A Prayer and A Pinion Trivia Quiz

Answer: A black swan event

A black swan event is an unexpected occurrence that disproves a putative fact. The saying has its origins in Willem de Vlamingh's encounter of black swans in Western Australia in 1697, before which Europeans thought all swans were white.

Answer: Go off on a wild goose chase

A wild goose chase is a futile exploit. The saying comes from Shakespeare's play "Romeo and Juliet". It refers to the difficulty of trying to catch wild geese by chasing after them.

Answer: Water off a duck's back

This saying alludes to the fact that water glides easily off ducks' backs because they are waterproof (due to the natural oils on their feathers). It came into use in the early 19th century.

Answer: Easy as duck soup

This phrase was coined by a cartoonist called T. A Dorgan. It was apparently the caption for a cartoon and passed into common parlance and everyone everywhere recognises it as meaning quite easy, now.

Answer: Don't count your chickens before they hatch

Sometimes eggs don't hatch, and the idiom warns that depending on things happening that will very probably, yet may not, happen is risky to do. The first known written example of this expression can be found in Thomas Howell's book "New Sonnets and Pretty Pamphlets", which was published in 1570.

Answer: Kill the goose that lays the golden eggs

The proberb originated in a well-known fable by Aesop. In the story, the owners of the goose that laid golden eggs killed it in hopes of acquiring more gold sooner, but found no gold inside the goose. It means to cut off one's supply of good things at the source by incapacitating or harming the provider of them, especially as a result of miscalculation.

Answer: Kill two birds with one stone

To kill two birds with one stone is to accomplish two things one wishes to by performing a single act (or giving one order/making one decision). This saying may have originated in the Greek myth of Daedalus, who successfully killed two birds with one stone.

Answer: The early bird catches the worm

This saying means (literally or figuratively) a contender for goods can obtain an advantage over others by arriving early at a significant location. People often miss out on opportunities because of things beyond their control, and when they arrive, or try to do something, is something they choose, so they should not dally.

This saying was included in William Camden's book of aphorisms published in 1605.

Answer: As proud as a peacock

Proud as a peacock means conceitedly ostentatious. The saying comes from the elaborate, colourful plumage of the male peacock and its mating practices. This idiom can be found in Chaucer's works.

Answer: The birds and the bees

A euphemism akin to "the facts of life", referring to the specifics of human reproduction. The origin of the cliche is uncertain. It seems to have evolved over the later decades of the 20th century.