Question

Literary Text: from “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry
Read this passage from "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry. Then, answer the following question(s).

Della finished her cry and attended to her cheeks with the powder rag. She stood by the window and looked out dully at a gray cat walking a gray fence in a gray backyard. Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present. She had been saving every penny she could for months, with this result. Twenty dollars a week doesn't go far. Expenses had been greater than she had calculated. They always are. Only $1.87 to buy a present for Jim. Her Jim. Many a happy hour she had spent planning for something nice for him. Something fine and rare and sterling—something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim.

Della wants to buy a gift for her husband that is “fine and rare and sterling.” In this context, which of the multiple meanings of sterling applies?
A. a type of silver strengthened with a small amount of another metal
B. made of strengthened silver
C. payable in British money
D. of superior quality

Answer 1

D. "of superior quality"

In the context ("fine and rare and sterling—something just a little bit near to being worthy of the honor of being owned by Jim"), "sterling" is used figuratively to mean excellent or of superior quality, not literal British money or specifically silver.