FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Dull as Dishwater Cliches
Quiz about Dull as Dishwater Cliches

Dull as Dishwater Cliches Trivia Quiz


It's time to do or die--dot your i's and cross your t's. How much do you know about cliches, idioms, etc. that have a key word that begins with the letter "D"?

A multiple-choice quiz by alaspooryoric. Estimated time: 4 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Humanities Trivia
  6. »
  7. Idioms and Proverbs
  8. »
  9. Alphabetical Idioms

Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
363,781
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
1608
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Let's say that you discover your friend has been thinking about investing all of his savings in a risky business scheme. You meet with him to advise him that you believe he should not deplete his savings. However, he says to you, "It's too late. I've already done it." What cliche might he then use to follow these two sentences? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Perhaps you've heard the expression "a dog in the manger". Perhaps you even know that it means "someone who cannot, may not, or will not use something yet denies anyone else the opportunity to use it". However, do you perhaps know what is often credited as the original source of this expression? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Occasionally, you may hear someone say something like, "He can draw the long bow" when listening to someone else. Many older people in your family may be particularly good at drawing the long bow. What does this expression mean? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Which expression more than likely came from a particular practice for the burial of the dead, probably at sea? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The college's administration had made a decision to replace Betsy as chair of the English Department with someone from another, more prestigious college, despite evidence from several faculty members that Betsy had made valuable improvements to the department. Which cliche below could one use to describe what the administration of this college had done? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. My brother-in-law and I were sitting around drinking a beer or two and talking about life, the universe, and everything (for real, not the Douglas Adams book). At one point, we began discussing our respective places of employment when he explained, "It's dog eat dog where I work". What the heck did he mean by that? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. One possible explanation for the origin of this next expression is that one of its words is a corruption of the archaic plural word for eyes--"eyne". In other words, the expression derived from others' declarations that something was pleasing to the eyes (or eyne). Which expression below am I talking about? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. This expression possibly is derived from what was considered one of the heaviest puddings eaten by the English. If this is so, then such heaviness would metaphorically represent the weight of one's melancholy mood when one is said to be in this certain place mentioned in a particular cliche. What cliche am I talking about? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Let's say I am a vocalist who sings at various local events. Let's then pretend that the manager of a local baseball stadium came to me to ask if I'd be willing to be a reserve singer of the National Anthem at next weekend's ball game. In other words, someone else was going to sing, but this manager wanted to know if I would be available in case the first singer couldn't be there. Let's say that I was excited and more than willing and told this manager I would be immediately available at only a moment's notice. Or, what cliche could I use as my response? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What expression would I use to refer to any form of entertainment for which each participant pays his or her own share of the cost or fee? Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Most Recent Scores
Oct 27 2024 : vlk56pa: 8/10
Sep 24 2024 : Figgin: 8/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Let's say that you discover your friend has been thinking about investing all of his savings in a risky business scheme. You meet with him to advise him that you believe he should not deplete his savings. However, he says to you, "It's too late. I've already done it." What cliche might he then use to follow these two sentences?

Answer: The die is cast.

The expression "the die is cast" means that one has made a decision and acted upon it so that one cannot change one's mind or direction. Of course, the "die" referred to in the cliche is one of a pair of dice, and once a die or a pair of dice have been thrown in a game, a player is required to abide by the result. Obviously, in life we also make choices and take actions that require us to abide by the consequences, whatever those consequences may be.

This saying has existed at least since before Julius Caesar's time.

As Caesar was about to cross the Rubicon (the source of another cliche!) to face Pompey, he spoke, "Iacta alea est" or "the die is cast". Apparently, Caesar was quoting a mistranslation by Suetonius of Meander's Greek expression for "let the die be cast".
2. Perhaps you've heard the expression "a dog in the manger". Perhaps you even know that it means "someone who cannot, may not, or will not use something yet denies anyone else the opportunity to use it". However, do you perhaps know what is often credited as the original source of this expression?

Answer: a fable by Aesop

Concisely speaking, Aesop's fable goes something like this: "A dog was lying in a manger full of hay. An ox, being hungry, came near and was going to eat the hay. The dog, getting up and snarling at the ox, would not let the ox eat the hay. The ox replies, 'Surly creature, you cannot eat the hay yourself, yet you will let no one else have any'".

