All in the Family Trivia Quiz

Answer: Keeper

"Am I my brother's keeper?" The phrase is usually meant as a disclaimer of accountability, and has its origins in the Bible. The book of Genesis tells the story of Cain, who murdered his brother, Abel, out of jealousy. When God asked Cain, "Where is Abel thy brother?", Cain replied, "I know not. Am I my brother's keeper?" as a way to deflect responsibility for his death. Today, the phrase is invoked by people who believe that they should not be held responsible for others. Those who feel that this is a rather selfish outlook on life have been known to invert the saying. For instance, in his Christmas Day radio address for 2008, President-elect (as he then was) Barack Obama made the following plea to unite the nation in a common goal: "Now more than ever, we must rededicate ourselves to the notion that we share a common destiny as Americans - that I am my brother's keeper, I am my sister's keeper."

Answer: Mum

"Mum's the word" is a common expression to indicate or require that nothing is to be said about a subject. The "mum" in the phrase isn't the truncated form of "mother", but rather a Middle English word meaning "silent". The word has had different spellings over the years, and is believed to have derived from the sound that is made when one tries to say something through closed lips. "Mum" in this context also gave rise to the word "mumble", as well as the name of the childhood ailment known as "mumps".

While the phrase "keeping mum" dates back to the 14th century, the variation "mum's the word" only became popular much later. The first known example in print is from 1720, in "A Walk Around London and Westminster" by Thomas Brown. Some people attribute the phrase to Shakespeare, due to this line in "Henry VI, Part 2": "Seal up your lips, and give no words but mum."

Answer: Agony aunt

According to Merriam Webster, the first known use of the term "agony aunt" dates back to 1975, but the problem page or advice column is considerably older. Most historians credit author and bookseller John Dunton with creating the format when he launched "The Athenian Mercury" in 1691.

The popular periodical was published twice a week, and invited readers to submit questions on an anonymous basis to be answered by a panel of experts. The response was so overwhelming that Dunton had to enlist the help of an army of (mostly male) writers to assist in responding to letters from readers, among them prolific author Daniel Defoe, who would go on to pen "Robinson Crusoe" and hundreds of other novels.

The agony column grew in popularity, and by the mid-18th century it was largely the province of female writers.

The public persona of these advisers eventually developed into the image it is often associated with today - that of an older, maternal woman doling out equal parts advice and sympathy, giving rise to the term "agony aunt". Popular agony aunts over the years include Dear Abby and Ann Landers in the United States, and Claire Rayner and Marjorie Proops in the UK.

Answer: Sins

The concept of God visiting the sins or iniquities of the fathers upon the children has its basis in various books of the Bible, notably Deuteronomy and Exodus. Many people interpret these passages to mean that God will not hesitate to punish those who continue committing the sins of the generations before them, not that God will punish descendants of wrongdoers even if they have done nothing wrong themselves. Nevertheless, the latter interpretation persists throughout history, like some bizarre form of inter-generational karmic payback.

As Horace wrote in his "Odes": "For the sins of your fathers you, though guiltless, must suffer." Others take the punishing out of God's hands and into their own, as evidenced by the numerous revenge tales that feature hardships befalling innocents who had the misfortune of being the children of the story's villain. (Spoiler alert) In "The Count of Monte Cristo", Dantès vows revenge against the men he blames for his imprisonment, but his vengeance affects their sons as well. Dantès is prepared to kill Albert, the son of Fernand, the chief villain of the tale, but spares him after the intervention of Dantès' former fiancée, who happens to be Albert's mother.

In getting even with Villefort, the man who prosecuted him years earlier, Dantès unwittingly causes the death of Villefort's son, a consequence that Dantès regrets and tries to reverse.

Answer: A monkey's uncle

The phrase can take the form of an exclamation of astonishment ("Well, I'll be a monkey's uncle!"), or an expression of skepticism ("If you make that shot, I'm a monkey's uncle."). The strength of your conviction is shown by the absurdity of the assertion.

There are a couple of likely explanations for the background to this phrase, and both have to do with evolution. One account has the saying originating sometime in the late 19th century, following the publication of Darwin's "The Origin of Species" (1859) and "The Descent of Man" (1871).

Another account has the saying dating back to 1925, at the time when the infamous Scopes Monkey Trial (Tennessee v. John Scopes) captured the imagination of the nation. In either case, the saying is supposed to have developed as a sarcastic way of ridiculing Darwin's theory that man was closely related to apes.

The notorious trial about the legality of teaching evolutionary theories in public schools was famously made into a 1960 film with Spencer Tracy called "Inherit the Wind".

Answer: Grandfather

A "grandfather clause" or a "grandfathering provision" is essentially a stipulation in a law or contract which exempts certain pre-existing cases from compliance with a new restriction by maintaining the status quo for them. For instance, your condo board could establish a new by-law to prevent anyone from keeping animals in the building, but "grandfather" any pet owners currently living there, because it would be unreasonable to make them choose between getting rid of their pets or moving out. Likewise, a company could change its benefits policies for all new hires, but "grandfather" the same benefits for all existing employees. In modern usage, the term usually prevents a change in the law from operating unfairly on people with acquired rights, but the term actually has its origins in far less equitable circumstances.

