Can You Rephrase That? - Part Deux Quiz

Answer: the book of Job in the Bible

Job, in response to charges made by his "friend", Bildad, listed some of his troubles. In conclusion, he stated that he had barely escaped with his own life. Instead of making a bare statement, however, he used the poetic spirit of the ancient East to make his point.
In Job 19:20, the Geneva Bible translated it this way, "I have escaped with the skinne of my tethe."
King James editors retained the phrase and although many people protested that skin have no teeth, Bible reading had become so prolific that the phrase was too well established to alter it.

Answer: island product

Diabetes problems go back for centuries, but it wasn't until 1789 that an English physician guessed that the root of the problem lay in a tongue-shaped gland near the middle of the abdomen. No one had any understanding of the pancreas, and about all that could be determined was that clumps of cells were scattered about it like tiny islands on a sea.

In 1922, F.G. Banting discovered that the "islands" secreted a strange fluid. He wasn't sure of what he had discovered, but named the substance "island product" or "insulin."

Answer: Near East herdsmen

Ancient herdsmen of the Near East, as well as perhaps those from regions of Spain, found an excellent way to store liquids. By using the whole skin of a goat, they could fashion a container that, when sewn, could have one leg remaining open to serve as a spigot. The ancient Romans and Greeks soon adopted this new type of storage gear and the technology spread throughout Europe and Asia.
The thick hide, or "bota", from which it was fashioned lent itself to becoming today's modern "bottle."

Answer: military formations of the eighteenth century

In the eighteenth century, military leaders decided to tighten their formations. As a practical way of ensuring this was accomplished, each soldier had to be able to swing his elbows while marching and thus touch the soldier to his right and to his left.

Whenever there was a gap in the line, that meant that someone was literally, "out of touch". Civilians adopted the term to mean any situation in which a person lost contact.

Answer: it is from an old Scottish word meaning yoke

A "joug" was a yoke or a pillory for the head, used by Scottish lairds to punish criminals publicly. Rock houses of detention became known as stone jougs and, as is common, the spelling was modified to the now-familiar "jug".

Answer: railroad engineering

As the American nation rapidly expanded westward, so did the railroads. Hasty and sometimes careless engineering left doubt in the trainmen's minds as to whether their iron horses could pull grades that were challenging to the engines. They were always elated when they were successful in reaching the top of a difficult pull. Today, any person who wins against the odds is said to have "made the grade."

Answer: people trained their hounds with the smoke-cured fish

Herring was a staple in the diet of many European nations. It was so plentiful that many different ways of curing it were devised, among them salting, sun-drying and smoking. Salted and sun-dried herring would turn black, while smoked herring turned a reddish color. Sailors would carry it on long voyages, and landsmen were commonly thought to have found another novel use for it.

The story goes that when hunting for foxes, they would train their dogs by dragging the red herring across the ground to train them to track the scent of the pungent fish.

When a hound was diverted from the scent of a fox later, it was said to be following a "red herring". This made its way into everyday speech, inferring that any false or misleading information could serve the purpose of distracting a person from the truth.

Answer: Polynesian islanders

Early explorers in the South Seas of the Pacific regions were familiar with the concept of holy or forbidden objects. They were, however, unaccustomed to the extent that the Polynesian peoples forbade them to enter, touch or even look upon certain things. It seems that everywhere they went, a priest was shouting "Tabu! Tabu!" (Forbidden! Forbidden!)
Whether spelled in its native Tonga form or in the more westernized "Taboo", this word has gained universal recognition as representing anything that is to be avoided.

Answer: it was a term meaning to restore

An innovation in business in France, a "restaurer" was from a common French term meaning "to restore". English travelers were impressed with the name because it sounded so 'continental', and took the word back home with them. The spelling remained the same for some time, but eventually was changed to the restaurant that we are familiar with today.

It now is applied to all types of establishments where food is served, whether they are upscale dining experiences, or simply a greasy joint that specializes in heartburn.

Answer: King Charles the First

London was at one time a great place for criminal types and thugs to hang out in. In 1640, Charles the First became alarmed at the situation and ordered the police to crack down on these unsavory characters. The thugs and slugs derisively nicknamed members of this police force as "Charley's Man" or "Charley". Since the police were often on foot, they began to develop muscle cramps in their legs. Later, in America, baseball athletes began suffering similar symptoms and, since American lawbreakers had already introduced the term "Charley" to the lexicon, the ball players were said to be tired from riding "Charley's horse." This was one small step from becoming what we today call a "charley-horse."