More Wordwise Refurbished Trivia Quiz

Answer: turn the tables

You should have spotted that the jumble of words consists of the word 'table' written twice in reverse, giving the answer of 'turn the tables'.

If you 'turn the tables' you are changing a losing position to a winning one. The expression derives from games, like backgammon, which are played on tables. Turning the table, and the board, around gave the losing player the chance to win. The use of the expression in a figurative sense dates from the first half of the seventeenth century.

Answer: Thumbs up

The word 'thumb' is written twice, starting from the bottom of the page and going upwards to create the expression 'thumbs up'.

To give someone a thumbs up is, in most cases, a mark of approval. In some countries, though, it is akin to giving somebody the finger, or V sign, and could get you into trouble. In popular belief, the gesture is associated with gladiator fights in Roman times when the spectators decided the fate of a combatant by giving a signal with their thumbs. Scholars are divided on this theory, though.

Answer: back in five minutes

The word 'back' appears among five instances of the word 'minute'. The expression you needed is 'back in five minutes', which often appears on a shop door where the owner has closed temporarily.

Of course, this is only useful if the time the person went out is included, which it rarely is, and those five minutes aren't always accurate either. I suppose seeing the sign does encourage potential customers to wait for a while, or come back later rather than give up completely.

Answer: Crying in the rain

The word 'crying' is surrounded by the word 'rain' to give the title 'Crying in the Rain'.

This song was a hit for the Everly Brothers in 1962 and was written by Carole King and Howard Greenfield. The title refers to the fact that crying while it's raining means that nobody, especially the girl who has broken the singer's heart, will be able to distinguish between the rain and the tears on his face.

Answer: pay on the nail

The word 'pay' appears above the word 'nail', which in wordwise terms is usually a sign that you need the word 'on' to complete the expression. In this case, the answer is 'pay on the nail'.

To pay on the nail means to settle a bill in full and immediately. Most sources say that the expression is related to Norman French - payer sur l'ongle, with 'ongle' meaning fingernail. Other claims refer to the metal posts outside Corn Exchanges - the posts have a flat part at the top which make them look like tables and are called nails. Bristol and Liverpool are among the cities where they can still be seen, but it seems a less likely explanation.

Answer: Double vision

The word 'vision' appears twice giving you the answer of 'double vision'.

The medical term for this condition is diplopia and it can be a symptom of a disorder in the eyes such as a squint. It occurs when someone sees more than one image instead of the one they should see. It can affect one eye only or both and treatment depends on the underlying cause.

Answer: wheels within wheels

The word 'wheels' encloses the word 'wheel' which appears twice to create the expression 'wheels within wheels'.

The expression is used to describe a complicated situation where it is difficult to work out what is actually happening or who is, to use another expression, 'pulling the strings'. While it conjures up pictures of various gears grinding, the saying is believed to originate in the Biblical Book of Ezekiel. A vision of creatures describes them as appearing like 'wheels in the middle of a wheel'.

Answer: Fall between two stools

The word 'fall' appears in between the word 'stool', which appears twice, to create the expression 'fall between two stools'.

If you fall between two stools you are trying to decide between two options and failing to make a choice. If you try to do both, or neither, you will fail. The expression dates from at least the fourteenth century in its figurative sense, and is based on the real situation that if you try to sit on two seats at the same time you are likely to find yourself sitting on the floor instead.

Answer: annual income

'Annual' is hidden inside the word 'come', so annual is in come to create the expression 'annual income'.

Annual income refers to the total amount you earn during a twelve month period, before taxes and other deductions are removed.

Answer: sixth sense

The word 'sense' appears six times with the final one indicated by stars to show that this is the vital one to solve the expression.

There are five senses attributed to the human body - smell, hearing, sight, touch and taste. The sixth sense refers to an inexplicable sense of intuition, when you have a feeling that something is about to happen, and then it does. You might be thinking about someone, for example, and then they ring or text you and you feel as if you've conjured them up. The expression became popular in the 1800s in relation to ghost stories and was used as the title of a 1999 film starring Bruce Willis.