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villain of the piece, the

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The person to blame for what is bad or wrong, as in I'm afraid the caterer is the villain of the piece—the food wasn't ready for hours. The piece in this term alludes to a play in which the villain is the character whose evildoing is important to the plot. [Mid-1800s]

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Question 1 of 7
Choose the sentence that uses "rent" correctly.
No one wanted to rent the run-down house on the corner.
His rent was so loud that people the next block over could hear it.
I had rent the apartment from an eccentric old lady.
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Words nearby villain of the piece, the

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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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