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Quiz about Can You Rephrase That Nummer Vier 4
Quiz about Can You Rephrase That Nummer Vier 4

Can You Rephrase That? Nummer Vier (4) Quiz


Since this quiz is "nummer vier" (4) in Dutch, appropriately the first question is about the Dutch. (Sources include, but are not limited to: "I've Got Goose Pimples"; "Reader's Digest" & "Why We Say It".)

A multiple-choice quiz by logcrawler. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
logcrawler
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
324,456
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
321
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. When a person has been imbibing in the spirits, and gets fairly tipsy, he may be said to be exhibiting "Dutch courage", especially if he gets involved in an altercation with another. How did this term come to mean false bravery? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Danny told a friend that his family was a little weird and that there were a lot of skeletons hanging in the closet. Shocked, his eight year-old nephew went to look and reported back that the only thing he found in the hall closet was some winter coats and an old baseball glove. Danny had to explain to the young boy what he had really meant. What did he tell him? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The woman at the restaurant was overheard talking with her companion. She was commiserating over the sad state of affairs with her friend's husband's lack of work and initiative. Since I am an elementary school teacher, I involuntarily shuddered when I overheard one of them say, "Ain't it the truth?"
Why was the word "ain't" not particularly offensive to people when it was first introduced into the English language?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. I was visiting American Samoa when I noticed a young girl bending over to pick up a large, round, hairy-looking object from the ground. As I drew nearer, I could see that it was a coconut. From what two languages do we get the word "coconut" and what did it originally mean? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. "I love rock n' roll; so put another dime in the jukebox, baby. I love rock and roll; so come an' take your time an' dance with me."
This line from the rock group, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts may seem slightly out of place in this quiz. That is, until I ask you:
Where did we get the word "jukebox"?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Since Irving was scolded by his literature teacher for not producing enough work in class, he decided that in order to pass the course, he would need to bone up in his studies. From what source do we get the term "bone up"? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. I love chocolate. Chocolate milk, chocolate candy bars, hot chocolate; you name it. If it's got chocolate in it, I'm bound to fall in love with it.
If it hadn't been for the people of this particular country, though, the world might never had the experience of eating chocolate. From which country did chocolate originate?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Heather's boss really likes her. In fact, he thinks so much of her that he recently pulled some strings to ensure her a position that pays twice as much as she used to make. Her career is definitely moving forward because of his help and that of her own hard work.
Where did the phrase to "pull strings" originate?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Houston, we have a problem...

In the late 1960s these words left us with a feeling of dread. Everything turned out okay that time, at least. When manned spacecraft first began their liftoff, from even the earliest days, we all became familiar with another phrase as well. I want to know where we got the idea to say "10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1...we have liftoff".
Why did they do a countdown prior to liftoff?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Martha was upset with her husband, Ralph. He had forgotten to pay the mortgage payment for two months in a row, and a not-so friendly reminder from the mortgage company had just arrived in the mail. Considering what his title "husband" originally meant, why would she be more than justified at the irony of him forgetting to pay the bill? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. When a person has been imbibing in the spirits, and gets fairly tipsy, he may be said to be exhibiting "Dutch courage", especially if he gets involved in an altercation with another. How did this term come to mean false bravery?

Answer: because of a rivalry between England and the Netherlands

For centuries, amicability and friendship has been evident on the part of the English and the Dutch. Alas, it was not always such.
In 1624, Dutch soldiers attacked the English at Amboina, East Indies. After they won the battle, they turned the victory into a bloody massacre. The English were incensed, but were unable to retaliate.
Then, in 1639, Admiral Maarten Tromp defeated two fleets of Spanish warships and in 1652, attacked the English.
This series of events caused the English to despise anything Dutch. When someone was cheated in a business deal, it became known as a "Dutch bargain"; common food, a "Dutch feast", and so on. Bravery induced by drink became "Dutch courage". Had it not been for William the third of Holland marrying Princess Mary of England in 1677, no one knows how long the enmity would have lasted.
The relations between the two countries have long been repaired, but "Dutch courage" remains in our speech due to an old, old rivalry on the high seas.
2. Danny told a friend that his family was a little weird and that there were a lot of skeletons hanging in the closet. Shocked, his eight year-old nephew went to look and reported back that the only thing he found in the hall closet was some winter coats and an old baseball glove. Danny had to explain to the young boy what he had really meant. What did he tell him?

Answer: there were a lot of hidden secrets in the family

Of course. There are secrets in the family. Perhaps one of the best kept is that of Danny's great-great grandfather, Doctor Myeyes Jackson-Brown. A medical doctor in England in the mid 1800s, he was able to circumvent a law that forbade performing autopsies. The Anatomy Act of 1832 had a loophole that he quickly exploited. While it was illegal to practice dissection on an ordinary corpse, doctors were allowed to cut up the bodies of executed criminals.
"Resurrection men", or professional grave robbers would sell the bodies to physicians at very high prices; therefore a doctor might only be able to dissect one body in his entire lifetime.
Public opinion being what it was, he probably found it better to hide his skeleton away from the public eye. The practice became so common that people began to assume that all doctors had "a skeleton in the closet." The term has come to mean any secret that needn't be publicized.
3. The woman at the restaurant was overheard talking with her companion. She was commiserating over the sad state of affairs with her friend's husband's lack of work and initiative. Since I am an elementary school teacher, I involuntarily shuddered when I overheard one of them say, "Ain't it the truth?" Why was the word "ain't" not particularly offensive to people when it was first introduced into the English language?

