Kick Up Your Heels for Cliches Quiz

Answer: Keeping Up with the Joneses

"Keeping Up with the Joneses" was the title of a comic strip that ran in a number of United States newspapers for around eighteen years--from 1913 to 1931. The artist who created the strip, Arthur R. "Pop" Momand, was supposedly inspired by his own experiences as a newly married young man making $125 a week and living in Cedarhurst, New York. He originally intended to name the strip "Keeping Up with the Smiths" but changed the neighbors' names to "the Joneses" because he liked the sound of that name better. The title of the strip soon became an idiom used by Americans to describe trying to live in the style of one's neighbors, peers, or acquaintances, usually with the implication that the effort is straining or exceeding one's financial or social resources.

Some propose that the idiom's origin lies with Mark Twain, who wrote a description of a family of Joneses who went to a play and praised it because the Smith family had done the same. Although Mark Twain wrote about the Smiths and Joneses in an essay called "Corn Pone Opinions" in 1901, he didn't publish this essay until after Momand began publishing his comic strip. Others argue that the expression owes its origin to a real-life wealthy Jones family related to Edith Wharton. In the 1800s, this prominent New York family built a country villa that other families, including the Astors, began imitating if not trying to surpass.

Answer: Mr. Farbarker was already familiar with the tasks involved with being a manager of this company.

To "know the ropes" is to be familiar with the details of a task or situation, usually because of one's personal experiences. The expression is believed to have come from the occupation of sailing. Old sailing ships had a vast number of ropes to control their sails, and a crewman could not be very effective without a thorough knowledge of which rope performed which function.

The first appearance in print seems to have been in Richard Henry Dana's "Two Years before the Mast" published in 1840. There one finds the following words: "The captain, who . . . 'knew the ropes,' took the steering oar".

However, some scholars argue that the cliché's origins could lie in the world of theater; stage hands would often have to raise and lower various curtains, machinery, and actors by maneuvering various ropes.

Answer: the parable of the Prodigal Son

To "kill the fatted calf" is to prepare for a celebration or feast, often as a result of a long awaited homecoming. The phrase comes from the parable told by Jesus of the prodigal son. According to the story, one of a man's two sons took his inheritance early and "took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living" while the other son remained loyal, stayed at home, and continued to help his father.

When the departed son returned, repentant, the father said to his servants: "'Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.' And they began to be merry" (Luke 15:11-32, King James Version).

Answer: kit and caboodle

Usually, the person using this expression precedes it with the word "whole", as in "the whole kit and caboodle". "Kit" is a time-honored word with many meanings, one of which is a collection of tools or possessions that a person might carry around. The expression "the whole kit" was in use by 1785.

When the term "caboodle" was added is uncertain, and it is essentially a nonsense word, perhaps evolving from the use of the word "boodle" and a desire to create an alliterative effect. The expression "kit and boodle" was once an expression until "kit and caboodle" became more popular. "Boodle" may be a derivative of the Dutch "boedel", which refers to a possession or a crowd of people.

The expression "the whole boodle" was also in existence in the early 1800s.

In the final assessment, "the whole kit" and "the whole boodle" were probably at some point joined into one phrase, and then "boodle" became "caboodle".

Answer: keep your shirt on

"Keep your shirt on" means to practice self-control and not to allow oneself to become riled or angry, at least not at the moment. In the past, some men would take off their shirts, particularly starched ones, when they were about to become involved in a brawl or duel so that they might have greater arm freedom.

More than likely, this idiom was a result of this practice. The earliest occurrence of this expression in print was in 1854 when George W. Harris wrote the following in "The Spirit of the Times": "I say, you durned ash cats, just keep yer shirts on, will ye?"

Answer: He knew the source of his benefits and was acting in his own self-interest.

A person who "knows what side his bread is buttered on" is someone who wisely keeps in mind where his interests lie; he or she is very much aware of the source of his or her benefits and is not going to do anything to jeopardize the continued reception of those benefits. Generally speaking, the side of the toast that has been buttered is the tastier side and, thus, the more preferable one.

In other words, if presented the choice of a buttered side of toast and an unbuttered side of toast, the person is more likely to choose the buttered side. By extension, if someone has a choice between receiving a benefit or not receiving a benefit, he or she is going to choose the option with a benefit, sometimes even if that choice means not being completely ethical, just, or honorable.

The expression appears in John Heywood's "Proverbs", which was published in 1546; therefore, it must have existed quite some time before that date.

Answer: the pot

To "keep the pot boiling" is to maintain whatever it is you are doing at an energetic pace. This could mean sustaining your effort during a game you are playing, a task you are performing, or the work you are doing to earn an income. The earliest recording of this expression occurs in 1657 when Peter Heylin wrote, "So poor, that it is hardly able to keep the Pot boiling for the Parsons Dinner".

Here, a reader can see that the meaning of the expression seems to lie somewhere between both a literal and a figurative meaning. Perhaps, the origin of the expression has to do with the fact that if you don't keep the pot of food boiling, you are not going to be able to eat and thus not going to be able to survive. Of course, when water boils, it moves at a rolling, quick pace.

Answer: kill

To "kill two birds with one stone" is to achieve two objectives with a single effort. The image created by the phrase is truly effective, for to sling a stone and hit not only one bird but two would be remarkable if not miraculous. Imagine the benefits of being able to accomplish such a feat. Ovid, from the first century B.C., had a similar expression in Latin, and other phrases like it were being used in English and French literature by the 1500s. Thomas Hobbes used the modern version in 1656: "T. H. thinks to kill two birds with one stone, and satisfy two arguments with one answer".

Answer: keep a stiff upper lip

To "keep a stiff upper lip" is to maintain one's courage during an adverse situation without allowing others to see any emotion one might be feeling. The cliche arises from the fact that a quivering or trembling upper lip often precedes an act of crying, and it is offered as a piece of advice to others that they maintain their decorum and stay firm despite whatever painful or tragic circumstances may be occurring.

In 1833, John Neal wrote in "Down Easters": "What's the use of boohooin'? . . . Keep a stiff upper lip; no bones broke--don't I know?"

Answer: The beam from which slaughtered animals were hung was called a "bucket".

The most widely accepted explanation of how "kick the bucket" came to mean "to die" is that during England's past a beam or yoke from which an animal, usually a pig, was hung to be slaughtered was called a "bucket". The animal would be hung by its heels and would often kick wildly and invariably kick the bucket in a desperate attempt to fight for its life. Some, however, argue that the source of the expression is a particular method of suicide.

The argument is that some individuals would stand on a bucket while tying a noose to a beam or branch and then kick the bucket out from under themselves to die by hanging.

In response to this theory, many scholars argue that there is no evidence to suggest that standing on a bucket was any more preferable to standing on any other item when one was attempting to hang him or herself. Why not "kick the chair" or "kick the bench"? Instead, there is evidence of certain sections of England in which part of an instrument used for the slaughtering of animals was called a "bucket".