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Quiz about Fifteen Minutes Too Late
Quiz about Fifteen Minutes Too Late

Fifteen Minutes Too Late Trivia Quiz


Or perhaps ten minutes or ten hours... Regardless of the time span, nothing is worse than realizing it's too late to do something. Or is it? Here are ten quotes on being "too late".

A multiple-choice quiz by PDAZ. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
PDAZ
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
340,780
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
1799
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
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Question 1 of 10
1. Which 19th century American transcendentalist essayist and poet was credited with saying, "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late"? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Which French existentialist author claimed that "Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do"? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which American Founding Father was credited with the lament that "Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late"? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. "Better three hours too soon than a minute too late" was the advice given by which legendary English playwright? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which witty American author was credited with the quote, "Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late"? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. "'Tis not too late to seek a newer world" was the advice given by which former English Poet Laureate? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Which English fantasy novelist informed us that "Most of the gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out until too late that he's been using two queens all along"? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Which English mystery author was credited with saying that "One doesn't recognize the really important moments in one's life until it's too late"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Which Irish "genius" declared that "Nowadays, most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes"? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Which female author with a masculine pen name was credited with saying, "It is never too late to be what you might have been"? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Oct 21 2024 : MacaroniTree: 8/10
Sep 18 2024 : BarbaraMcI: 10/10

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which 19th century American transcendentalist essayist and poet was credited with saying, "You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late"?

Answer: Ralph Waldo Emerson

One of the frustrations in dealing with quotes is that they can be difficult to confirm since they may be merely spoken, not written. Emerson was a prolific writer, and a good deal of his work is now on the Internet in searchable databases. This quote wasn't found in his works, but may have been from one of his speeches, for he was also an accomplished lecturer.

Another author who was credited with a similar quote was Charles Kingsley: "There's no use doing a kindness if you do it a day too late".
2. Which French existentialist author claimed that "Three o'clock is always too late or too early for anything you want to do"?

Answer: Jean-Paul Sartre

The quote appeared in Sartre's 1938 novel "Nausea", which was the story of a depressed loner examining his life and the world around him as told through diary entries. Another "too late" quote appeared in the same work: "One always dies too soon or too late. And yet one's whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it."
3. Which American Founding Father was credited with the lament that "Life's tragedy is that we get old too soon and wise too late"?

Answer: Benjamin Franklin

A true Renaissance Man, Benjamin Franklin was an accomplished inventor, statesman and scientist, among other talents. His wit and eloquence resulted in numerous quotations, many of which were captured in his annual pamphlets, "Poor Richard's Almanac". Another "too late" quote from Franklin was "Be not sick too late, nor well too soon".
4. "Better three hours too soon than a minute too late" was the advice given by which legendary English playwright?

Answer: William Shakespeare

The quote appeared in Shakespeare's play "The Merry Wives of Windsor", published in 1602. It was spoken in a soliloquy by Ford, the husband of one of the "merry wives"; he was referring to his attempt to catch his wife and Falstaff in adultery. Earlier in the scene, prior to Ford's entrance, another famous quote occurred: "Why, then, the world's mine oyster". Pistol spoke this to Falstaff in response to Falstaff's refusal to lend him money; Pistol intended to "open the oyster" with a sword to get it.
5. Which witty American author was credited with the quote, "Repartee is something we think of twenty-four hours too late"?

Answer: Mark Twain

In addition to his classic novels "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" and "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn", Mark Twain also authored over thirty other works of both fiction and nonfiction. The Twainquotes website acknowledges that this quote has been attributed to Twain but does not list the source; it may have been a verbal quote as Twain was an accomplished public speaker.
6. "'Tis not too late to seek a newer world" was the advice given by which former English Poet Laureate?

Answer: Alfred, Lord Tennyson

The quote appeared at the end of Tennyson's 1842 poem "Ulysses". The title character was addressing his fellow mariners, all old men, and he advised them that although "death closes all... some work of noble note may yet be done". The final line of the poem is well known: "To strive, to seek, to find and not to yield".

It was selected to be engraved on a wall at the 2012 London Olympic Village.
7. Which English fantasy novelist informed us that "Most of the gods throw dice, but Fate plays chess, and you don't find out until too late that he's been using two queens all along"?

Answer: Terry Pratchett

The quote appeared at the very beginning of Pratchett's 1994 novel "Interesting Times", the seventeenth book in his "Discworld" series. The theme of gods playing board games occurred in several of the "Discworld" novels, starting with the first book, "The Colour of Magic".
8. Which English mystery author was credited with saying that "One doesn't recognize the really important moments in one's life until it's too late"?

Answer: Agatha Christie

The quote is widely credited to Christie, but the source is unclear. It doesn't appear in her autobiography and although it sounds as if it was spoken by Christie's elderly detective, Miss Marple, it doesn't appear in lists of quotes from the Marple works. It likely was from one of the many interviews that Christie gave over the years.
9. Which Irish "genius" declared that "Nowadays, most people die of a sort of creeping common sense, and discover when it is too late that the only things one never regrets are one's mistakes"?

Answer: Oscar Wilde

The above quote appeared in Wilde's only novel, "The Picture of Dorian Gray". It was spoken by Lord Henry at a luncheon when the topic of discussion was recapturing one's youth. The witty Wilde was credited with a wide array of quotes, including that he "had nothing to declare except [his] genius" when he went through Customs on a visit to New York.
10. Which female author with a masculine pen name was credited with saying, "It is never too late to be what you might have been"?

Answer: George Eliot

This quote is also seen as "it is never too late to BECOME what you might have been". Author (and George Eliot enthusiast) Rebecca Mead wrote about researching the quote in her "New Yorker" article, "George Eliot and Me". She consulted with Eliot experts and wasn't able to confirm that Eliot made the quote; it apparently didn't appear in any of Eliot's works.

A quote from Eliot's "The Mill on the Floss" that touched on the subject matter was: "It seems to me we can never give up longing and wishing while we are thoroughly alive.

There are certain things we feel to be beautiful and good, and we must hunger after them."
Source: Author PDAZ

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.
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