Idiomatic Canines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Doggerel

Doggerel is a silly rhyming verse without much literary value. The term was originally used by Geoffrey Chaucer in the 13th or 14th century. Humor is usually the primary goal in constructing such rhymes. The meter may be uneven and the author may stretch words to create rhymes. It often appears in children's books or nursery rhymes.

Answer: Englishmen

This phrase originated during the British colonization of India. In the hot sticky weather natives of India stayed in their homes, but saw the Brits going about their business come what may. The phrase took on a broader meaning, pointing to individuals who appeared to act without much common sense. Noel Coward also wrote a song with this phrase in the lyrics.

Answer: Dinner

This phrase describes someone whose attire makes them overdressed for the occasion -- like an employee wearing a cocktail dress or a tuxedo to the office. The "Oxford English Dictionary" traces it back to 1871 and the expression to "put on the dog."

Answer: Pony

The term dog and pony show refers to a fancy persuasive presentation that pulls out all the stops. It could be in any environment: advertising, politics, business, or education. Think of using multimedia, celebrity endorsers, lots of glitz and energy to get the point across.

The term refers back to a time when small circuses featuring dogs and ponies traveled and performed around the rural United States.

Answer: Falling apart or to disrepair

When something is "going to the dogs" it is going downhill, deteriorating. It could be a once Michelin starred restaurant where the food is disappointing or a prestigious institution which no longer performs at a previously high level. Scholars trace this expression back to the 16th century, a time when refrigerators and freezers did not exist. Food tended to spoil and they would throw it to the dogs rather than serve it to the humans.

Answer: Feet

This expression is often used by folks who walk a lot or have a job which keeps them on their feet all day. Some say it originated in the Appalachian Region of the United States. The creation of the footwear brand "Hush Puppies" may be based on this saying.

The first person to coin the expression was a "New York Evening Journal" writer, T. Dorgan, in 1910. Later on it was used by US servicemen who spent a lot of time on their feet.

Answer: Spitefully holding on to something they don't need

A German printer named Heinrich Steinhowel published a collection of Aesop's Fables in 1484 which included a story about a dog in a pile of hay who would not let the ox eat the hay even though it wasn't anything the dog wanted to eat. The dog was just reveling in being a spoilsport, hence the modern usage.

Answer: Ruthlessly competitive

If a situation becomes so competitive that folks will do anything to succeed, regardless of the impact of their strategy on others, it can be described as "dog eat dog." The term found its way into the title of a 2002 American game show and songs by Ted Nugent, "Weird Al" Yankovic, and Adam and the Ants. Origins for this saying go back to Rome in 43BC when scholar and satirist Marcus Terentius Varro wrote "canis caninam non est" or "a dog does not eat the flesh of a dog."

Answer: Something small is controlling a larger situation

If the "tail is wagging the dog" something trivial is having undue interference with progress. It is like a bride waiting at the altar because her groom couldn't find his boutonniere. The earliest appearance of this phrase was in the 1858 play "Our American Cousin" written by Tom Taylor, a British playwright. It was at a performance of this play that Abraham Lincoln was shot.

Answer: The dog ate my homework

This is an excuse concocted our of a lack of responsibility and desire to blame the most innocent being around. The "Oxford English Dictionary" pegs the first use of this word to a 1929 publication, but includes the speculation that the expression was frequently used before that time.