Beginning in the late 19th century, many states in the Southern United States began passing laws to make literacy tests and payment of poll taxes a requirement for voter registration. These laws often contained exceptions that applied to people who could show that their ancestors enjoyed voting rights before the Civil War. The effect of these laws was to exempt poor or illiterate whites from the new requirements simply because their grandfathers could vote, while disenfranchising poor or illiterate African Americans, who were unable to qualify under the exemption because their grandfathers were slaves. These exceptions became known as "grandfather provisions", and the persons exempted from the new requirements enjoyed "grandfathered" rights. Such laws were eventually overturned by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional, but the meaning of "grandfathering" in this context remains in use today.

Answer: Prodigal

"The prodigal son returns" is often used to describe a joyful reunion with someone who comes back after a long period of absence in circumstances where it was doubtful he would ever return, but few of these instances are actually using "prodigal" in the true sense of the word. Described by some grammarists as one of the most misunderstood words in the English language, "prodigal" has been confused by many people as meaning "absent", "wayward", or being somehow related to the word "prodigy" (it's not). Misinterpretations have been so rampant that the word has acquired a secondary meaning in at least one dictionary.

"Prodigal" actually means "rashly or wastefully extravagant", and is derived from the Latin "prodigus" meaning "wasteful". The meaning is illustrated by the original parable of the prodigal son told by Jesus to his disciples, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. As the story goes, a son leaves home after obtaining his inheritance from his father but squanders it foolishly and is unprepared when a famine hits. The son is reduced to working a degrading job in order to survive, and he returns home humbled and repentant, prepared to be his father's servant as opposed to his son. The father welcomes his son with open arms and orders a feast to mark the occasion, prompting his elder son to remark that his brother is undeserving of such generosity. The father explains that a celebration is warranted by likening the brother's journey to a return from the dead. The story serves to illustrate God's mercy in forgiving repentant sinners. In this context, the word "prodigal" describes the son's behavior in dissipating his inheritance so effortlessly.

Answer: Bob's your uncle

"Bob's your uncle" is an interjection usually used towards the end of a set of instructions or directions, and can be replaced by "You're all set" or "There you have it". The origins of the phrase are murky, but it seems to date back to the late 19th or early 20th century. My favorite explanation for the saying has to do with an act of political favoritism.

In the 1880s, the British Prime Minister, Robert Cecil, Lord of Salisbury, appointed his nephew, Arthur Balfour, to a series of political offices, including President of the Local Government Board, Secretary for Scotland, and finally Chief Secretary for Ireland.

The popular opinion at the time was that Balfour wasn't well-suited for these posts, and owed much of his success to the patronage of his Uncle Bob. Accordingly, the phrase "Bob's your uncle" began to be applied to situations where success was all but guaranteed.

The problem with this theory is that Balfour's last appointment by the Prime Minister took place in 1887, but the earliest written record of the phrase only takes place after 1920. Still, there's a certain logical neatness to the explanation that makes it attractive.

After all, the word "nepotism" has its roots in the Italian word for "nephew".

Answer: Old wives'

"Old wives' tales" is often used in a derogatory sense to condemn a belief as nothing more than unfounded superstition. The "wives" in this context isn't a reference to married women but to all women in general, deriving as it does from the Old English word for "woman" (wif, as in "midwife").

The implication seems to be that once a woman reaches a certain age, their unsubstantiated pearls of wisdom need to be taken with a liberal pinch of salt. Old wives' tales often take the form of cautionary stories designed to evoke specific behaviors in children. Among the more notorious examples: Cracking your knuckles will lead to arthritis; Chewing gum, if ingested, will stay in your body for seven years; If the wind changes direction while you are making a silly face, it will stay that way; and last but not least (and my personal favorite): if you go swimming within an hour of eating, your stomach will cramp up and you'll drown.

Answer: Grandmother

According to most sources, the earliest known record of this saying dates back to 1707 when John Stevens translated the collected works of Spanish author Francisco de Quevedo. The phrase captured enough imaginations to survive till this day, but it is unclear if it is meant to be taken literally. I always thought that learning how to suck eggs was about as useful an activity as kite-flying or lake-jumping, but according to several colloquial accounts this was a legitimate method of consuming fresh raw eggs in days gone by. This was accomplished by making two small holes at each end of the egg, and sucking the contents out through one of the holes. If done correctly, you would be left with an empty, pristine egg shell that could be painted or decorated, which would come in handy during Easter. This process was apparently so well-known that most people learnt how to do it when they were children, and so "teaching your grandmother how to suck eggs" was just a way of describing the useless pastime of giving unneeded advice to someone who should already be an expert on the subject. The meaning of the saying cannot be any clearer than in this poem by Anonymous:

"Teach not thy parent's mother to extract
The embryo juices of the bird by suction.
The good old lady can that feat enact,
Quite irrespective of your kind instruction."