General Fun For You Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sand

The correct expression is "A line in the sand". This means to either set a limit beyond which you won't proceed - or have some kind of similar restriction placed upon you. It can also mean that once a certain point has been reached in any undertaking, there can be no turning back from an agreed action. To a degree, this expression carries with it ominous overtones, but of course that depends on the context in which it is applied. An example of this term could be that once your weight has reached a certain limit, you're back on a...sigh...diet again.

Answer: Godliness

The correct expression is "Cleanliness is next to Godliness". This is one of the many morally uplifting phrases that emerged during the Victorian era. Another is "A place for everything and everything in its place". All were carefully crafted advice to young women setting out on married life on how to best run the family home and keep the lord and master of the house contented. Maintaining the family home and oneself in a pristine condition was held in such high regard at that time, that its subtle underlying message was placed right up there with the heavenly virtues. Even eliminating the religious aspect from it still leaves pretty sound advice during a pre-antibiotic era, when the danger of any infection picked up from contaminated objects was practically a death sentence.

Answer: Words

The correct expression is "Actions speak louder than words". Other ways of expressing this could be to ask "You can talk the talk but can you walk the walk?" or to say "Put your money where your mouth is". In other words - pardon that pun - talk is easy, but the people you can really count on, one way or another, are those who follow up those words with the intended action. Of course sometimes this can have a negative outcome, such as when one man threatens to thump another man if he doesn't pull his head in - and then proceeds to do so because that warning has been ignored.

In our country (Australia) this is usually the result of an argument over football or politics. There's a great similarity between those two occupations here. They both revolve around bags of hot air.

Answer: Go

The correct expression is "Easy come, easy go". This is a rather annoying saying used by people who have lost something, in one form or another, that came to them easily in the first place, and which wasn't earned by hard work or merit. It speaks of a cavalier attitude towards life, a lack of a sense of responsibility, and a most definite lack of appreciation. An example of this could be a gift of money from a deceased relative, blown in a couple of days, or placed at the race track on a sure winner that is still trying to locate the finishing post. Either of these two losses would subsequently earn nothing from the loser but a careless shrug of the shoulders, and that "Ah well, easy come, easy go" response.

Answer: Once

The correct expression is "Measure twice and cut once". This means to make sure of all your facts, or all necessary equipment, or all steps in any process before taking an action which cannot be undone or repaired. An example of this could be a university assignment. Before handing it in to your lecturer for assessment, it should be checked and rechecked first, or a low mark could be the result.

The expression's origins come from the dressmaking or tailoring trades. Once a piece of material has been cut, and if all the measurements haven't been thoroughly checked first, that cut cannot be undone if a measurement is incorrect. You'll then have a rather irate customer on your hands.

Answer: China

The correct expression is "All the tea in China", a piece of hyperbole used whenever one wants to stress or contrast the value, negative or positive, of any particular choice. The large and lovely nation of China is known for its vast amount of tea, consumption or growth, so the term serves to emphasise the strength of the assertion. An example of its use could come from someone who hates cooking, who states "I wouldn't work as a chef for all the tea in China!", or someone with an adored pet who says "There, there, Diddums, Mumsy won't let Uncle Horace spank you, not for all the tea in China, but you mustn't do woopsies in his umbrella again".

Answer: Water

The correct expression is "Blood is thicker than water", and of course it can be. However this term is not about pointing out a physiological fact about bodily fluid as such, but one that serves to stress that the ties of family, when it all boils down to it, are stronger than those of outsiders.

It's a rather sweeping generalisation though. For example, I think one of my six brothers is a gigantic pain in the posterior, and would hate to rely on him if I were, say, drowning. The other five would assist, but he'd probably sit on my head instead.

Answer: Indeed

The correct expression is "A friend in need is a friend indeed". This is a bit hard to understand really. Is it saying that a friend who relies on you when he or she is in trouble is a real friend? If so, that really doesn't make much sense. Or is it saying instead that if you are the one in trouble, then a friend who helps is a true friend? If it is the latter, then the expression needs a couple of commas, such as "A friend, in need, is a friend indeed". Another option is that if someone is in bother and needs your help, then he or she may become very friendly towards you to get that help. That's really cynical however, so it's to be hoped that isn't the original meaning of the term.

The origin of this expression dates back to the third century BC, believe it or not, when it was written in Latin as "Amicu certus in re incerta cernitur". That translates to "A sure friend is known when in difficulty" - which is just as ambiguous as the modern translation. A relevant site on the internet for various expressions of this nature notes that more is written about this saying than any other, as people try to puzzle out its intent. Perhaps though we're just all overthinking it.

Answer: Ointment

The correct expression is "A fly in the ointment". This refers to something small or irritating that can ruin an otherwise ideal instance of anything. Its origins date back to biblical times at least when ointments or salves were used, not only for healing purposes, but to anoint or decorate the body.

This is interpreted for us in Ecclesiastes 10:1 in the King James version of the Bible, where it states "Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honour". To give this expression an up to date flavour, it could mean someone of excellent reputation who has achieved much for humanity, but whom has suddenly been found to have a distasteful human weakness.

While this need not necessarily undo all the good that this person has done, it could, in the eyes of many people, perhaps taint it.

Answer: Job

The correct expression is "An inside job". This refers to any wrong or criminal activity carried out by someone who holds down a position of trust or responsibility in any organisation or business. Examples of this could be a spy working for one government, who is selling the secrets of that government to an antagonistic country - or someone working high up in a financial institution using the information gained in that position to make financial killings for himself, but at the expense of that institution who employs him.