Weird Words & Phrases Trivia Quiz

Answer: It started with the use of the telephone, in the 1880s.

"Hello" has been used only since the invention of the telephone. Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, actually preferred the word "Ahoy" as a telephone greeting. "Hello" won, however.

Answer: He or she is full of jealousy.

The term "green-eyed monster" describes someone who is very jealous. Most people think that playwright William Shakespeare was the first to use this phrase, in the early 1600s. In the play 'Othello' he wrote: "O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; It is the green-eyed monster."

Answer: tricking the person

The word "hornswoggle" means to cheat or trick someone. It is thought to have come from cowboys. A steer that has been lassoed around the neck will "hornswoggle," or wiggle around and try to get its horns out of the rope. If the steer escapes, it is said that the cowboy has been "hornswoggled."

Answer: fake tears

To weep crocodile tears is to pretend you are sad when you're really not sad at all. It's a way to get people to feel sorry for you or do what you want. The phrase comes from the ancient belief that crocodiles would cry while luring and eating their prey.

Answer: You wish her good luck in a performance.

When you tell your friend to "break a leg," it means that you want her to do well in a performance. In early theater, actors would say "break a leg" to each other because they wanted to give a great performance--one that would force them to take a bow and "break" (or bend) their leg.

Answer: very enthusiastic

The phrase "as keen as mustard" means that someone is very happy and enthusiastic. In the 1700s and 1800s, mustard was eaten with beef to add zest and flavor to the meat.

Answer: President Theodore Roosevelt, because he saved a bear from being killed.

The teddy bear is named after President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1902, so the story goes, President Roosevelt was on a hunting trip but refused to kill a bear. Afterwards, a cartoon showed the President rescuing the bear. A store owner in New York City saw the cartoon and decided to sell toy bears using the name "Teddy's Bear" for his toys.

Answer: You have something to hide.

If you have skeletons in your closet, it means you have something to hide, like a secret from the past. The saying may come from the fairy tale of Bluebeard. In the story, the pirate left on a trip and gave all the keys of the house to his wife. But he forbade her from opening one closet.

The wife opened the closet anyway, and inside she found the dead bodies of Bluebeard's previous wives!

Answer: He is surprised or doubtful.

The phrase "I'll be a monkey's uncle" means that you are surprised or don't believe what you are hearing. When Charles Darwin published his theory of evolution in 1859, suggesting that humans and monkeys have a common ancestor, it was greeted with disbelief. "I'll be a monkey's uncle" was a sarcastic comment by someone who didn't believe Darwin's theory.

Answer: totally weird and crazy

Most people believe this phrase comes from actual hatters--people who made hats. Years ago, mercury, a poisonous metal, was used to make felt hats. Hat makers came into contact with mercury all the time. Sadly, one symptom of mercury poisoning is insanity.