energy and Utilities)
Re: By the third quarter, the opposing team had lost the upper
[#permalink]
14 Oct 2017, 16:01
Explanation
The team once had an “upper hand” and is now losing badly. You need words that denote a “crushing failure,” or a “drubbing.”
Debacle and rout are good, and none of the other words come close. Note that a boondoggle is certainly bad, but it is an unnecessary and wasteful project, and thus not relevant here.
Hence options debacle, rout are correct!