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Quiz about Idioms Referring To Animal Names

Idioms Referring To Animal Names Quiz

Animals are our closest of kin on the Planet Earth. Surprising how often we refer to them in everyday language. Just check for yourself.

A multiple-choice quiz by flem-ish. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
flem-ish

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
105,248

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
7062

Last 3 plays: wjames (9/10), 4228 (9/10), Guest 78 (9/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. When your eyesight is getting awfully weak, you have become as blind as a _________ Hint

mole

bat

rat

hedge-hog

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Question 2 of 10

2. What animal are you like when you are in a bad temper? Hint

like a dog with a sore tooth

like a bear with a sore head

like a cat with a sore tail

like a donkey with a sore leg

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. What animal are you said to be like when you behave rudely and roughly, and cause uproar and damage? Hint

like a bull in a china shop

like a Tasmanian devil in a kitchen garden

like an elephant in a pottery shop

like a mule in a glazier's shop

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. What life do you lead with your partner when you are always quarreling with each other? Hint

a cat-and-dog life

a cock-and-bull life

a horse-and-bull life

a hen-and-cock life

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. What sort of animal are you , when you begrudge others what you cannot use yourself? Hint

a Yorkshire terrier

the cock of the hen-house

a dog in the manger

a Cheshire cat

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. What do you "make" when you fail to score in cricket? Hint

a mad ox

a chicken

a duck

a sparrow

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Question 7 of 10

7. What kind of work needs no skill? Hint

a dog's job

parrot-work

donkey-work

a cat's job

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Question 8 of 10

8. What do you cook when you spoil your chances? Hint

your goose

your quail

your beef

your fish

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. What is meant by a "mare's nest"? Hint

an box stall in a stable

a falsified alibi

a lovers' nest

an illusory finding

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. How dead can a creature be ( apart from: as dead as a doornail..):
as dead as __________________? Hint

mutton

pork

beef

veal

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Most Recent Scores

Dec 10 2024 : wjames: 9/10
Dec 09 2024 : 4228: 9/10
Dec 01 2024 : Guest 78: 9/10
Nov 05 2024 : Fiona112233: 8/10
Oct 23 2024 : moonraker2: 9/10

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. When your eyesight is getting awfully weak, you have become as blind as a _________

Answer: bat

Rats are certainly not blind. Moles may be near-blind in their underground residences, and in some languages "blind as a mole" is a common idiom, but not in English. Hedge-hogs may not be the most far-sighted among animals, but to call them blind would be an error.

2. What animal are you like when you are in a bad temper?

Answer: like a bear with a sore head

Why bears are particularly susceptible to "headaches" is not very clear
and in some languages it is "toothache" that causes the bad temper. E.g. in Dutch : to laugh like a peasant with a sore tooth. Means: to have to laugh at one's own expense.

3. What animal are you said to be like when you behave rudely and roughly, and cause uproar and damage?

Answer: like a bull in a china shop

China shops play a role in other idioms too. Dutch has a proverb: "Caution
is the mother of the china shop".

4. What life do you lead with your partner when you are always quarreling with each other?

Answer: a cat-and-dog life

Cats and dogs are reputed not to get on well, though there seem to be exceptions. A cock-and-bull story is an incredible tale.

5. What sort of animal are you , when you begrudge others what you cannot use yourself?

Answer: a dog in the manger

"The Dog in the Manger" is a well-known story attributed to Aesop. See Wikipedia.
When you grin fixedly and broadly, you grin like a Cheshire cat.
Cheshire cheese is a crumbly cheese of a type originally made in Cheshire.
No links with "cheese-smile", "cheese" being the word you have to notionally pronounce so that your lips adopt the position of a smile.

6. What do you "make" when you fail to score in cricket?

Answer: a duck

Originally it was "a duck's egg" , which is 0 or nought.

7. What kind of work needs no skill?

Answer: donkey-work

A dog's life would be a "life of constant harassment or drudgery".
A parrot might be a person who mindlessly and mechanically repeats the words or actions of another. Parrot's work is in some languages the sort of studywork that does not involve much reasoning. Just memory work.
As a cat is a very skilful animal, a cat's job might be the sort of job a cat-burglar carries out: entering a house from the roof or from an upper floor.

8. What do you cook when you spoil your chances?

Answer: your goose

There is nothing wrong with cooking beef, fish or quail, - as long as you don't "boil" them as some cooks might say. Whether Dan Quayle cooked his goose is an altogether different pair of shoes.

9. What is meant by a "mare's nest"?

Answer: an illusory finding

In the phrasing of the "Shorter Oxford's Dictionary" a 'mare's nest' is a (wonderful) discovery which proves or will prove to be illusory. The phrase can also be used in the meaning of : "an unfounded susp�cion".

10. How dead can a creature be ( apart from: as dead as a doornail..): as dead as __________________?

Answer: mutton

All these English "food terms" have their origins in Norman-French. Mouton,boeuf,porc,veau. They are the sort of meat you get from: sheep, cows, pigs or calves.
It was the poor Anglo-Saxon peasant who had to kill his "animals" to get the meat on to the tables of his masters the "Anglo-French" conquerors.

Source: Author flem-ish

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor coolupway before going online.
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