The Early Bird Quiz | English

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The host announces,"We have all gathered here to find out the winner of the annual 'Early Bird Competition'. We have with us 15 chirpy participants. Lets see who takes the worm back to nest." The audience clap as the host commences the first round with Rovio. Fill in the blank with the missing word. Empty ______ make the most noise.

Answer: Vessels

This idiom relates to people who talk too much, and most of it is pointless to the subject or meaning. It's usually the unwise ones who talk (i.e. lecture) the most to cover up their own deficiencies and lack of knowledge. This idiom originates from the fact that when we strike a vessel full of water, it makes a dull sound, but when, under the same conditions, an empty vessel is struck, it a loud noise.

With the end of round one we are left with 13 participants, all up to take the crown. Somehow Rovio survives this round

2. Coming to the end of round one, the host commences the next round starting with Master Rovio. Fill in the word missing from the following idiom: A stitch in time saves ____.

Answer: nine

This proverb means that it is always better to solve all the problems then and there than to pile up all the work as to complete it later. This proverb has it's origin to the times when stitching a cloth as soon as it gets torn was considered better than to wait for it to get larger and eventually increase the number of stitches needed to make the repair. Hence, a stitch in time, saves nine.

Phew! A tiresome round it was. But our gallant lad survives with 9 other participants, all eyeing the trophy.

3. This time the host turns a bit jolly. he asks our participants to tell something about their interests. "Master Rovio, Would you like to say something about it?" "Hmm. Hobbies. Who? Me? Aah. Well, I like to...er..cook," Rovio replies. "Well sure, I believe you. All right here we had a lot of chit-chat so let's begin with round three of our quiz. This is a passage round. Here you need to identify the particular idiom or phrase that pertains to the passage. Lets see what you got Master Rovio. Here's the passage on your screen now." 'A new boy joined our school today. He introduced himself well and seated himself comfortably in the last bench. He seemed to be a quiet boy. But after a day he revealed his true colors. He soon joined up with the boys who were literally considered the mafia of the class. Soon he was classified as a new name in the school blacklist.'

Answer: Birds of a feather flock together

It is very interesting to note that people reveal their true colors so fast. Birds of a feather flock together means that the same kind of people like to stay together and they don't usually mix with others. The case here was that the boy was looking for his own kind and as soon as he found it he stayed together with them. No effort of good people can change them as they have a strong union between them.

Long way to go doc, long way to go. So we are now left with 8 participants, all set to play the next round.

4. The host starts, "So lets get warmed up before we start the next round". He calls one of the audience to the dais. "Well sir, what do you think a person who mends shoes is known as?" "Hmm. Plumber?" "Aah. I'm afraid sir but that's the wrong answer. You may please take your seat. All right, the next round is a bit of a tricky one. You will have to identify the idiom from the meaning. Everyone's eyes on your screen now." A person who is loyal and dependable and the one who can be relied upon.

Answer: True blue

This phrase has been supposed to derive from the blue color cloths worn by the people in Coventry, England. The dyers had a status that their clothes didn't fade in color and remained 'Pure' or 'True'. So another derivative of this phrase, 'As true as Coventry blue' is still used in some parts of the country. There are also many other references relating to the origin of this phrase.

Everyone passed. Surprised? Well don't be!

5. So continuing the quiz, the host starts, "Hmm. So Master Rovio, did you revise your grammar before coming?" "Well, yeah definitely." "So let's check it out. Identify the idiom described here." A good or an important piece of advice (or,sarcastically, the opposite of this)

Answer: Pearl of wisdom

This idiom has its origin in Biblical times, but due to its constant usage and repetition its meaning has shifted from what it originally meant to say and is now considered a cliche. Now it is more used to describe advice which was more obvious rather than useful.

We are left with 6 contestants, all very excited to attempt the next question.

6. "Arr! It's Davy Jones's locker for you if you don't answer this 'pirate idiom' correctly. Eh savvy!" "W...who me?" replies the petrified Rovio. "Ah! Yes it's ya." Identify the 'pirate idiom' used to express "sudden shock or surprise".

Answer: Shiver me timbers

The pirate form of 'shake my bones', shiver me timbers or shiver my timbers has been used as a expression of shock or sudden surprise. It gains its origin from the seamen days when waves or cannon shots would hit the deck and shake the ship. Hence the timbers, here is the ship which shakes and causes surprise..

Well, everyone isn't a good pirate. So we are left with 5 participants only!

7. "Well that was enough testing your grammar. I Hope you know that we would test you on other grounds as well?" "Ah..What other grounds?" asks a surprised Rovio. "Hmm. Like maths!" How much is a baker's dozen?

Answer: 13

A baker's dozen is one more than a dozen. It was quite easy for bakers to fool people by giving off puny sized loaves. So to counterattack this problem, King Henry III made a standardized weight for a dozen loaves of bread, and cheating on this was punishable by imprisonment. The bakers added an extra loaf when a customer ordered a dozen so as to prevent imprisonment.

We had 5 and after the end of this round we sum up with 4 best competitors. Rovio's chances of winning are increasing.

4 players qualify for the next round!

8. Clapping. "Well, Well, Well, shall we have another audience round?" "Yeahh!" "Alright. Hmm....Hello sir, would you like to come on stage?" the host continues. "Alright." "Well sir, do you know the meaning of the phrase 'egg on your face'?" "Yeah yeah I know it. It means that somebody threw an egg on your face," the man replies. "Well, that isn't quite right. Let's see what you got Rovio." You can only win this trophy 'over my dead body'.

Answer: I will never let you win this trophy.

Whoa! This definitely didn't mean that you are to cross my literal dead body for winning this trophy. This idiom means that a person will do anything to prevent you from doing something. The person rather claims that he will fight to his last breath to prevent your action which rather gives a bit of the literal meaning of the idiom.

So keep clapping for your three finalists!

9. "We come back to the original format of questions. With this question you will get nearer to your reward." Fill in the missing word: Close but no ______.

Answer: Cigar

In earlier days, cigars were sometimes given out as a trophy in festival games, in fairs, in local competitions, carnivals, etc. Coming close to the trophy or almost winning it, they were given consolation by saying 'Close but no cigar'. Another of its variations, 'Nice try but no cigar' is also used to mean the same.

Well you did great work and with a little help you may make Rovio a winner.

10. "Alright, the winner's name lies in this answer. And here we declare the winner of this competition by filling in the blank." ____ gets the worm.

Answer: The early bird

Of course it's the early bird, our very dear friend Rovio. Well, you were a great help to him.

The early bird (same as our quiz title, co-incidence?) gets the worm is somewhat similar to 'First come, first served'. The early or first few competitors have a bit of advantage over late arrivals. They have a greater chances of success and hence don't need to work very hard comparatively.

Source: Author paa2isback

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

The Early Bird Trivia Quiz

Our friend Rovio has participated in a quiz contest, 'The Winner Takes the Worm', but he is having a hard time as he is a dim-wit little fellow. Help him out answering questions associated with proverbs, idioms and phrases to help him get the reward.

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