Choose the word or group of words which is most similar in meaning to the idioms/phrase printed in bold as used in the sentence: If a joke falls flat, nobody thinks it is funny.

Correct answer: fails to produce the intended effect

Explanation: Context: The idiom ‘falls flat’ means to fail completely or not to produce the expected result. Here, the joke was not found funny by anyone. 1. fails to stand ❌ – incorrect meaning. 2. fails to realise ❌ – unrelated. 3. fails to maintain ❌ – not relevant. 4. fails to produce the intended effect ✅ – correct; matches the idiom meaning. Correct Sentence/Example Sentence: His joke fell flat because no one laughed.