Jennings - the immortal schoolboy Quiz

Answer: Lancelot Phineas

Poor Mr. Wilkins lives in fear that his sister will give the details of his embarrassing Christian names away to the boys at school. Apparently these names are not funny in French where the "Jennings" books are still very popular.Instead the Gallic alternatives "Leopold Prosper" were used.

Answer: Linbury Court Preparatory School

The school colours are a sort of cerise and white. The boys have hats and scarfs that make them stand out in a crowd. Dunhambury is the name of the nearest town to the school.

Answer: moonshine

Somehow the boys in his class always seem to drive Mr. Wilkins to the brink of a nervous breakdown. Thus he regards all of their mistakes and their excuses as "trumpery moonshine" or just "tomfoolery".

Answer: ozard

The word "ozard" comes from the "Wizard of Oz" and the terms "wizard" and "ozard" are often applied to food served up in the school dining hall. Sometimes they refer to it as "ghastly muck".

Answer: Ben or Benedick

They call him "Ben" or "Benedick" because he gives the prayers before each evening before meals and starts with the Latin word "benedicte".

Answer: Paintpots

Alliteration seems to be the controlling factor with many of the boy's expressions as you will see from the examples which crop up later.

Answer: Blotwell and Binns Minor

It doesn't matter how many years go past Binns Minor and Blotwell always remain the youngest boys in the school. In the same way Jennings never gets to be any older than 11.

Answer: The Archbeako

It is surprising the number of times that some impending disaster created by Jennings is about to overwhelm the Headmaster only for everything to turn out right in the end.

Answer: You are as much use as a left-handed hockey stick.

It has to be admitted that poor Darbishire is the one who is often on the receiving end of this sort of criticism. Jennings is the one who most often delivers this jibe to his best friend.

Answer: Bennett and Mortimer

Apparently the translators of the books needed to ensure that they chose names that could actually be pronounced by French schoolboys. "Jennings" was too difficult for them to get their tongues around and "Mortimer" sounded typically British.

Answer: fishhooks

By now the repetition of the sound is not unexpected but it is still not clear why each expression refers to turning something into stone - "petrified", "fossilised" and then one more later.

Answer: row

Unfortunately the word "row" has two pronunciations. Jennings wanted to write about how Mr. Wilkins had been in the Oxford-Cambridge boat-race. However, because of his explosive temper Jennings was afraid people would misunderstand him if he wrote, "Mr.Wilkins used to have a row every morning."

Answer: It was placed too near a garden sprinkler.

Of course when the gardener puts the hose out the boys are never around and so they don't realise what is happening. Mr.Wilkins doesn't believe in their innocence until he sees what's happening with his own eyes.

Answer: going in for a roof-level attack

Sometimes the boy's also call this a "bate". When angry Mr. Wilkins is likely to lose control of his ability to pronounce things properly and he gets his words mixed up. It usually happens when someone has made a "supersonic bish" -(a dreadful mistake).

Answer: Cheesecakes

Once again there is the suggestion of something turned to stone. Does it suggest the fate about to overtake the perpetrator of the mistake?