With Love From Minch to You Trivia Quiz

Answer: head of the pack

The asterisks direct your attention to the first time the word PACK has been written, which is the head or leader of the group, located at its front and ahead of the rest of the pack.

The phrase originates in the behaviour of wild animals that live in groups called packs, such as wolves. The group generally has one dominant figure who leads and guides the rest of the pack - the leader of the pack. The term is also applied metaphorically to human social groups, in which one such dominant personality often emerges. In 1964 the Shangri-Las had a hit with their recording of 'The Leader of the Pack', an angst-ridden ditty in which a girl explains to her friends that her parents won't let her date the leader of a motorcycle gang with whom she had fallen in love; when she tells him their love can never be, he speeds off into the rain and dies when his motorcycle crashes. All to a nice boppy tune.

Answer: to be in jeopardy

If you interpret 2B as 'to be' and note that those two words appear inside the letters of the word JEOPARDY, you can read this as 'to be in jeopardy'.

Being in jeopardy means to be in a situation where one is exposed, or possibly exposed, to danger. Being on 'Jeopardy' means appearing on a long-running television quiz show whose premise was that the quizmaster provided the answers, and the contestants had to provide the appropriate question. The second round, where points were doubled in value, gave a new meaning to the legal phrase Double Jeopardy. Players had multiple opportunities to risk their accumulated points (which would be lost if their response was incorrect), but loss of the game was the only real risk they faced, even in Final Jeopardy.

Answer: burning the candle at both ends

The word BURNING has the word CANDLE sitting at each end of it, meaning there is a CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS or a CANDLE AT EACH END.

Someone who is burning the candle at both ends is working very hard, and not getting nearly enough rest. The phrase originated in France, and appeared in English around 1600. One explanation for the meaning is that one is burning a candle so as to work late into the night, then getting up early to burn it again for more work. Hence, the candle burns at both ends of the night.

Answer: pins and needles

The word PIN and the word NEEDLE have each been written multiple times, with an addition symbol between them. This gives us PINS AND NEEDLES.

Pins and needles is a phrase used to describe the tingling sensation when circulation returns to a part of the body where it had been briefly cut off. It can also be a symptom of an underlying health problem if it occurs frequently. Metaphorically, one is said to be on pins and needles if one is anticipating some event whose outcome is uncertain. The song 'Needles and Pins', first recorded by Jackie DeShannon in 1963, is about the recurring pain of unrequited love.

Answer: swear on a stack of bibles

BIBLE written four times vertically shows us A STACK OF BIBLES. With the word SWEAR written above them, we have SWEAR ON A STACK OF BIBLES.

Traditionally, witnesses in courts in many countries are asked to swear on the Bible that their testimony is going to be true and accurate. Colloquially, someone who is attempting to guarantee their earnest intentions will say that they swear it on a stack of bibles - presumably a stack makes it more significant than a single one!

Answer: close quarters

$.25 stands for twenty-five cents, an amount of money referred to in the United States as a quarter. The rebus shows five quarters written one after the other, with no space or room between them. Hence, they are CLOSE QUARTERS, being so close to each other as to be touching.

Close quarters describes a situation where there is little room for movement. The situation is also described as cramped quarters or tight quarters, all with the same implication. In military and police procedures, close-quarters combat describes the techniques used to effectively confront and overcome target personnel who are armed.

Answer: string of pearls

When a word is written multiple times, it can be described as a string - hence we have a STRING OF PEARLS.

Pearls are spheres of calcium carbonate formed in the mantle of a mollusk. One usually connects them with oysters, but many mollusks will form a pearl if the mantle is irritated. Cultured pearls are formed when human-controlled irritants are introduced to stimulate pearl production, but they are still mollusk-made. Synthetic pearls are imitations that can be made from a variety of materials, including crushed mollusk shell (mother-of-pearl) glued into a sphere and the more downmarket plastic pearls. Pearls may be mounted as a brooch or ring but are often worn after being joined together to create a rope or string of pearls which can be worn as a necklace or bracelet.

Answer: take in hand

The word TAKE has been written inside the letters of the word HAND, giving us TAKE IN HAND.

To take someone in hand means to start managing their behaviour, and generally implies that there is need for improvement. One can also take a situation in hand, suggesting that things were getting chaotic and it was necessary for someone to assume control.

Answer: top flight

The asterisks around the first FLIGHT, the one at the top of the list, means we are looking at the TOP FLIGHT. (While it is also the first one, the clue for FIRST FLIGHT would more usually have had the words written horizontally rather than vertically.)

Something that is top flight is at the pinnacle of excellence. The maiden flight of any aircraft is called its first flight, but the term is often used to refer to the flight of the Wright Flyer in 1903, generally designated the first flight by a heavier-than-air vehicle.

Top Flight was also the name of a thoroughbred racehorse who was the American Champion Filly as both a Two-Year-Old (1932) and a Three-Year-Old. In 1946 First Flight, from the same stable, was named American Champion Two-Year-Old Filly.

Answer: return a favor

Reversing (or returning) the letters and adding a space gives A FAVOR, so the phrase being represented is RETURN A FAVOR. Apologies to anyone who automatically added the u to favour, but it is not there in the rebus.

When someone does something nice for you, they are said to do you a favor. If you then do something for them, you are said to be returning the favor. In many social and business situations it is expected that favors will be returned, either in kind or otherwise.