As with many of Aesop's Fables, this particular fable may have existed as a story among the Greeks long before Aesop himself (whose existence many scholars debate).

The expression "dog in a manger" was so popular by the time of Jesus that even he, according to the Gospel of Thomas, said, "Woe to the Pharisees, for they are like a dog sleeping in the manger of oxen, for neither does he eat nor does he let the oxen eat". Apparently, dogs are known for such behavior, for not only have I heard similar stories concerning others' dogs, but I've also witnessed my own lie down nearby a bowl of food or a toy or whatever that he or she was uninterested in, yet bite the head off of any other animal that came near it.
3. Occasionally, you may hear someone say something like, "He can draw the long bow" when listening to someone else. Many older people in your family may be particularly good at drawing the long bow. What does this expression mean?

Answer: telling an exaggerated story

To "draw the long bow" means to "exaggerate, stretch a point, or tell a tall tale". It means the same thing as a couple of other cliches, such as "pull one's leg" or "tell a fish story" (you know, like "I caught one THIS big"). The longbow was the principle weapon of British soldiers during the Medieval Period and, of course, the weapon of choice for Robin Hood. Tall tales concerning a person's skill in archery were often circulated during this time.

The expression arose because of these exaggerated stories of amazing feats accomplished with the bow and arrow.
4. Which expression more than likely came from a particular practice for the burial of the dead, probably at sea?

Answer: Deep six

"Deep six" means "to discard or dismiss someone or something into oblivion". One might say, "Deep six that guy" or "Give him the deep six". The expression is most likely a macabre allusion to burying someone six fathoms deep at sea. Marks on a boat's sounding line used for measuring the depth of water were usually 2, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 15, 17, and 20 fathoms.

The measurer or leadsman would call out "mark" for any of the numbers listed on the line: for example, "mark two" (or "twain" as Samuel Clemens notes).

However, if the number wasn't listed, then the leadsmen would call out "deep", as in "deep six".
5. The college's administration had made a decision to replace Betsy as chair of the English Department with someone from another, more prestigious college, despite evidence from several faculty members that Betsy had made valuable improvements to the department. Which cliche below could one use to describe what the administration of this college had done?

Answer: dropped the pilot

"Drop the pilot" means "to dismiss a competent and tested guide or leader, usually misguidedly". The expression caught on in the 1890's after a couple of events. Kaiser Wilhelm II dismissed Otto von Bismarck as German Chancellor, despite his having been a key figure in the Prussian and German governments for many years and his primarily having been responsible for the unification of Germany.

A British journal titled "Punch" then published a political cartoon portraying Kaiser Wilhelm as a captain of a ship dismissing Bismarck, who was wearing the uniform of a ship's pilot.
6. My brother-in-law and I were sitting around drinking a beer or two and talking about life, the universe, and everything (for real, not the Douglas Adams book). At one point, we began discussing our respective places of employment when he explained, "It's dog eat dog where I work". What the heck did he mean by that?

Answer: A ruthless competitiveness exists among his colleagues at work.

"Dog eat dog" refers to a ruthless competition, particularly one in which each person is concerned only with his or her own benefit. Some are fond of saying we all live in a dog-eat-dog world because to them all of life is a competition in which the reward is survival that must be won at any price, including the relinquishing of one's ethics.

The expression or cliche comes, actually, from a much older saying. At least as far back as the sixteenth century, some were fond of saying "a dog does not eat a dog", meaning that the most dirty, selfish, or vicious of creatures at least maintain a level of respect for one another or for their own kind.

It's very similar to such sayings as "honor among thieves" or "even Hell's angels fly in ranks". Everyone lives by some sort of code within the group to which he or she belongs.

However, if a dog would turn on its own kind, then that dog must be vicious indeed and completely without any ethics. Thus, people began to use the expression "dog eat dog" to express how truly bad a situation was or had become.
7. One possible explanation for the origin of this next expression is that one of its words is a corruption of the archaic plural word for eyes--"eyne". In other words, the expression derived from others' declarations that something was pleasing to the eyes (or eyne). Which expression below am I talking about?

