Tried and True Cliches Trivia Quiz

Answer: traveling through wooded country

Originally, the expression existed as "through thicket and thin wood", and it evolved from a time when England was mostly an island covered with woods and few roads. Travelers, particularly those on horseback, would have to be determined to arrive at their destinations if they were to ride through not only the grassy pockets of land with sparse trees but the thickly wooded areas as well.

The phrase occurs in the "Exeter Book", which dates from the late tenth century and is one of the few remaining texts written in Old English. Chaucer later refers to the phrase in "The Reeve's Tale" from his "Canterbury Tales" from around 1386: "And whan the hors was laus, he gynneth gon / Toward the fen, ther wilde mares renne, / And forth with 'wehee,' thurgh thikke and thurgh thenne" [And when the horse was loose, he begins to go / Toward the fen, where wild mares run / And forth with whinny, through thick and through thin]". Edmund Spenser also uses the phrase in his "Faerie Queene" in 1590: "Through thicke and thin, both over banck and bush".

These texts plainly demonstrate the literal references to horses traveling through the woods.

Answer: He wanted to talk frankly and seriously and settle the deal.

To "talk turkey" is to speak plainly, honestly, seriously, and with due regard for the person to whom you are speaking. The expression has, however, evolved to mean this as early American writings suggest that to "talk turkey" originally meant to speak pleasantly. How "talk turkey" came to mean any of these manners of speaking is not known.

The use of the expression to refer to pleasant and agreeable diction is assumed to have been derived from the practice of early American families talking pleasantly to one another around the dinner table while usually eating turkey, a fowl readily available in the wilderness in which they lived.

In other words, the use of "turkey" in the expression served as a metaphor for "family conversation". However, a shift in the meaning of the expression occurred, and it came to mean to talk in a serious and straightforward manner appropriate for handling business. One argument is that American settlers frequently bartered with Native Americans for the turkeys they enjoyed eating and that one particular tribe of Native Americans may have begun asking of an American who entered their camp, "You have come to talk turkey?" meaning "You have come to do business concerning the purchase of a turkey?" Another argument stems from a tale about a hunting trip involving a white man and a Native American.

After hunting for some while and killing several crows (another version uses buzzards) and turkeys, they decided to divide their catch. The white man, being devious, said, "I'll take the turkeys, and you can take the crows, or, if you like, you can have all the crows, and I'll settle for the turkeys". The Native American is then said to reply, in stereotyping fashion, "Ugh! You no talk turkey to me". Another version has it that the Native American said, "All time you talk turkey. Now I talk turkey to you!" There is no evidence to support that this tale is based on any event that ever truly happened or that the change in the expression's meaning is a direct result of the influence of this tale. In fact, it seems like a joke that relies on a pun created from an expression already in use. Nevertheless, one can see in this nineteenth-century story the connection between "talk turkey" and doing serious business.

Answer: He didn't believe Richard.

"Tell it to the marines" is a scornful way of saying to someone that you find his or her story or explanation to be highly unlikely or unbelievable. Many people wrongfully believe the expression to be an American one--one that is a reference to the United States Marine Corp and perhaps originating during events from World War I or World War II.

However, the statement's origin is from Great Britain and from an earlier time, most likely the late 1600s. The first English marines were The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, formed in 1664 during the reign of King Charles II.

These men were mostly all new recruits and were considered inexperienced, naive, and inept by many and most particularly by the seasoned sailors of the British Navy.

The idea behind the expression is that one could tell any kind of story to the marines and they would believe it whereas the sailors would not. In fact, the original expression seems to have been a longer one referencing both the marines and the sailors.

In Lord Byron's 1824 publication of the "The Island", he wrote a footnote explaining, "'That will do for the marines, but the sailors won't believe it,' is an old saying". Likewise, during that same year, Sir Walter Scott wrote in his "Redgauntlet", "Tell that to the marines--the sailors won't believe it."

Answer: "Don Quixote" by Cervantes

Cervantes' wonderful character Don Quixote is, of course, known for tilting, or jousting, with windmills. In a translation of the 1605 publication of Volume One, Cervantes writes: "At this point they came in sight of thirty or forty windmills . . . and as soon as Don Quixote saw them he said to his squire, 'Fortune is arranging matters for us better than we could have shaped our desires ourselves, for look there, friend Sancho Panza, where thirty or more monstrous giants present themselves, all of whom I mean to engage in battle and slay, and with whose spoils we shall begin to make our fortunes; for . . . it is God's good service to sweep so evil a breed off the face of the earth'". Sancho, in typical fashion, then advises Quixote to "take care" as what he seeks to engage in battle are "not giants but windmills".

Answer: the tub

To "thump the tub" or to be accused of "tub-thumping" or of being a "tub-thumper" is to be accused of excessive and aggressive promotion of one's ideas, by vocal as well as other means. The expression was originally used to refer to preachers. During the 1600s, the pulpits of nonconformist ministers (dissenting clergy who separated themselves from the Church of England) were referred to as "tubs". "Thumping" referred to the hitting of the pulpit or tub with one's fist while one was delivering a fiery and passionate sermon. Thus, preachers came to be called "tub-thumpers". By 1662, one can see that the expression had evolved to refer to more than just preachers.

