Buying The Farm Trivia Quiz

Answer: To take immediate, decisive action

Now that you have got that out of the way, you decide to look into the origins of the idiom. The origins are relatively unknown, but common consensus is that the phrase does not have origins in bullrunning. It instead may have originated from the American west where it was common to wrestle with steers (young bulls). To do this you had to 'take the bull by the horns' so to speak, so it didn't gore you.

The phrase is now commonly used to describe a situation when you decide to confront a problem head-on.

Answer: Horse's

The phrase is deemed to have origins from horse racing betting circles in the early 20th century. The first known usage of it was when a man was betting on a horse in a race, and he apparently said he got his information "straight from the horse's mouth", which means he knew his information was correct.

Answer: Someone who hides malicious intent under the guise of kindliness

The phrase is often misunderstood to have had Biblical origins. It comes from Matthew 7:15 in the King James version of the Bible in which the following warning is given: 'Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves'.

The phrase is also, however, a key element of one of Aesop's fables, which is said to have been written over 600 years before the Bible was created. It loosely means we cannot necessarily trust someone who has a kind and friendly exterior, because they may be hiding the fact that they are dangerous.

Answer: An exclamation of surprise

"Holy Cow!" has origins relating to various baseball broadcasters in the mid-20th century. It is a commonly used term in North America, Australia and England and is a euphemism used to replace an expletive or taboo word. The origins, reportedly, have nothing to do with Hinduism.

Answer: Milking

It makes sense to relate this phrase back to animals and thinking about getting as much as possible out of a particular resource and the phrase has origins in agriculture, the phrase itself relating to the milking of cows and the unhealthy length of time spent doing so, because there was a lot of profit to be made from the milk.

The use of this phrase now, refers to matters of finance and, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, means "The manipulation of funds for (especially unscrupulous or illicit) financial gain; (more generally) exploitation of resources."

Answer: Retiring

It generally means to be forced into an unwanted retirement. It used to be the case that animals who had outlived their usefulness, were allowed to walk around and graze on their own when they were too old, so this is where the phrase comes from. Being 'put out to grass' is also another variation of this same idiom.

Answer: Desperately hungry

It is unknown where this phrase came from, but it could relate to two things. Why a horse is used could relate to the fact that horses are a useful resource and that someone is in desperate need of food, so they will kill it for food. The other could relate to the fact that a horse is big, which would mean you are so hungry you would eat a huge quantity of food. Whichever one it may be, or a combination of the two, the phrase is commonly used in the English language.

Answer: Banjo

It is a very picturesque expression used to mean 'not a good shot with a rifle' or in soccer/footballing terms meaning unable to score a goal or get the shot on target. It is reported to have Irish origins.

Answer: To flatter someone nicely, in hope that you will get special favours/offers in return

The origin of the idiom is said to be an ancient Indian custom of throwing balls of butter at statues of the gods in the hope of seeking favour. I'm not sure quite how that works, but whatever floats your boat... (which is also a common modern expression).

Answer: Dog

Quite why an octopus would have a tail is beyond me... Anyway, this expression comes from the fact that when a dog is happy it wags its tail fast, giving the impression of having two of them. Other alternatives include 'as happy as a pig in mud', or to be 'as happy as Larry'.