Answer: dressed to the nines

"Dressed to the nines" means "to make a glamorous appearance" or "to be dressed perfectly" or "to be dressed up in clothing and apparel that are of prime quality and fashion". Besides the theory presented in the question, there are other proposed explanations for the origin of this expression.

Some argue that nine is the last digit before numerals are recycled, thus making nine the highest number, so to speak. Another theory is that nine seems to be the number of other groups held in high regard, such as the nine muses or the Nine Worthies. Nine seems to be a number of greatness, like in the expression "cloud nine".

By the way, "to the nines" can be used without being preceded by the word "dressed". In such instances, one would be suggesting that something is exquisite or of the highest degree.

For example, one might say, "You have painted those mountains to the nines" or "They decorated their home to the nines for Christmas".
8. This expression possibly is derived from what was considered one of the heaviest puddings eaten by the English. If this is so, then such heaviness would metaphorically represent the weight of one's melancholy mood when one is said to be in this certain place mentioned in a particular cliche. What cliche am I talking about?

Answer: Down in the dumps

"Down in the dumps" means "to be quite dispirited or depressed". This term has nothing to do with the "refuse heap" meaning most associate with the word "dump" nowadays. Many scholars believe that the term "dumps" used in the expression "down in the dumps" is an obsolete term whose meaning we will never definitively know.

The earliest recording of the use of this term seems to be Sir Thomas More's "A Dialoge of Comforte Against Tribulation" published in 1529. More writes, "What heapes of heauy-nesse, hath of late fallen among vs already, with which some of our poore familye bee fallen into suche dumpes".

However, according to a John Gay's own note accompanying his eighteenth-century poem "Wednesday; or the Dumps", the term "dumps" used in the expression "comes from the word Dumplin, the heaviest kind of pudding that is eaten in this country, much used in Norfolk, and other counties of England".
9. Let's say I am a vocalist who sings at various local events. Let's then pretend that the manager of a local baseball stadium came to me to ask if I'd be willing to be a reserve singer of the National Anthem at next weekend's ball game. In other words, someone else was going to sing, but this manager wanted to know if I would be available in case the first singer couldn't be there. Let's say that I was excited and more than willing and told this manager I would be immediately available at only a moment's notice. Or, what cliche could I use as my response?

Answer: I will be ready at the drop of a hat.

"At the drop of a hat" means to be ready "immediately, instantly, or at the slightest signal or urging". In the nineteenth century, it was customary in the United States to signal the start of a race or a competition or a fight by dropping a hat or by sweeping a hat downward while holding it in the hand.

The quick response to this signal found its way into the language for any action that begins quickly without much need for prompting.
10. What expression would I use to refer to any form of entertainment for which each participant pays his or her own share of the cost or fee?

Answer: Dutch treat

The British and the Dutch were empire-building rivals in the seventeenth century, and as a result, English has a number of unflattering expressions referring to the Dutch. "Dutch treat", however, is purely an American construction that originated during the nineteenth century, probably from the thrifty habits of German and Dutch immigrants.

A variation of this expression can be observed when two people go out on a date and agree to "go Dutch".
Source: Author alaspooryoric

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
Related Quizzes
This quiz is part of series Alphabetical Idioms:

In this collection, you will encounter a quiz for each letter of the alphabet A - Z. Each quiz is about idioms, clichés, proverbs, etc. with a key word beginning with the letter focused on by that quiz.

  1. A-1 Cliches Average
  2. The Black Sheep of Cliches Average
  3. What's the Cat's Meow? Cliches, That's What! Average
  4. Dull as Dishwater Cliches Easier
  5. Easy as Pie Cliches Average
  6. Can You Pass This Cliche Quiz with Flying Colors? Average
  7. Get on the Gravy Train with Cliches! Average
  8. Heavens to Betsy! More Cliches! Average
  9. Idle Chitchat about Cliches Average
  10. Jump on the Bandwagon with Cliches Average
  11. Kick Up Your Heels for Cliches Average
  12. Lo and Behold! More Cliches? Average

10/31/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us