Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
The university students, fed up with the long list of approvals they must secure before organising an event, said to the principal, "Madam, these long processes are nothing else ___ red-tapism, which hinder our ability to respond to the needs of the student community."
Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
The university students, fed up with the long list of approvals they must secure before organising an event, said to the principal, "Madam, these long processes are nothing else ___ red-tapism, which hinder our ability to respond to the needs of the student community."
Solution
✅ Correct Option: 4
The construction 'nothing else but' is the idiomatic way of saying 'only' or 'merely'. After 'nothing else', the word 'but' (meaning 'except') is required: the processes are nothing but red-tapism. 'Beside', 'as' and 'like' do not complete the expression correctly.
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