Frightening the Horses Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fingal's Cave

Macpherson's epic poem was originally claimed to be an 18th century translation of a long-lost 3rd century Irish manuscript, but he is now considered to have, at most, found some fragments which he used as the basis of his lengthy poem. In some of the legends relating to Fionn mac Cumhail (also known as Finn MacCoul), he is said to be a giant, and the constructor of the Giant's Causeway, a series of basalt columns emerging from the sea near Antrim, so that he could cross from Ireland to Scotland without getting his feet wet.

In 1829, Felix Mendelssohn visited the cave and used the amazingly eerie sounds to be heard there as part of his overture 'The Hebrides', also known as 'Fingal's Cave'. This brought the cave to popular attention, and subsequent luminaries known to have visited it and used it as an inspiration include Jules Verne, William Wordsworth, John Keats, J.M.W. Turner, and Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Answer: Liam O'Flaherty

Liam O'Flaherty (1896-1984) was personally involved in the Irish Civil War, notably as part of a group occupying a Dublin building for four days shortly after the declaration of the Irish Free State in 1922. His first short story used this as part of the source for its exploration of the experiences and emotions of a young combatant involved in a shooting battle against an opponent whom he successfully kills, only to discover that it was his brother.

The positive reviews of the story, which is still widely anthologized, established O'Flaherty as an author.

He won the 1925 James Tait Memorial Prize for his novel 'The Informer', which was later turned into a 1935 movie directed by his cousin, John Ford.

Answer: Wills

The Burke and Wills expedition started with 19 men; only one of them (John King) completed the entire journey, with seven of them, including both leaders, dying during the journey. They covered a distance of over 3000 km, only to be stopped by swampy terrain about 5 km short of the actual coastline.

Their supplies were running too low for them to have time to fight their way through the mangrove swamp, so they turned back. They reached the rendezvous where their support team was waiting at Cooper Creek in the evening of the day on which it had been abandoned. Attempting to continue their homeward trip, Robert O'Hara Burke and William John Wills both perished before rescue parties arrived.

Answer: Windermere

Although is it sometimes called Lake Windermere to distinguish it from the town of the same name, this is a tautology, as Windermere's name comes from an old Norse word meaning (probably) Winand's and an Old English word for a lake or pool. Most of the lakes in the Lakes District are called a water or a mere. Technically, a mere should be shallow, with a large width in proportion to its depth, but Windermere is relatively deep, with a maximum depth of around 67 m.

It is, however, quite long in shape, being a ribbon lake formed as glaciers were retreating from the area.

Its actual length is somewhere between 17 and 18 km, depending on how you define the location of its southern end.

Answer: Ernest Borgnine

Ernest Borgnine (1917-2012) was born Ermes Effron Borgnino in Connecticut, where he spent most of his childhood, aside from four years in Italy with his mother during a temporary marital separation. He served in the Navy from 1935 to 1945, after which he took up acting.

After gaining a reputation as a character actor, he landed his first film role in 'From Here to Eternity' in 1951. The title role in 'Marty' led to his Academy Award for Best Actor, defeating fellow nominees James Cagney, James Dean, Frank Sinatra and Spencer Tracy. Even as his film career flourished, Borgnine added television sitcom to his portfolio, playing the commander of the PT-73, with its misfit crew who spent more time working out how to get rich (or get the girls) than they did fighting the war.

Answer: Salome

The New Testament references to a dancing woman who was the daughter of Herod do not give her name, but the name of the daughter described by Josephus as being married to Philip of Ituraea and then Aristobulus of Chalcis has come to be used for her. Traditions about her character vary - some show her as being a dangerously seductive woman who used her erotic dancing skills to entrance helpless men, while others portray her as merely foolish, and manipulated by her mother (who was the one who wanted John the Baptist dead). Whichever, she has fascinated many over the years, and is the subject of numerous paintings, poems, plays, operas, ballets, songs, movies, even a video game.

Answer: Prince

The Welsh word tywysog now is usually translated as prince, but it originally referred to a much broader range of rulers. Coming from a word meaning 'to lead', it is linguistically related to the words Taoiseach (the head of the Irish government) and toiseach (the chief of a Scottish clan).

The Spanish word principe, like the English word prince, is derived from the Latin word princips, meaning the first or most eminent of its type.

Answer: Dorian

All four of these modes (or scales) can be played using the white keys of a piano. The Ionian goes from C to C, and is more commonly referred to as a major scale. If you start the scale on any other note, you must use one or more black keys to preserve the appropriate sequence of intervals between notes.

The Aeolian, from A to A, is usually called a natural minor scale. The Mixolydian, running from G to G, and the Dorian do not have common alternative names, but they can be found in a wide range of music if you know what you are listening for.

The traditional song 'Scarborough Fair' and the Deep Purple song 'Smoke on the Water' are both Dorian pieces.

Answer: Reading Railroad

The Reading Railroad was the first one on the board, lying between Income Tax and Oriental Avenue, the first of the light blue properties. No matter where you were when you drew a Chance card, this one would let you pass Go (and collect $200 as well as avoiding the Luxury Tax and Income Tax spaces).

In later stages of the game, it could also provide a welcome route past Park Place and Boardwalk with hotels, and possible financial ruin.

Answer: Oscar Wilde

Oscar Wilde, master of the epigram, is indeed the common bond for the questions in this quiz (and its title). Here's how they link:

Q1 - Q3: Answers Fingal's Cave, Liam O'Flaherty, Wills - Oscar Fingal O'Flaherty Wills Wilde is his full name.
Q4: Answer Windermere - 'Lady Windermere's Fan, A Play About a Good Woman' is a satirical comedy play written by Oscar Wilde and first produced in 1892.
Q5: Answer Ernest Borgnine - Ernest is the alter ego of Jack Worthing in the play 'The Importance of Being Earnest', often considered Wilde's finest work.
Q6: Answer Salome - In Wilde's tragic play 'Salome', Salome has John the Baptist executed because he has spurned her advances.
Q7: Answer prince - Oscar Wilde wrote the children's story 'The Happy Prince', about the statue of a prince sacrificing his finery for his people.
Q8: Answer Dorian - Wilde's only novel, 'The Picture of Dorian Gray', tells the story of a man who sells his soul so that his painting will age instead of him.
Q9: Answer Reading Railroad - Wilde wrote the poem 'The Ballad of Reading Jail' while in exile in France following his release from two years hard labour imprisonment on charges relating to homosexual activities.

The quotation that provided the inspiration for this quiz has been attributed (in a number of variations) to the English actress Mrs. Patrick Campbell. She may have been referring to Oscar Wilde (during his trial) or a more general reference to sexual displays (especially homosexual ones) among actors in general - sources vary.