Who are the five royal advisors?

• A. Five royal advisors who argue about synonyms
• B. Five tall men who speak in rhymes
• C. Five very tall, thin gentlemen who repeat each other in synonyms and give random definitions for each other's word
• D. The counselors who harmonize time and language as a chorus

Answer: (C)

In this part of The Phantom Tollbooth, language itself is alive, and the five royal advisors embody that idea. They’re five very tall, thin gentlemen who speak in a chorus-like way, constantly repeating each other in synonyms and tossing out random definitions for each other’s words. That playful, tangled pattern shows how easily definitions can drift and how important clear meaning is in language. The description that matches these traits—the five tall, thin men who echo one another with synonyms and define each other’s words in random ways—is why this option is the best choice.