English Trivia

1. This synonym of outhouse is not only the most popular, it is also a rather refined way of saying it. What language does the word toilet come from?

From Quiz Outhouse Humor

Answer: French

It all boils down from the French "toilette" which in French means dressing room. In the 16th century the word toilette, which is the smaller version of toile, meant a cloth used as a wrapper for clothes. Later it meant the cloth cover of a dressing table, the action of dressing and the act of washing. From that it was used to mean the dressing soon and that became a synonym for lavatory. But as a joke says, "Use me well and keep me clean. I will never tell what I have seen."

From Quiz Use the Forks, Luke

Answer: Pitchfork

Featured prominently in Grant Wood's painting, "American Gothic", a pitchfork is used to lift and toss loose material like hay and leaves. A pitchfork has a long handle and long, widely spaced tines which are perfect for clearing the hay and exposing the Storm Troopers.

From Quiz How Much Do You Really Know about Full?

Answer: full-fledged

'Full-fledged' refers to someone or something thoroughly accredited or authorized to have a certain position or rank or respect, such as a minister, or a teacher. A 'Full Windsor Knot' specifies a knot particularly used in shirts with wide collars. There are half-Windsor knots too. The term is capitalized because it is named after the Duke of Windsor. Among other things 'full fathom five' appears in Shakespeare's 'The Tempest:' 'Full fathom five thy father lies; Of his bones are coral made; Those are pearls that were his eyes; Nothing of him that does fade, But doth suffer a sea-change...' 'Full Fathom Five' is also the name of a painting by Jackson Pollock and also of a novel by Bart Davis and then to the 1990 action film with the same title and also to a band and to a poem by Sylvia Plath. Tradition has it that 'full fathom five' as an expression refers to someone's father who is lost a sea and buried a complete five fathoms below the surface and whose eyes may be turned into pearls and bones become coral. 'Fully disclosed' accounts are in the name of individual customers. 'Full disclosure' refers to complete accountability in terms of business tradings.

From Quiz I Can Has Cheeseburger?

Answer: it existed in another language other than English

A "phoneme" is from a word of Greek origin, meaning "a sound uttered". (The ph combination makes a sound that is best duplicated verbally as the letter "f".) Since the word originally was of Greek origin, naturally it retained its root form as it lent itself to English and to other languages.

From Quiz Fun with Words

Answer: Redundancy

Sometimes redundancies are so common we don't even think about them. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, so saying the HIV virus is saying virus twice. The other examples above are: Automatic Teller Machine, Anti-Lock Braking System, Detective Comics, Direct Current, Disc Operating System, and Personal Identification Number.

From Quiz Outhouse Humor

Answer: Wash-down closet

The use of an indoor toilet, rather than an outhouse, began towards the end of the 19th century. They fashioned a room similar to the clothing closet and since it was the only room with running water, they called it a water closet. Since the waste was washed down from the bowl with the help of water it was also called the wash-down closet. After all it is "The best seat in the house", as the joke goes.

From Quiz Use the Forks, Luke

Answer: Fruit Fork

A persimmon is a small yellow or orange fruit, so Leia brandishes her fruit fork with aplomb. Persimmons originated in China and were introduced to California in the 19th century. Rich in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, persimmons are a healthy part of a resistance leader's diet. (A small fruit pun is included with this answer, at no extra charge!)

From Quiz How Much Do You Really Know about Full?

Answer: full steam ahead

'Full steam ahead' is going ahead with as much energy as possible. 'Full hearted' is a phrase pertaining to someone's character--their courage or whole-heartedness. 'Fully charged' is a designation applied to batteries which have been completely charged. It is also the name of a show by Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey. 'Full blown' generally applies to flowers such as roses which have bloomed completely and have become mature, 'full' of the essence of their potential.

From Quiz I Can Has Cheeseburger?

