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22- It was hard work and, as the day ……………, I became more and more tired.
a) wore on
b) wore out
c) wore off
d) wore down

The answer is "wore on": what is the meaning of it?

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1 Answer

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To "wear on" is an expression used about periods of time to express their slow passing:

wear 4 [ intrans. ] ( wear on) (of a period of time) pass, esp. slowly or tediously : as the afternoon wore on, he began to look unhappy. [NOAD]

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+1. The connotation is that most "wear", damage caused by friction or weathering, happens very slowly. So, to use the term "wore on" implies two feelings; first, that the passage of time seems very slow, and second, that the slow passage is somehow painful or mentally degrading. – KeithS Jun 15 '11 at 14:54

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