In "The History of the Wicked Plots and Conspiracies of Our Pretended Saints", Henry Foulis writes, "Tub-Thumpers . . . a sort of people more antick in their Devotions than Don Buscos Fencing-Master". "Antick" refers here to "wild action meant to draw attention".

Answer: An obstruction in a game of bowls

"There's the rub" is a cliche meaning, "That's exactly what the problem is" or "That's precisely where the difficulty lies". Hamlet is trying to say that killing himself will allow him peace because he will be asleep and will dream, but then, on second thought, he realizes the dreaming may be the problem, for there's no guarantee that his dreams will be pleasant ones. He goes on to explain, to himself, that the reason we human beings stay alive to suffer through life as we do is that we are uncertain of what comes after this life.

Considering that "the rub" refers to "the problem", one can more easily understand the answer--"an obstruction in a game of bowls". At one time, anything that interfered with the ball in a game of bowls was referred to as a "rub". One can see the term being playfully used in Raphael Holinshead's "Chronicle of Ireland": "Whereby it appeareth how dangerous it is to be a rub, when a king is disposed to sweepe an alleie [alley]". The pun on the word "alley" demonstrates the connection between the word "rub" and the game of bowling.

Answer: tat

"Tit for tat" refers to returning an action that is equal to the one you received from another. Usually, the phrase is used to suggest retaliation; one returns a blow for a blow or an injury for an injury. The original wording was "tip for tap" as tips and taps were names for particular types of hits or blows.

In a poem written by Charles, Duke of Orleans and published around 1466, one finds this line: "Strokis grete, not tippe nor tapp". In other words, hit with a heavy or grand stroke, not a weak one. Gradually, for whatever reasons (spelling and pronunciation errors most likely), the p's were replaced by t's, and a reader of historical texts can find various combinations--tip for tap, tit for tap, tip for tat, and tit for tat. Of interest is the fact that "tit" once had a meaning of "a tug or jerk".

This, too, may have had some influence on the switch from "tip" to "tit", and perhaps "tap" simply followed for consistency's sake. By 1556, one may read in John Heywood's "The Spider and the Flie, "That is tit for tat in this altricacion [altercation]".

Answer: ropes that hold sails in place

The word "sheet" in the expression "three sheets to the wind" does not refer to the sails themselves as many people mistakenly believe but rather to the ropes whose particular purpose it is to hold the sails in place. A sheet is attached to the lower corner of a sail, and if the sheet is slack or loose, it is said to be "in the wind". If several sheets are in the wind, then the sails flap about uncontrollably and the ship moves erratically across the surface of the ocean.

The ship's motions may appear to be the motions of a drunkard.

The earliest recording of the phrase in print appears to be found in Pierce Egan's 1821 publication "Real Life in London": "Old Wax and Bristles is about three sheets in the wind".

Answer: true blue

While many have used the cliche "true blue" to describe someone as genuinely and wholeheartedly faithful, the phrase has just as often been used to describe a loyal adherent to a particular group. In fact, this tendency would lead many to believe that the origin of the phrase must be one of these groups from the past. For instance, in the seventeenth century, "true blue" was used to refer to Scottish Covenanters, Presbyterians who wore blue as their badge. Samuel Butler wrote in his lengthy poem "Hudibras", "For his Religion it was Fit / To match his learning and his Wit; / 'Twas Presbyterian true blue".

However, many other groups have used the phrase; the Whig party during the 1600s also used the phrase to refer to its members, as did the Tories at a later time because blue was the official color of the Conservatives. Furthermore, members of varsity teams at Oxford and Cambridge universities have also used the expression to refer to their loyal teammates. Nevertheless, it would appear that the phrase was spawned much earlier than its use by any of these groups. During the Middle Ages, the English town of Coventry was known for its production of a blue thread that was valued greatly because of its tendency to hold fast its blue dye.

Other threads were less valued as they were not "true blue". In 1670, John Ray explained, "Coventry had formerly the reputation for dying of blues; insomuch that true blue became a Proverb to signifie one that was always the same and like himself".

Answer: the literal poking of one's tongue into a cheek to designate that you are not serious

Most people wonder how the expression "tongue in cheek" was coined, especially after they try talking with their tongues literally in one of their cheeks. It doesn't make much sense that the mumbled, mispronounced words resulting from this action could come to represent speaking ironically or facetiously.

In reality, the expression comes from a much older practice of poking the tip of one's tongue into a cheek AFTER one has finished talking. In the past, individuals would do this to signify to others that they did not truly or literally mean what they were saying, much as today some people will wink during or after their saying something in order to provide a clue that they are not being serious.

In 1845, Richard Barham wrote in "The Ingoldsby Legends": "He . . . cried 'Superbe!--Magnifique!' / (With his tongue in his cheek)". Today, a writer might substitute the words "wink, wink" for what is in parentheses in the quotation.