Answer: as a protest to France

On March 11, 2003, the cafeteria menus in the three United States House of Representatives office buildings changed the name of French fries to freedom fries, as well as changing French toast to freedom toast. This was intended as a symbolic rebuke of France in anger over that country's opposition to the United States government's invasion of Iraq. In response, the French embassy noted that French fries are actually Belgian in origin. "We are at a very serious moment dealing with very serious issues and we are not focusing on the name you give to potatoes," said Nathalie Loisau, an embassy spokeswoman. So...there! (As an American, I find this one just a teeny bit embarrassing!)

From Quiz Fun with Words

Answer: It's the only day of the week with an anagram that is a common word

Yes, Dynamo is an anagram on Monday. I have not been able to find any other common word anagrams for the other days of the week. If anyone does, please let me know. Some of my favorite other anagrams are: debit card becomes bad credit, Elvis becomes lives, and listen becomes silent. Also, check out the Rush song "Anagram" for more words. While it is named after the moon, it is not the only day for which that is true - Sunday springs to mind immediately!

From Quiz Become a Better Writer

Answer: Re-examining your ideas

Revision is the process of re-examining what you have written. Did you succeed in what you set out to do? Did you tackle a subject that was too broad or too narrow? Did you include sufficient details? Did you make points that were relevant to the topic? Revision does not include searching for errors--that comes later, during the proofreading phase. To properly revise your writing, you should add, delete, change, or expand upon ideas in your writing. Your finished product should be better than what you originally started with. (Murray, "The Craft of Revision", 2003).

From Quiz The Evil Essay

Answer: Develop a clear thesis statement

Literacy Education Online defines a thesis statement as "a sentence that explicitly identifies the purpose of the paper or previews its main ideas." When your readers begin to read your essay, they should know early on what they will be reading about. Examples of thesis statements: "'Pride and Prejudice' is a novel that explores women's limited options in Regency England." "Abraham Lincoln was arguably the greatest president in American history." (Remember: your thesis statement doesn't have to be a fact!)

From Quiz Meet Tom Swifty again.

Answer: bellowed

Allow me not to explain the puns. Even if they are very silly. Greeted could work with "Hi Garbo".

From Quiz Meet Tom Swifty

Answer: wantonly

Tom Swifties are an evolution of the Wellerism. This is the definition given in the Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable : Sam Weller in Charles Dickens' "Pickwick Papers" (1836-7) was prone to producing punning sentences such as: 'Out with it, as the father said to the child when he swallowed a farden [farthing]'. This type of verbal play, involving a metaphorical and a punningly literal sense, soon gained popularity under the name of wellerism, and a craze for devising such expressions rapidly sprang up on both sides of the Atlantic. A crude example familiar to children is: 'I see, said the blind man, when he couldn't see at all.'

From Quiz Words and Symbols

Answer: tittle

It is generally agreed that the dot over the "i" is called a "tittle". A tittle also refers to those small markings that appear over words, as found in many Hebrew words.

From Quiz Outhouse Humor

Answer: Defecate

It is a combination of the words bog + house and it refers to a place outside the house where one gets a bit of relief. One of the meanings of bog is muddy ground. That is where you "Let it go"!

From Quiz Use the Forks, Luke

Answer: A fork in the road

The poem, "The Road Not Taken" by Robert Frost, is a rumination on the consequences of choosing one path over another. Here's the first stanza: "Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bend in the undergrowth;" As a translator droid, C3PO can recite this poem in over 6 million languages.

From Quiz How Much Do You Really Know about Full?

Answer: full and open

'Full and open' usually refers to a business transaction or competition which allows all eligible bidders to make bids. 'Full of it' is a piece of verbal irony. If you tell someone they're 'full of it', you're really saying that what they say says nothing or is dead wrong. 'Full blast' refers to going at it full steam ahead. 'Full of beans' is an expression praising someone's unusual energy. 'Full of beans' can also refer to someone whose ideas are wrong-headed, insubstantial and off-target.

