All You Need Is Gloves Trivia Quiz

Answer: a dove glove

The idea of a dove-grey glove makes me think of a poem by Frances Cornford.

"To a Fat Lady Seen from the Train"

O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?
O fat white woman whom nobody loves,
Why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
When the grass is soft as the breast of doves
And shivering-sweet to the touch?
O why do you walk through the fields in gloves,
Missing so much and so much?

Answer: a buff muff

A handwarmer made of fur or fabric sewn into a cylinder shape, the muff was a popular alternative or addition to gloves from the 1500s-1700s for both men and women. Later, it became a woman's fashion accessory. My cousin had one when we were children in the 1950s that had a decorative cord worn around the neck; I really wanted one like it, because I frequently lost my mittens, and it looked so warm, soft, and secure, tied behind her neck.

The color called "buff" is the natural color of some fine leathers. I chose "faux fur" for my imaginary muff because that is the kind I would wear today.

Answer: weather leather

Can you say it fast: "Red leather, weather leather"? (I know, the tongue-twister goes "Red leather, yellow leather" but mine is harder.) You can form fit a jacket to your shoulders and a glove to your hands and fingers by wearing them wet. Remember Johnny Cochran's famous defense of O.J. Simpson? "If it doesn't fit, you must acquit!" O.J. was wearing latex gloves when he tried on the evidence gloves, which dramatically did not fit, but a new pair of the same brand, size, and style fit easily over the latex gloves.

The expert argued that moisture had caused the murder gloves to shrink a full size, but the harm to the prosecution's case was done.

Answer: a bitten mitten

Mittens, which have a sheath for the thumb but a rounded common space for the four fingers, have been around much longer than gloves and are warmer because the fingers can move more freely in relation to each other and provide body heat. A mitten at least a thousand years old has been found in Latvia, where the knitting of mittens is still a tradition, very useful in cold winters. Paintings from the medieval period in other parts of Europe show workers wearing mittens, some with three sections. These mittens would provide warmth since a couple of the fingers would be in the same pouch, but allow more flexibility for manual labor than the traditional mitten.

Answer: a split mitt

You can buy baseball and softball gloves that are already seasoned, but the best way to break in a glove is to wear it and play catch repeatedly, until it conforms to your hand and the ball. There are special foams you can apply to season it more quickly, but you can do it at home; most methods involve moistening and applying heat in some way, then rubbing oil into the leather.

A catcher's mitt will crack and split if you don't take care of it properly, but the effort is worth it to have a good glove that fits you perfectly. Until the 1870s, baseball players caught the ball with their bare hands, and the first catcher's mitts were used to deflect the ball to the ground rather than having the hinged design that scoops up the ball as they do now.

Answer: a latex apex

Since their first use in 1964, latex gloves have been almost synonymous with the disposable medical gloves used in the thousands each day by doctors, nurses, and other medical workers. Their zealous use prevents diseases from being spread from surfaces to the patient or from one person to another. Latex is processed from the sap of rubber trees and other plants, but latex also can be synthesized in the laboratory. Because many people have severe allergies to latex from rubber trees, natural and synthetic substitutes are increasingly being used, even though latex is valued for its pliability and resistance to tearing.

Answer: forbid kid

An idiom in the English language advises handling a difficult person or situation "with kid gloves" - literally, gloves made from the skin of a kid, or baby goat, a leather that is strong, and at the same time it feels smooth and soft. The first recorded example of a glove made from kidskin is from the 1600s. Opera gloves are traditionlly made of supple kidskin, because they are often very long, covering the whole arm, and allow graceful movement while looking elegant and beautiful. You may find an interesting article with pictures by searching for "opera gloves history" online (as I did) or finding an out of print book by C. Cody Collins called "Love of a Glove", published by Fairchild in 1945.

Answer: He dealt felt

Wool felt is known from earliest recorded history, among the Sumerians of the ancient Middle East, and it is still used for tents and rugs, as well as clothing, in some parts of the world. You can make felt mittens out of pure wool yarn by knitting them too large, then washing them with very hot soapy water, the more abrasion and agitation the better. (You should knit and wash a test swatch first.) Felted wool mittens are much warmer and water repellent than mittens simply knitted from wool yarn.

The word "dealt" has an old-fashioned sound and form, and most of us are more familiar with it from dealing cards than other usages, but "dealt" is the proper past tense for the verb "deal" in this case, too.

Answer: a moonlit gauntlet

The word "gauntlet" usually refers to the heavy glove familiar in depictions of knights, with a cuff that flares and extends over the wrist and lower arm. Gauntlets were made of fabric, various kinds of leather, and of metal armor. There are different styles, some without fingers for more flexibility, some with "knuckle dusters" that added extra punch to the fist during battle. To "throw down the gauntlet" meant to challenge another knight to one-on-one combat.

The challenged knight was expected to pick up the gauntlet to accept the dare.

It was considered a special insult to pull the gauntlet off with one's teeth. The word "gauntlet" has no true rhyme for both syllables at once; "sunlit" might be a closer rhyme, but I liked the idea of a "moonlit" scene. Professor101 suggested "haunted gauntlet" as a closer rhyme, so I added it as an alternate answer.

Answer: He wangles spangles

Michael Jackson died June 25, 2009, and later that year the white sequined glove he wore while first performing his "moonwalk" in 1983 sold at auction for $420,000, and the glove from the Australian leg of the 1987-88 BAD tour sold in 2010 for $330,000.

In 2012, the first black glove he wore on stage was sold for almost $200,000; the black glove was worn at the 1984 Grammy Awards ceremony, when his "Thriller" album was awarded the Grammy. The gloves are usually described as "Swarovski-crystal-encrusted"; the sparkling objects decorating MJ's gloves also could be called "spangles" (shiny decorations sewn onto garments). Someone who "wangles" will go to any lengths - honest, dishonest, or emotionally manipulative - to get something he or she wants.