The Phrase A Week Christmas Quiz

Phrases and Sayings Home

1. 'Never-Never land' was A region of Australian desert Derived from 'not Netherland' - a 17th century English term meaning 'far away'. An invention of J M Barrie 2. 'The first water' referred to Highest quality diamonds The practice of offering water first to the King in the English court The first bottle of brandy taken from a barrel 3. 'He who can does; he who cannot, teaches' is a quotation of Margaret Thatcher George Bernard Shaw Oscar Wilde Charles Dickens 4. 'Smithereens' is/are Another name for 'The Doldrums' Small shards of metal A town in Ireland 5. 'Turn a blind eye' originates with Nelson deliberately refusing to see a signal at the battle of Copenhagen Jesus forgiving men's evil Tailors turning jackets to hide worn out material 6. 'Currying favour' derives from A variant of 'carrying favour' The flavouring of curry The name of a mythical French horse 7. 'At loggerheads' originated from The English coastal town of Loggerheads Fights between head-butting stags A fight using a weapon called a loggerhead 8. 'Left in the lurch' comes from Left for dead at the side of the road The name of a prison cell in the Tower of London A bride left jilted at the church's lych gate The French card game lourche 9. 'Stealing one's thunder' was originated by The English playwright John Dennis The writers of Greek mystery plays Norse mythology 10. The nonsense phrase 'A Spaniard in the Works' was coined by Salvador Dali Lewis Carroll Reverend Spooner John Lennon 11. 'Flotsam and jetsam' were The debris remaining after a shipwreck The spots seen after looking at a bright light A 19th century musichall act 12. A 'tinker's damn' derived from the repairing of pots and pans True False 13. A 'whipping boy' was A boy who took the punishment when an English prince did wrong A corruption of 'weeping boy' The Malayan term for victim - 'wai ping' 14. 'In the offing' derived from A short form of 'in the offering' The name of the area of sea outside a harbour The name of the outer ring of an archery target 15. 'Doolally' derives from 'Druel Alley' - the address of the Bedlam Clinic in London A sanatorium in Deolali, India The Irish eccentric George Dooley 16. 'Hold your horses' was An instruction given by a horse race starter A line from Shakespeare's Henry V The last command given at the Battle of the Somme 17. A 'dead ringer' was originally a horse substituted in order to gain advantage in a race True False 18. 'A cock and bull story' originated At the Cock and Bull coaching inns in Buckinghamshire From cock fighting terminology In France, with the term cock a l'ane, meaning fanciful story 19. 'Humble pie' was Named after the Victorian stable keeper James Humble A variant of 'umble pie', i.e. a pie made from innards The first meal served to monks after Christmas 20. 'Sprucing up' derives from A variant of 'spicing up' Decorating a Christmas tree The wearing of fashionable leather jackets 21. 'Namby Pamby' was A soft cheese A nursery rhyme character A parodying name for the poet Ambrose Philips 22. 'The green-eyed monster', referring to jealousy comes from Shakespeare's Othello One of the seven deadly sins Thomas Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd The Incredible Hulk 23. 'Rack and ruin' derives from The names of the two jesters at the court of Henry VIII A reference to sunken ships, which becaome covered with bladderack seaweed A variant of 'wreck and ruin' 24. 'Boxing Day' got its name from The giving of gifts in boxes at Christmas Sporting events held on the day after Christmas The mating habits of hares 25. The term 'Kangaroo court' originated in Australia USA England 26. 'Brass monkeys' were the stacks of cannonballs used on marine fighting vessels True False 27. 'Grin like a Cheshire Cat' was coined by Lewis Carroll True False 28. 'Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year' was A traditional greeting by members of the German Royal Court Coined by US advertisers in the 1920s The text on the first Christmas card 29. The phrase 'Salad Days' was coined by Noel Coward William Shakespeare Mrs Beeton 30. 'Go off at half-cock' comes from Firing a gun by mistake Horse racing Cock fighting 31. 'A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle' was coined by the feminist Gloria Steinem True False 32. 'Heinz' 57 varieties' was coined by Mr. Heinz after the number of varieties of canned food he sold False - Heinz had 60 varieties at the time False - it was coined by someone else True 33. 'Hook, line and sinker' refers to A cocktail made from honey, orange and gin The three pirates in Peter Pan Fishing tackle 34. 'Umbrage' was first A shady area A town in the west of England A type of medicine 35. 'Run Amuk' comes from The Malayan word 'amok', meaning frenzy The Norse word 'runeamic' meaning pillage The Old English for 'run a mile' 36. 'Below the salt' referred to Sailors buried at sea Scholars expelled from Eton College People of low status who didn't sit at the high table 37. The phrase 'taken aback' derived from Nautical language Surprise at being stabbed in the back Being led backwards in a blindfold 38. 'Woe is me' was first used in The Bible Shakespeare's Hamlet Chaucer's Canterbury Tales 39. 'Off with his head' was coined by King Henry VIII William Shakespeare Lewis Carroll 40. The phrase 'Catch 22' was in common use before Joseph Heller's 1961 novel False True 41. 'Beg the question' means Prompt a question to be asked Make a question irrelevant 42. The incendiary bomb, the 'Molotov Cocktail' was The name of a cocktail first and bomb later Named after a Malayan bird Named after the Soviet premier Molotov 43. The 'Teflon President' was first applied to Bill Clinton Ronald Reagan Abraham Lincoln 44. 'Baker's Dozen' originated as Thirteen - the number of ounces in a standard loaf Thirteen - the extra loaf added as bakers' insurance against giving short weight The title of a 1930's film 45. 'Drat it' comes from A curse uttered on seeing a rat A euphemistic version of 'God rot it' The translation from Latin of 'All is lost' 46. 'The beast with two backs' became part of the language in The 18th century The 19th century The 17th century The 20th century 47. 'Give up the ghost' comes from Charles the First's speech before his execution Dickens' Christmas Carol The Bible 48. The first person described as a 'living legend' and 'a legend in her own lifetime' was Queen Elizabeth I Florence Nightingale Marlene Deitrich 49. 'The bee's knees' was A reference to the nectar on bees legs A Chicago nightclub A nonsense term 50. The word 'posh' derives from 'Port out, starboard home' True False