Words in Context

SAT Reading and Writing· difficulty 4/5

The new wing of the museum was conceived as a foil to the original nineteenth-century building: its glass walls and open plan deliberately set off the older structure's heavy stone and narrow corridors.

As used in the text, what does the word "foil" most nearly mean?

  • A

    thin metal sheet

  • B

    obstacle

  • C

    contrast that highlights another

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  • D

    fencing weapon

Explanation

The new wing is designed to "set off" the older building by contrast, the literary/architectural sense of "foil." The metallic, fencing, and obstacle senses don't fit.

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