Guild-y as Sin: Envy Trivia Quiz

Answer: Invidia

The goddess Invidia represents the qualities of two Greek gods, Phthonus/Zelos (envy) and Nemesis, the goddess of divine justice and vengeance. The name Invidia comes from the Latin verb "invidere" which means to look upon another in a hostile manner.

Invidia provides the root of the English word invidiousness which, like envy, conveys an emotion of resentment at someone else's good fortune or possessions. Whilst Invidia represented both envy and jealousy, contrary to the belief of many, the two words are not synonymous; jealousy is the expression of the fear of someone else obtaining a possession that one already has.

Snowman, who submitted this question, is envied throughout the Quiz Makers Guild not only for his knowledge of Greek mythology, but also for the fact that -- even in the worst stinks and stenches the modern world has to offer -- he just smiles and says it smells faintly of carrots.

Answer: David

The story of David and Saul unfolds in the Bible, in the first book of Samuel. David, only a boy, was anointed by Samuel in Chapter 16 as having been chosen by God. But when David arrived at Saul's court, he sought only to serve the king, playing his harp for him and fighting Goliath as his champion.

The Israelites were ecstatic when David killed Goliath, and a popular song praised David as a greater hero even than Saul. This is what triggered Saul's terrible jealousy, which led him to try to kill David by throwing spears at him during his harp performances. His increasingly convoluted schemes to bring David down constantly backfired, resulting only in more glory for David. Finally there were a series of open battles between them, and at the last of these -- the Battle of Gilboa -- Saul died, and David became king as Saul had feared all along.

This question comes from CellarDoor, who won the right to assemble this quiz after an epic three-way arm-wrestling match. Her strength and dexterity are envied by all Guilders who did not notice that her elbow was an inch off the table.

Answer: Ecclesiastes

The Book was written from the point of view of "the Philosopher". In verse one he introduced himself thus: "These are the words of the Philosopher, David's son, who was king in Jerusalem". This was historically taken by some to mean Solomon, but others have cast doubts on that contention. Other notable quotes from the Book of Ecclesiastes include: "The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong"; "He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it"; "There is no new thing under the sun"; and, of course, "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven..."

If you do spot something trivial and new under the sun, it's a good bet that it's darksplash (who quotes Ecclesiastes 4 here) who came up with it. Many Guilders were jealous of splash's clever and incisive attributions in the last "Guild-y as Sin" quiz; many more are even now plotting their revenge...

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

Envy is also mentioned in "Othello". Portia is the character who says this line. Envy is usually associated with green.

By contrast, JaneMarple, who provided this question, is usually associated with strong friendships and beautiful, ambitious embroidery projects. Less crafty Guilders find themselves embroidering suspiciously green eyes to describe their feelings!

Answer: Mark Twain

"Following the Equator" is not one of Mark Twain's more popular or amusing works, and the epigraphs (From "Puddn'head Wilson's New Calendar") for each of the book's seventy chapters reflect the book's theme of anger at what Western imperialism has done to the equatorial belt.

This question comes from Quiz_Beagle. Contrary to the title of the work she has chosen to write about, she is not a follower but rather the fearless leader of the Quiz Makers Guild. Both her iron fist and velvet glove are envied by fine clothiers everywhere.

Answer: to develop the perfect Soviet sausage

Industrialist Babichev was obsessed with food and the poor quality of the Soviet diet. Along with his quest for the perfect tasty long-life sausage that cost no more than 35 kopecks, he was also building a giant cafeteria, "Quarter," that would feed the workers well for 25 kopecks a meal and relieve Soviet women of the need to cook.

Kavalerov teams up with Ivan Babichev, who claims to have built an "Ophelia Machine" that will destroy his brother, but their crude envy-driven scheming fails hopelessly.

"Envy" is a book that is either utopian or dystopian, depending on point of view. The Soviet media of the time clearly saw it as the former, showing the triumph of Communist collectivism and concern for all over petty bourgeois individualism and selfishness. Yet Nikolai and Ivan, although despicable characters, mourn the loss of imagination, beauty, emotion and love in 1920s Soviet Russia. In this they closely mirror John the "Savage" in Aldous Huxley's clearly dystopian "Brave New World," published five years later. The Ophelia Machine (which turned out not to exist) was a machine that "sings our love songs now, stupid love songs of the old age, and gathers flowers of the old age. It falls in love, is jealous, cries, has dreams..."

This question fulfills solan_goose's long-standing dream of uniting sausages, savages and Soviets in a single trivial tour-de-force. Is it any wonder why his fellow Guilders are jealous?

Answer: Envious Casca

Heyer took the novel's title from Shakespeare's description of Publius Servilius Casca Longus, the Roman senator who, according to Plutarch, struck the first blow in the assassination of Julius Caesar. Casca was, presumably, envious of Caesar because the people of Rome had offered the crown to Julius and not to Casca. To find out why the murderer in 'Envious Casca' envied the murder victim, you'll have to read the book. I don't want to spoil it for you.

This introduction to the works of both Georgette Heyer and Plutarch was provided by Cymruambyth, whose erudition (and magnificent cat) have driven numerous denizens of the Quiz Makers Guild to the sin of Envy.

Answer: Ben Stiller and Jack Black

Stiller and Black play best friends in this 2004 release, which bombed at the box office. Nick (Black) invents a product, "Va-poo-rize," which actually works - it makes pet litter disappear. He offers his friend, Tim (Stiller), an opportunity to invest in the product. Tim declines and Nick becomes rich, which fuels Tim's jealousy.

Christopher Walken, known for taking on eccentric parts in movies, is J-Man, a 'bizarre drifter' who becomes Tim's advisor.

I won't spoil the ending for those who actually want to watch it, but it involves "Pocket Flan." (Now you're curious, aren't you?) *tee hee*

SilverMoonsong's appreciation and knowledge of humor both highbrow and lowbrow, so vividly displayed in this question, has turned Guilders green for years.

Answer: Screamo

Screamo is an offshoot of hardcore punk. The only word in the list with Japanese origins is Basho. He was a 17th century Japanese poet.

The other two words were made up by patricck, who has long made his fellow Guilders jealous of his ability to coin words for music genres. Surprisingly, his effort at founding a punk trivia band, named Badge-o, has stalled.

Answer: Ireland

"Turning Green" takes place in the late 1970s. It stars Tim Hutton and Donal Gallery in a story about two American brothers sent to live in Ireland.

I'm afraid that it's this quiz that really made Guilders envious of GreenGal, who crafted this question. After all, her user name is so much better suited to this topic than those of any of the other contributors!