Anatomy of a Song: "The Hippopotamus Song" Quiz

Answer: On the banks of the cool Shalimar

'A bold Hippopotamus was standing one day
On the banks of the cool Shalimar'
Interestingly, I could find no River Shalimar while Googling, and the only places I could find were in places like the Himalayas and India, which are noticeably hippo-free! As indeed, are the Liffey in Dublin and the Clyde in Glasgow. 'The great, grey-green greasy Limpopo river, all set about with fever trees' is the setting for the wonderful Kipling story 'How the Elephant got his trunk'.

Answer: Evening

'He gazed at the bottom as it peacefully lay
By the light of the evening star'
The evening star is in fact, the planet Venus. Venus is also, appropriately, the Roman Goddess of Love.

Answer: Combing her hair

'Away on the hilltop sat combing her hair
His fair Hippopotamine maid'
Actually, hippos are almost hairless, but they do secrete a pink fluid, which may protect them from sunburn. She should really have been grazing, as hippos eat up to 40 kg of grass a night!

Answer: No

'As she hadn't got a ma to give her advice,
Came tip-toeing down to her love'
Ma's advice would probably have been not to run off to meet a hippo she had not been introduced to - mothers are like that, but in the sequel to this song, 'Hippo Encore', they are married, so it worked out...sort of.

Answer: Her garter

'His inamorata adjusted her garter
And lifted her voice in duet'
The hussy! She was probably wearing lipstick too - see what happens when mother isn't around.

Answer: Mud

'Mud! Mud! Glorious mud!
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood'
Though, I must admit, a chilled vodka and tonic does it for me everytime...

Answer: The hollow

'So, follow me, follow, down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow in glorious mud'
Hippos live in the water by day, and come out to eat at night. They also congregate in wallows between these two places. Never get between a hippo and the water - they are very dangerous. The male spreads his dung around by twirling his tail.

Answer: Hippopotami

'Now more Hippopotami began to convene'
Both hippopotamuses and hippopotami are acceptable plurals and are both used in English, but the correct Greek plural, hippopotamodes, is never used! I made hippopotamice (which I think is rather good!) up myself.

Answer: Ear-splitting

'They dived all at once with an ear-splitting splash,'
In the UK, the BBC had, at one time, an advert which had hippos swimming in a circle. Every time I saw it, I thought of this song!

Answer: An army

'A regular army of Hippopotami
All singing this haunting refrain'
The correct collective noun for hippos is actually bloat (which I don't think is very flattering!) The wrong answers are collective nouns for foxes (skulk), rhinos (crush) and leopards (leap). I hope you enjoyed the quiz - and now, all together:
'Mud! Mud! Glorious mud!
Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood.
So, follow me, follow, down to the hollow,
And there let us wallow in glorious mud.'
Well sung!