Mean What You Say Trivia Quiz

Answer: adding insult to injury

This expression refers to adding further harm, for example, making a condescending apology to someone one has wronged. It can also mean someone who does not apologize after insulting a person.

Answer: armed to the teeth

Pirates were known to carry a weapon in each hand, as well as carry a knife between their teeth as they went into a fight.

Answer: neat and tidy

There are two possible meanings to this expression. One being that there used to be an expression "alpha beta order" which correlated to the Greek alphabet of alpha being A and beta being B. This saying meant all was in alphabetical order. The other meaning, as we know it better today, was to have things neat and tidy.

This saying comes from the New England procedure of cutting up apple slices evenly and laying them in the pie in an orderly fashion.

Answer: behind the "eight" ball

This one was probably easy to guess. In the game of rotation pool if you should get the eight ball blocking your ball you would have a slim chance of winning as you can't pocket the eight ball. So to get behind the eight ball means you have lost ground, or it looks like you just aren't going to win, no matter how much you try.

Answer: burn the candle at both ends

There is a story about a French teacher who needed more light and got some by lighting his candles at both ends. However, he went through twice as many candles using this method. Today the expression of "burning the candle at both ends" can mean working harder than is necessary, and when you think about it, by burning light longer a person could work longer. And so, a gain is made by ultimately at a loss.

Answer: False

Getting cold feet refers to being unable to do something, usually out of fear. This phrase goes back to 19th century soldiers who sometimes got frozen feet and could no longer fight. It is thought some soldiers complained of this ailment to get out of fighting.

Answer: to cut a caper

If someone if said to cut a caper, then they are acting up in a unexpected manner, that may or may not evoke laughter. "Caper" is derived from "capra" ("goat" in Latin), and goats can sometimes suddenly act up and do silly movements.

Answer: Sirius

"Dog days" are from July 3 to August 10, which can be fairly hot in many parts of the world. An old wive's tale is that this is the time when dogs can become rabid (due to the heat?) but it actually refers to when Sirius, the "dog star", can be more clearly seen in the morning just prior to sunrise.

Answer: True

"Umbles" were the liver and other organs of a deer, and were the parts given to the servants after the lord of the manor had taken the best parts for his use. So the servants would try to make these less than desirable parts more appetizing by baking them into a pie. To eat 'umble pie then is to have to take part in something that is unappealing but necessary. Swallowing your pride is what most people associate with this saying.

Answer: fits to a T

A T-square aides architects and artists in drawing accurate, or perfect lines. If something is noticeably perfect it is probably due to the fact that it was done with precision and accuracy, alluding to how a T-square can render perfection.