Answer: it originally meant "am not"

The word "ain't" started in England in 1703 and found its way to America soon after, in the same decade. It bore no social stigma at the time because it was accepted as a substitute for "am not". By 1830, grammarians began to fight the word vigorously, as its meaning became altered to serve as an alternative for "is not".
"Ain't it the truth?" came into vogue in the American dialect around 1915. This expression has always been and remains, grammatically incorrect, but many people feel that, somehow, it is very right for certain circumstances.
4. I was visiting American Samoa when I noticed a young girl bending over to pick up a large, round, hairy-looking object from the ground. As I drew nearer, I could see that it was a coconut. From what two languages do we get the word "coconut" and what did it originally mean?

Answer: Portuguese and Latin - skull nut

Portuguese parents in the 1700s attempted to scare their children into behaving better by telling them stories about the boogey man. They called him "coco", from the Latin, meaning skull. No child, of course, had ever actually SEEN a "coco", but they knew that he was reputed to be quite ugly. The first Portuguese who encountered the Pacific islands were shocked to find palm trees that produced a large brown nut about the size of a man's head.

It didn't help matters any when they noticed three black marks resembling a nose and two eyes on the surface of the nut.

It matched so closely to their concept of the boogey man that they called it "coco nut".
5. "I love rock n' roll; so put another dime in the jukebox, baby. I love rock and roll; so come an' take your time an' dance with me." This line from the rock group, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts may seem slightly out of place in this quiz. That is, until I ask you: Where did we get the word "jukebox"?

Answer: from the southeastern U.S.

"Juke" or "joog" is probably taken from the Gullah language, originally meaning "wicked or disorderly", and is of West African origin. Gullah is an English-based Creole language spoken by people of African ancestry in the coastal areas of Georgia and South Carolina, and who still use a number of words from the West African languages that were brought over by slaves. The word "juke-box" was used originally in Florida and later spread throughout the southeastern states, and may have implied engaging in sexually suggestive dances, but over time it has lost the connotation of sleaziness that it once had.
Another explanation that is of equal interest is that the word means "to cut".
So, whether a person was "juked", or "cut" in a juke-joint; or if they engaged in an early form of "dirty dancing", it was only natural that the music machine associated with the establishment where these things took place became known as the "juke box".
6. Since Irving was scolded by his literature teacher for not producing enough work in class, he decided that in order to pass the course, he would need to bone up in his studies. From what source do we get the term "bone up"?

Answer: from a man named Bohn

Henry George Bohn, the son of a German bookbinder, was born in London. He started as a dealer of rare books in 1831, but by 1846 he had begun works on translations dealing with history, science, classics, theology and archaeology. His works in Greek and Latin became very popular among students of the day, and they used them to help get passing grades.

They referred to their shortcut to study as "Bohn up" to begin with, but this was naturally corrupted to "bone up" in a very short time.
7. I love chocolate. Chocolate milk, chocolate candy bars, hot chocolate; you name it. If it's got chocolate in it, I'm bound to fall in love with it. If it hadn't been for the people of this particular country, though, the world might never had the experience of eating chocolate. From which country did chocolate originate?

Answer: Honduras

What?...Honduras you say?! Wait a minute! Everyone knows the finest chocolates are to be found in Europe.

But wait...

The Mayan Indians of Honduras were the first to grind cacao beans to make chocolate. They would then add water, maize (corn), and sometimes even chilies to create a delightful, (to them), bitter beverage. European explorers were not quite so enthusiastic about it; that is until they took some back home and someone got the bright idea to add sugar to the mix. The rest, as they say is, well, history.
8. Heather's boss really likes her. In fact, he thinks so much of her that he recently pulled some strings to ensure her a position that pays twice as much as she used to make. Her career is definitely moving forward because of his help and that of her own hard work. Where did the phrase to "pull strings" originate?

Answer: from artistic puppetry interpretations of the Bible

Once wildly popular during classical times, hand puppets fell into obscurity during the Dark Ages, (as did most everything else). After the 10th century, however, there was a revival of interest, mostly linked with dramatic interpretations of Biblical events. Eventually, hand puppets were replaced with marionettes, little figures worked by strings. An unseen operator controlled the stringed figures.
Today anyone who manipulates others from a distance may be said "to pull strings."
9. Houston, we have a problem... In the late 1960s these words left us with a feeling of dread. Everything turned out okay that time, at least. When manned spacecraft first began their liftoff, from even the earliest days, we all became familiar with another phrase as well. I want to know where we got the idea to say "10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1...we have liftoff". Why did they do a countdown prior to liftoff?

Answer: it was an idea from a movie director

If you said the movie director, you were correct. Congratulations. If not, read on to find out more...

The countdown technique was used in the launching scene of a huge rocket in a science fiction film in the late 1920s, by a man named Fritz Lang. The film was entitled, "The Girl in the Moon", and Lang thought it would create more suspense to do a backward count rather than the usual straightforward 1,2,3...type count.

Science later imitated art when it used his techniques during the years of the great space race.
10. Martha was upset with her husband, Ralph. He had forgotten to pay the mortgage payment for two months in a row, and a not-so friendly reminder from the mortgage company had just arrived in the mail. Considering what his title "husband" originally meant, why would she be more than justified at the irony of him forgetting to pay the bill?

Answer: it originally meant "house owner"

Uh-huh. House owner.
Home ownership is a fairly modern development. Until the end of feudal times, the serfs or servants, lived in rough cottages that belonged to their masters. A very few people belonged to the freeholder class, and some of these were given the hereditary honor; others became freeholders because of heroism in wartime or some other exploit. A man who won or inherited the title of freeholder was given the privilege of owning a home and maybe a few acres of land.
The term husband is derived from "hus" (house) and "bunda" (owner). Many an anxious mother was eager to seek out a "husband", or house-owner for her daughter, but by the thirteenth century, the term had come to mean any married man, whether he was a homeowner or not.
Source: Author logcrawler

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