Pass It On Trivia Quiz

Answer: false

In this case the operative word is buck and refers to the dealer button which is passed from player to player to determine who the dealer of each hand is. The dealer button is very important in games where there are blinds, like Texas Hold'em, because it determines where the action starts and ends.

The origin of the word buck referring to the dealer button and hence the phrase 'pass the buck' is actually quite fascinating. There are two competing and yet intertwined theories. One theory holds that buck meaning dollar came first circa 1856 and was derived from the word buckskin. Buckskins were used as currency in early America in trade between Europeans and Native Americans. From there it entered the poker world as a term for the object that a winner of a jackpot got, usually a knife or pencil, that designated when a new jackpot needed to be made.

The other theory holds that buck in terms of being the designation of the dealer comes from the fact that knives with buck horn hilts were used to designate the dealer. Hence buck horn was shortened to buck. Later on silver dollars were used as the dealer button and therefore the term buck transferred from the dealer button to the dollar and that is how buck came to refer to a dollar.

Of the two options the second one has more general acceptance. No matter which option is true, it is clear that poker, buck, and dollars are all intertwined in history. The idea of 'passing the buck' is clearly traceable to the idea of passing the dealer button between players. The idea of 'passing the buck' meaning passing responsibility on to someone else comes from the beginning of the 20th century. It is in this context that the phrase 'the buck stops here' came into being. The most famous example of this phrase is the sign President Truman kept on his desk in the Oval Office.

Answer: Pass the torch

In ancient Greece there was a torch race in which teams raced as fast as they could while still keeping the torch burning. The winning team was allowed to light the fire on the altar for the sacrifices. Plato mentions this race in "The Republic" Book 1 section 328a. This race was the inspiration for the modern Olympics' use of the passing of the torch first introduced in 1936. The torch race was not, however, a part of the ancient Olympics.

Although the phrase 'pass the torch' is found in both Greek and Latin, its modern English meaning of 'the passing on of responsibility or knowledge' did not come about until the late 1800s.

Answer: Cut the mustard

To pass muster means to meet the required standards. The phrase is derived from the word muster which meant to gather troops. This meaning can be traced back to 1400. Over time it came to mean not only the gathering of troops but the inspection of them also. By the 1570s pass muster meant "to undergo military review without censure." ("Online Etymology Dictionary")

Of these four phrases only 'cut the mustard' is synonymous with 'pass muster'. According to "The Phrase Finder", 'cut the mustard' means 'To succeed; to come up to expectations.' Although the etymology of the phrase is dubious at best, the most likely explanation is a relation to the phrase 'as keen as mustard' which dates back to the 1670s with mustard meaning high enthusiasm and by extension high standards or that to which one would seek to attain. Therefore if you cut the mustard you have reached the standard.

Answer: The Good Samaritan

The phrase comes for the story of the Good Samaritan recorded in Luke 10:29-37. In the story Jesus relates how a man was attacked and left for dead by robbers. Two people, a priest and a Levite, who one would think would stop and help the man instead passed on by on the other side and ignored his need.

The third person, a Samaritan, stopped and helped the man, taking care of his needs. In the time of Jesus, most Jews considered Samaritans to be lesser citizens and with this parable Jesus was showing that it is a person's actions that determine his character, not his lineage, class, or station. From this story the phrase came to be applied to anyone who ignores another person in need.

Answer: Pass the smell test

In this case the best choice would be 'pass the smell test'. This phrase means to check the authenticity or legitimacy of something by cursory examination. The phrase is a relatively new phrase tracing its origins back to 1975. It literally comes from the practice of checking the edibleness of food by smelling it. To fail to pass the smell test means to fail on the lowest possible standards. In most cases it is used in a negative way such as, 'her idea does not pass the smell test'.

Although 'pass with flying colors' is synonymous with 'passing the smell test', it would not fit the phrase 'the use of the olfactory sense to determine authenticity'. The other two phrases have no relation to the answer.

Answer: Cul de sac

The Voltaire connection comes from the "Online Etymology Dictionary" and the dead end referenced would be a cul de sac. Cul de sac or cul-de-sac in French literally means 'bottom of the bag'. The question that naturally comes to my mind is 'why would you need a euphemism for the word cul-de-sac, what is so terrible about it?' In Voltaire's day he considered the word to be indecent or undignified.

The word impasse existed before Voltaire but was rarely used as is evidenced in his "Philosophical Dictionary" according to the French "Wicktionary". Voltaire's usage of impasse dates from 1761.

The English usage dates from 1851. Because of Voltaire's influence the word cul-de-sac is rarely used in French but is much more common in English. The word impasse is common to both.

Answer: Confucius

Confucius is an Eastern philosopher, not a Western one. The other three are all Western and variously cited as the source of the phrase. The most common attribution is to the medieval Persian Sufi poets, Attar of Nishapur chief among them. Jewish folklore attributes it to Solomon but this seems more dubious because the phrase is not found in the Tanakh. It would seem plausible that it was later attributed to Solomon but did not originate with him because he is considered the wisest man to ever live in Jewish tradition. Turkish folklore is also replete with references to the phrase but this too could have first come from the Sufi poets and been assimilated into Turkish folklore.

The phrase was very popular at the beginning of the 19th century with English poet Edward Fitzgerald being one of the chief sources of the phrase and the legend of its creation although it had appeared in American newspapers before that. Fitzgerald's version was even used by Abraham Lincoln in a speech before he became president. That version seems to have been an amalgamation of all of the different sources with an Eastern king asking Solomon for a saying that would be true in good times and bad. Other versions just have a king asking his wisemen for such a saying. Considering what America was about to go through with the Civil War, one has to wonder how much of an impact the idea had on Lincoln and what role it played in sustaining his resolve to see America through the travails of the great conflagration.

Answer: Pass away or passed away

In attempting to determine the etymology of pass away or passed away, it became clear there was no clear-cut answer. The word die itself comes from roots in either Old Danish, Old Norse, or Old Saxon that trace to the mid 12th century and that all can mean to pass away. It would therefore appear that the modern use of the term pass away to refer to death or dying is actually a return to the roots of the word die.

There are many different euphemisms used in place of death besides passed away. These include bite the dust, take a dirt nap, buy the farm, give up the ghost, cash in, kick the bucket, and pass on, among many others.

It is interesting to note that the term pass away is used throughout various English translations of the New Testament to describe the end of this world or of life in this world. It is particularly well known in the Gospels, especially in relation to Jesus saying, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Matt. 24:35, Mark 13:31, Luke 21:33).

Answer: False

'Pass the hat' actually comes from the practice of using a hat to collect donations from a small group and can be traced back to 1762. The best example would be street entertainers or minstrels passing a hat to collect donations or tips from a crowd. It has broadened out to apply to any solicitation for donations.

The term hat trick may have originally meant that a cricket player who took three wickets on three consecutive deliveries was entitled to pass the hat to collect cash ("Online Etymology Dictionary").

Answer: Pass down

Pass up, pass over, and bypass all are synonymous whereas pass down is not. To pass up means to decline or refuse. To pass over means to reject or disregard. To bypass means to ignore or avoid. In all of these there is an element of ignoring or disregarding.

Another word that can be synonymous with these three is pass on, which in that context would mean to disregard or overlook. But pass on can also mean to give to another and in that context it would be synonymous with pass down. Pass down is usually used in context with a will or with giving from one generation to the next but is not necessarily limited to this scope. Pass on is more broad and just means to give independent of who or why it is being given.