Don't Be Such an Idiom! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Joe

There are two different possible explanations for this American idiom for coffee. The first has the origin from a person, Josephus Daniels. In June of 1914, he banned all U.S. Navy Ships from carrying any alcoholic beverages, so the sailors had to resort to the next best drink, coffee. Since he was the cause of them having to drink coffee instead, the sailors called it a Cup of Joe, named after him, Joe being short for Josephus.

The second explanation comes from the fact that the word 'joe' can also mean an ordinary man.

For example, you might have heard somebody say, "I'm just your average joe." Since coffee is a common drink for common people, it could be considered a drink for your average joe, thus creating the phrase "A Cup of Joe".

Answer: French

"Pardon my French" or "Excuse my French" is a common idiom to apologize for swearing or cussing. A possible origin of the phrase is that in the 19th century, English speakers would often apologize after using a French word or phrase because many people would not know what it meant.

It was considered rude to speak a French word, so that was why people apologized. Since cussing is also rude, the meaning eventually evolved into "Excuse my cussing". In writing, "Pardon my French" or "Excuse my French", would be written in parenthesis after the French word or swear word.

Answer: 86

86, often written as Eighty-Six or Eight-Six, means to throw away or eject, usually from a public place like a restaurant. It can also mean to take an item off the menu of a restaurant, generally if the restaurant has run out of that item, or to refuse service for a customer of the restaurant.

The origin is unclear, although one explanation comes from the bar Chumley's in the West Village of Lower Manhattan, on 86 Bedford Street. Written by Jef Klein, the book "The History and Stories of the Best Bars of New York" says that the police would ask the bartender to "86" his customers, or send them out the 86 Bedford Door.

The origin of the meaning that an item is off the menu is unknown.

Answer: Greek

If someone says, "It's all Greek to me," that means that they don't understand the words that are being said. It most likely originated from a Medieval Latin proverb, "Graecum est; non potest legi", meaning, "It is Greek, it cannot be read". The Elizabethan playwright Thomas Dekker said, "I'll be sworn he knows not so much as one character of the tongue. Why, then it's Greek to him".

The next year, William Shakespeare, in "Julius Caesar", the quote, "Those that understood him smiled at one another and shook their heads; but for mine own part, it was Greek to me," was mentioned. Shakespeare is usually credited with the origin of the idiom.

Answer: New York

The idiom "New York minute" was possibly coined by a visitor to New York City. Due to the fast-paced life of New York City, a visitor coined the term and spread it around. Since New York City is the most populated city of the United States of America, time seems to pass the quickest there, so that was the origin of a New York minute.

The phrase is rarely mentioned inside New York City, and more often mentioned in other places in the United States, like other idioms and sayings involving places.

Answer: Leg

If you are pulling someone's leg, you are tricking or fooling them. A possible origin of this idiom came from trapping criminals in London, where tripwires would be set up to pull somebody's leg and hang them. It was often humorous for the catchers, and the tripwires would fool people easily. That created the origin of "pulling your leg".

Answer: Southpaw

A southpaw is somebody who is left-handed, especially in boxing and baseball. A probable origin of this term came from baseball batters. Home plate was built to face to the east so the sun would not be in the batter's eyes in the late afternoon. When the pitcher would throw the ball, the baseball would come up on the batter's south side, thus creating the term "southpaw".

Many people believe that Finley Peter Dunne coined the term.

Answer: Mile

To go the extra mile means to do extra work. A possible explanation says that the origin came from "Sermon on the Mount", where, in Matthew 5:41, it says "If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." Since you would be going one more mile than needed and doing more work than needed, this created the origin of the idiom.

However, some experts say that the origin was actually a misinterpretation of the line. These words were regarding the Roman Impressment Law for Jews. If a Roman officer passed a Jew, the officer could order the Jew to carry his bag for one mile.

However, if the Jew, with Jesus, walked another mile without giving the pack back, the officer would be pleading for it back or else he would get in trouble.

Answer: Apple

If somebody is the apple of your eye, then you love and cherish them, or perhaps you just have a crush on that person. The phrase was mentioned several times in the Bible, "the apple of thine eye". It was also mentioned in an Old English work of King Alfred the Great of Wessex. Also, the idiom was used when William Shakespeare wrote "A Midsummer Night's Dream". "Flower of this purple dye, hit with Cupid's archery, sink an apple in his eye."

Answer: Hay

If you hit the hay, it means you are going to sleep. The origin of this phrase that most people believe is simple and well-known. Mattresses used to be just made of hay, or sometimes sacks stuffed with hay, so when someone would go to sleep, they would sleep on the hay, or the sack stuffed with the hay.

This was the origin of the very popular idiom, "hit the hay". To "hit the sack" means the same thing, although it is not as well-known as "hit the hay".