Guesthouse Brochure: Idiom and Collocation
An exam vocabulary item uses this sentence from a guesthouse brochure: 'The guesthouse is a stone's throw from the surf, but rooms are booked solid through August.' The brochure also says the guesthouse has 12 rooms, August occupancy reached 98% last year, and the owner writes, 'Guests often arrive expecting a quiet beach, and we are happy to meet that expectation.' A student must answer two questions: what 'a stone's throw' means in this context, and what 'booked solid' means. The student knows 'stone' and 'throw' literally and wonders whether the phrase describes a rocky beach. The student also knows 'solid' can mean 'hard' and chooses 'the rooms are hard to clean' for the second phrase. The item is worth two points, and the student has 90 seconds to decide.
1. Explain what 'a stone's throw' means in the brochure sentence. Why does a literal reading fail?
Read the worked answer
In this context, 'a stone's throw' is an idiom meaning 'a very short distance.' The sentence contrasts the guesthouse's nearness to the surf with the fact that rooms are full. A literal reading-'the distance a stone can be thrown'-would ask about the guesthouse's location relative to a rocky beach, but the brochure is describing convenience for guests, not geology. The following clause, 'but rooms are booked solid,' also signals a contrast between an attractive location and high demand, not a warning about stones. Idioms are fixed expressions; the whole phrase, not the individual words, carries the meaning.
2. Choose the correct meaning of 'booked solid' and explain why 'solid' does not mean physically hard here. Give a paraphrase.
Read the worked answer
'Booked solid' means 'completely reserved; no rooms available.' 'Solid' here is an intensifier meaning 'without gaps or exceptions,' not a physical texture. The evidence in the setup-12 rooms and 98% occupancy last August-supports 'full' rather than 'hard to clean.' A paraphrase is 'every room is already taken through August.' If the student chooses 'hard to clean,' the word 'booked' is ignored; booking is about reservations, not cleaning.
3. The owner writes 'we are happy to meet that expectation.' Is 'meet an expectation' a natural collocation? Explain, and give one alternative that fits the brochure's tone.
Read the worked answer
Yes. 'Meet an expectation' is a standard collocation meaning 'to satisfy or fulfill what someone expects.' It fits the owner's polite, promotional tone. 'Satisfy an expectation' is also possible but slightly more formal; 'reach an expectation' is not natural in this sense. The context-guests expecting a quiet beach-makes 'meet that expectation' appropriate because the guesthouse is promising to provide the expected experience. The student should not confuse 'meet' with 'meet with,' which can mean 'encounter,' as in 'meet with a problem.'