From Quiz Fun with Words

Answer: It's the only state capital name that shares no letters with the name of its state

Pierre and South Dakota share none of the same letters. For capitals with names of people, we have Montgomery (Alabama), Jackson (Mississippi), Helena (Montana), Olympia (Washington) and Madison (Wisconsin), among others. Double-letter capitals included Little Rock (Arkansas) and Tallahassee (Florida). Santa Fe (New Mexico) is located at 7,000 feet (2134 m) above sea level, making it the highest state capital in the United States. Santa Fe is also the oldest, as it has been the regional capital since 1610.

From Quiz Become a Better Writer

Answer: Reading

If you hadn't already guessed: reading and writing are inextricably connected. The best way to broaden your vocabulary is to read, read, and then read some more! The good news is that almost any type of reading will enhance your vocabulary store. Beneficial reading includes newspapers, magazines, comics, and online documents. I myself, however, prefer the archaic mode of picking up a good book! (Fulwiler, "Language Connections: Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum", 1982).

From Quiz Meet Tom Swifty again.

Answer: clamored

OK, I admit the wrong alternatives are very silly.

From Quiz Meet Tom Swifty

Answer: abandon

Here we have a noun with a preposition transformed in another noun (a band on = abandon)

From Quiz Words and Symbols

Answer: set

The Oxford English Dictionary indicates "set" has well over one hundred definitions. Set can be used as a noun, a verb, and can be found in phrases.

From Quiz Outhouse Humor

Answer: Scotland

The Scots do use rather strange words. The actual meaning of 'cludgie' is to urinate and defecate. It is a slang term used for the actual room, the "seat" and the outhouse. "Why did the toilet paper roll down the hill"? "To reach the bottom"!

From Quiz Use the Forks, Luke

Answer: Fork it over

"Fork it over" is an idiom used to demand something--usually money. Alas, Han did not have the money, but he did have a blaster. After moving to a clean table, Han orders some of the Cantina's famous roasted potatoes. The chef prepares them by running a fork over the surface of peeled, boiled potatoes. By roughing up the surface before seasoning and roasting, more of the potato is exposed to the heat, leading to extra crispiness.

From Quiz How Much Do You Really Know about Full?

Answer: in full feather

'Full feather' refers to a person dressed up, wearing the best clothes and looking about as well dressed as possible. 'Full body shot' is a reference to a camera angle which presents a person from head to toe. Often, employers want to see this full body shot to get an idea of the whole person. 'Full Monty' is a British phrase which is synonymous with everything, or the 'works' as in the 'whole nine yards'. It clearly has links to Field Marshall Montgomery and, hence, the capitalization. It is said that Montgomery's training was so demanding that soldiers in mixed respect and fatigue dubbed it, 'the full Monty treatment.' There is also a three-piece suit called 'the full Monty' and a 1997 film of the same name. 'In full sail' may refer to the sails, the journey in a sailing vessel or, sometimes, to a piece of cloth which fits the rigger and the spars so that the wind will be forced to enhance the movement forward.

From Quiz Fun with Words

Answer: It's the only number that has the same number of letters as its numeric value

"Four" has four letters and it is the only number to have such a property. Integer names with no repeated letters include: zero, two, four, ten, forty, and five thousand. The shortest names for numbers are, of course, one, two, six and ten.

From Quiz Meet Tom Swifty again.

Answer: condescendingly

This is the most classic form of Tom Swifty, with an adverb.

From Quiz Meet Tom Swifty

Answer: weakly

Tom Swift is also a fictional character, or better two fictional characters: Tom Swift Sr. and Jr., protagonists in a series of books for young readers from the beginning of XXth Century to this day. But it seems that none of the Swifts, although very witty, made use of the eponymous pun.

From Quiz Words and Symbols

Answer: a sentence that contains every letter of the alphabet

For those of you who took keyboarding when typewriters were used, you will undoubtedly remember the famous typing directive: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog". This sentence uses all the letters of the alphabet, making it a pangram.

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