Re: The budget debate progressed well for the first few months, in spite o
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15 May 2023, 04:00
OE
quagmire, morass The first part of the sentence, which describes how the budget debate “progressed well … in spite of … squabbling,” is very important. If you didn’t see that, you might be tempted to choose the wrong words here. However, because of the reversal signal “but,” you want something that contrasts with something that progresses well. A good fill-in would be mess or muddle. Feud and quarrel are an incorrect pair. While they correctly get across the negative spin you want for the blank, they don’t address the idea of progressing badly, and the “but” indicates a need to contrast with a situation that was always prone to “squabbling.” Covenant and accord are an incorrect pair, both indicating an agreement.