Meaning of "lion's share"

[Agustina]

Test No. express/advan-1 "Animals", question 7

When the business folded, he took the lion's share of the assets.

(a) the easiest part
(b) the smallest part
(c) the biggest part
(d) the only part

Test No. express/advan-1 "Animals", answer 7

When the business folded, he took the biggest part of the assets.

Correct answer: (c) the biggest part
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I don't understand this expression at all.

Agustina

[Alan]

Hi,

The lion is the king of the jungle and usually takes the most amount of food. If you take the lion's share, it means you take the biggest amount. In the test I've written here it means when the company closed, he took the largest amount of the profits.
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English as a Second Language
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[DSpaulding]

I disagree with the response. Technically, since the expression comes from a poem where the lion got 100%, then the "lion's share" means 100%. Granted, in everyday English it's become "most," but it originally meant "all."

[Alan]

Hi,

Isn't 'every day English' what we're talking about?

Alan
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