Sops, Pops and Stops Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sops

Sops were usually pieces of bread dipped into soup or gravy until they absorbed some of the moisture therein, before being eaten. Not the best form of etiquette today, but considered quite a normal practice once. In medieval times, for example, pieces of broken up bread were even used to soak up wine.

A sop is also a derogatory term for a boy or a man who is considered to be a bit of a weakling - a milksop. It can even be used in the context of bribing someone with a small amount of money (a sop) to carry out, or refrain from carrying out, a particular deed.

Answer: Cops

This insulting term for police officers has been around for at least one hundred years, but as to when and where it originated remains in question. There is one theory that it derives from the title of Chief of Police. Police officers work in a wide range of different areas for the benefit, safety and protection of societies.

Their duties include keeping the peace, law enforcement, traffic monitoring, surveillance, investigations and even into the realm of anti-terrorism. They're an incredibly important part of society, and, in many cases, greatly under-appreciated.

Answer: Fops

A fop was the type of man usually portrayed in those lovely English period dramas seen on the screen from time to time. He dressed impeccably, always the epitome of what the fashionalble young man around town wore, and was perfumed and plumed, and snooty beyond all description.

He also tended to adopt studied poses and spoke in a languid, affected voice. He could be seen flicking a speck of dust off his tailored coat as he minced along the promenade, or elegantly sniffing snuff. In short, he made one long to push him into a very deep and very muddy puddle.

He was also known as a dandy, a popinjay or a coxcomb by infuriated, red-faced older men, and of course, the fop is still with us today. He just goes by another name and another style of fashion instead.

Answer: Lops

Give them the slightest excuse and they'll be out lopping the branches off beautiful gracious trees as if their very lives depended on it. Much like my neighbour in fact. He's an environmental terrorist. He lops and chops and poisons and sprays like a fiend incarnate.

He has removed every tree in his once lovely yard, fights with the neighbours because their leaves blow on his driveway, prunes bushes just as they begin to flower, and has replaced most of his lawn with artificial grass.

Answer: Mops

A mop is a tool for washing floors. It has a long handle with a bunch of fibres or rubber attached to one end. Its purpose is to help absorb water or any spilled product on the floor, and also, when a bit of elbow grease is applied, helps clean same. The use of the term *mop* for this instrument goes back to the fifteenth century, but as to when this device was originally designed, that's anybody's guess.

They're a handy device about which nothing interesting at all can be written apart from this.

Answer: Pops

And it makes a delightfully loud noise when doing so. Pop is a term that can be applied to various instances or commodities. We have soda pops, which are non-alcoholic, fizzy drinks, or ice pops which are frozen flavoured water on sticks. Then of course there are grandfathers or fathers who are sometimes referred to by the term as well. Commonly however, if something has popped, it has burst or suddenly emerged, such as a cork popping out of a bottle, or a balloon popping when it is over-inflated.

Answer: Clops

The sound of a horse clopping along is one of the loveliest and soothing sounds in the world. Well, for those of us with a love of the animal, that is. Clop, clop, clop - such lovely onomatopoeic sounds. It conjures up images of jogging along country lanes on horseback, or riding comfortably in a horse driven buggy at a nice easy going pace.

The steady, clopping sound of a horse's metal hooves on a hard road surface has a truly musical and poetic ring to it.

Answer: Crops

Crops, in this regard, refers to any plant that is grown as a consumption item for members of a society. It can include wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, rye - you name it and it can be grown and harvested. A field full of a healthy wheat crop swaying in the breeze, for example, is a farmer's delight, and a beautiful sight to see.

The word crop can also refer to commodities such as a hair style, or a whip that a jockey uses on his mount during a race, or the gullet of a bird, or any number of other meanings.

It depends in which context it is used as to its interpretation.

Answer: Flops

Once again, this is a word that can be applied to many different situations. A stage flop however is a show that has failed dismally, and one from which audiences stay away in droves. We also use the word to mean suddenly plonking down inelegantly, or to pretend to be knocked to the ground by an opponent in a game such as basketball or soccer. If you ever watch basketballers playing, for example, take note of the way if they're accidentally (or otherwise) knocked to the ground, how they'll make themselves slide further along the floor with their hands, in order to emphasise the foul further.

Answer: Shops

Shopping - a necessary process in the maintenance of a home and family. Shopping has been around, in one form or another, ever since mankind began to live in small communities and barter goods with one another. It's a very broad term for a occupation that many people enjoy, while others of us absolutely detest. Have you seen how many choices there are for a simple box of breakfast cereal? It's a minefield.