The Springs Trivia Quiz

Answer: sprigs

The word sprig, plural sprigs, is derived from the Middle English "sprigge" and was first seen used in the 1300s. Although not in the plural, Joseph Taylor made a wax cylinder of the song "Sprig o' Thyme" in 1908 for Percy Grainger. The song itself was first noted in 1689.

Answer: grips

The first known use for the word "grip" was before the twelfth century. It comes from the Old English "grippan" to the Middle English "grippen". It can also mean a strong hold on something, or a suitcase which was most likely the original usage. One of the old stagehand jokes is "How many NY stagehands does it take to change a light bulb? Four, ya got a problem wid dat?".

Answer: pigs

This is the plural of the animal "pig" which comes from the Middle English and was first used about 1200. The word also can be used in a derogatory way meaning that a person is pig-like, e.g., dirty or repulsive, in actions, looks, or even occupation. Snowball and Napoleon were characters in George Orwell's novel "Animal Farm", wherein Napoleon stated, in good Communistic fashion, that "All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others". George Orwell was Eric Blair's nom de plume.

Answer: sip

This word, meaning to take small amounts into your mouth at one time, is what one should do when one tipples, i.e., drinks alcohol. The word sip came from the Middle English "sippen", like the Low German "sippen", and was first used in the fourteenth century. Luke Bryan sings a country song called "Just a Sip" in which he tells us all the good things a sip of alcohol can allegedly do for us.

Answer: pi

The origin of the term "pi" for jumbled printer's type is unknown, but the word seems to have first been heard between 1650 and 1660. Since the Gutenberg printing press was not completed until 1440, it would not have been used before then. However the word pi, itself, is the 16th letter of the Greek alphabet. For those of you interested in mathematics, Pi Day is March 14.

Answer: I

Although the history of the Roman numbering system is not well known, the Romans were so active in trade they needed some type of system other than using their fingers with which to count. It is hypothesized that their numeric symbols might have to do with the shape of the hand, e.g., I equals one finger. What they lacked was a zero. "I" is also a personal pronoun and seems to be most often used in that manner.

Answer: SI

The word "silicon" came originally from the Latin "silex", meaning "flint". It was first discovered in 1823 by Berzelius and its atomic number is 14. Silicon is the second most abundant element and is used in glass and semiconductors. Ir is also used a great deal in aesthetic surgery. With that in mind, to mis-quote the actor, James Caan, "I don't think that silicon(e) makes a girl bad or good".

Answer: sin

Sin most likely comes from the Latin "sons", meaning guilty, up through the High German, to the Old English, to the Middle English "sinne". The song "It's a Sin To Tell a Lie" was originally introduced on vinyl by Fats Waller and charted at number one in 1935.

It tells one all about why it's not good to tell a lie. The song has been covered by Somethin' Smith and the Redheads, Slim Whitman, John Denver, Billie Holiday, Tony Bennett, Bobby Martin, Gerry Monroe, Brent Spiner, Larry Breau, Buddy Greco, Steve Goodman, the Quebe Sisters Band, Ann Breen, Jerry Murad and the Harmonicats, Bobby Vinton, Patti Page, George Maharis and Vera Lynn, as well as the Ink Spots whose version is in Obsidian Entertainment's 2010 role-playing game "Fallout: New Vegas". Billy Mayhew tried to help us be good when he wrote that song.

Answer: snip

The first known use of the word was in 1558, and it comes originally from the Middle High German "snipfen" which means to "snap the fingers". The young woman I think who most fits that description is Scarlet O'Hara in "Gone With the Wind". There is another "girl", an Australian-foaled brown filly who has earned almost twenty-eight million dollars in racing, who is named "Snip of a Girl". With that kind of earnings she might have the right to act like a snip, d'ya think?

Answer: spins

The first known use of the word "spin" in any way was sometime before the 1100s. In addition to coming from Middle English "spinnen", it may have come from the Lithuanian word "spesti" meaning "to set (a trap)". That sounds more like the spinning spoken about above. On the other hand, there is a science fiction trilogy called "Spin", written by Robert C. Wilson, that won the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 2006.