Where did that come from? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Very drunk.

Just to keep the landlubbers on their toes, sailors often use words which aren't what they seem. You'd think a sheet was a sail wouldn't you? Well, it isn't. A sheet is usually a rope that is used to haul on a sail. On a square-rigged sailing ship, each of the three lower course sails has a sheet to haul it around. If the ends of the sheets are not fastened down, they will fly in the wind and the sails will be out of control. The more sheets left to fly, the more out of control the sail. There is actually a hierarchy of drunkenness - one sheet in the wind means a little bit drunk and three sheets in the wind means you are doing a David Hasselhoff.

In days gone by, hanging round on a ship usually meant you'd been caught doing something naughty and were suffering punishment. (This often involved hanging around from the yardarm).

Breaking wind in bed can be fun but it's hardly nautical in origin - real sailors sleep in hammocks. Breaking wind in bed is a part of a game known as "Dutch Ovens" in highbrow circles. I have another name for it but it won't get past the censors.

Answer: Tories loyal to the crown during the American War (of Independence).

Charles Lynch was a Virginia planter who ran an irregular court, which tried Tories who were thought to be fomenting revolt in 1780. This court had no power but still ordered severe punishments, including tarring and feathering, whippings and the seizure of property. Several sources suggest that the court was, in some cases, used for personal gain rather than the attainment of justice. The court was granted retrospective authority by the Virginia General Assembly in 1782.

Seven thousand French and Spanish seamen were captured at the Battle of Trafalgar. A significant proportion of these were lost, along with their British captors, in the violent storm which blew up immediately after the battle. The majority of the survivors were held in England as POWs until Napoleon was finally stopped.

The terms "lynching", "lynch mob" and the like have come to be associated particularly with the murder of African-Americans in the southern states of the US. While lynchings were not limited to African-Americans, they formed a huge majority among the victims of lynch mobs. The blues song "Strange Fruit" came from a poem written by Abel Meeropol, a Jewish high-school teacher from the New York. The poem describes the lynching of two black men. Meeropol ended up adopting the sons of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were executed as Russian spies in the US during the cold war. Later examinations of the case against the Rosenbergs suggest that Ethel may have been hard done by if not actually lynched.

Confederate soldiers during the Civil War are not known for any association with lynching. However, in the post-war years, they were predominant in the frontier lands where summary justice was common. Check out John Wayne movies and the "necktie parties".

Answer: The joint where a ship's decking meets the side planking.

The horizontal joint where the deck meets the sides is known as "The Devil". It is thought that it got this name because it is "a devil to get at" when caulking is being carried out. If you are between this line and the ocean then there is a good chance you are in trouble.

There is a school of thought that holds that the Devil in this expression just means Old Nick himself and that you are stuck between him and a watery grave. It may be, but it lacks the romance of the nautical explanation and is generally less accepted as the truth.

The plank that pirates were supposed to have made people walk is known as "The Plank". Some commentators will tell you that "walking the plank" is a Hollywood term. Don't believe them. The phrase "walking the plank" is recorded in Francis Grose's "Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue", which was published in 1788.

In the age of sail the great guns on a ship were often named individually by their crews. However, I don't know of any particular generic name for them.

Answer: It was used by Shakespeare in "The Merry Wives of Windsor".

Shakespeare had a enormous influence on the English language and is credited with creating hundreds of words and phrases. From "The Merry Wives of Windsor":

SIR HUGH EVANS [Aside to DOCTOR CAIUS]: "Pray you let us not be laughing-stocks to other men's humours; I desire you in friendship, and I will one way or other make you amends."

Plato said a lot of things but I doubt he would have wanted to annoy the Spartans, they being a bunch of homicidal maniacs who used to cruise the ancient world just looking for trouble. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose.

Richard Nixon was a lot of things (unrepentant crook comes to mind) but he was nothing to be laughed at. There is a single known instance where he tried to be funny. On September 16, 1968 he appeared on an episode of Rowan and Martin's "Laugh In". His one line was "Sock it to me". Generally guest stars would appear, say this line and get doused by a bucket of water. Nixon wasn't doused. I guess it was below his dignity, although lying to the world, secretly bombing a foreign country, cheating and conspiring to commit felonies apparently weren't. Dan and Dick probably feared his response too.

Putting people in the stocks was a common punishment for many years. The stocks usually were situated in the town square and the victim would be locked in them for a set time. During this period they could be pelted with rotten vegetables, humiliated and generally held up to ridicule. Sort of like "Australian Idol" with veggies.

Answer: It's nautical, of course. It refers to sailing with different attitudes to the wind.

A sailing ship can't sail directly into the wind: it just gets blown backwards (it is "taken aback" - two for the price of one here folks). To sail against the wind, a ship must tack at an angle to the wind. When a ship is heading as close to the wind as it can, it is said to be sailing "near" to the wind or "by" the wind.

If, on the other hand, the ship is sailing with the wind (in the same direction as the wind) it puts up all of its big sails and is said to be sailing "large".

Th first recorded usage is the phrase from The Mariners Magazine, 1669:

"Thus you see the ship handled in fair weather and foul, by and learge."

I'm sure there are common phrases that have derived from lion taming. "Siegfried, will you put the cat out?" comes to mind, but "by and large" isn't one.

Babel Fish tells me that "by and large" translates to "Martello e scalpello" in Italian. Isn't that just incredibly interesting? Save that up for when you get one of those marvelous "What is this word in another language?" quizzes - or not, it's really up to you.

Shakespeare made up a lot of words and phrases; for instance, "as dead as a doornail" from "Henry VI". However, he didn't invent this one (and neither did that Bacon fellow).

Answer: An old remedy for rabies contracted from a dog bite involves wrapping the wound with hairs from the dog that caused it.

Yep, they really used to believe that the hair from a rabid dog would fix the rabies. I wonder how many extra cases of rabies came about trying to collect the hair. The funny thing is that having a drink can help to cure a hangover. Part of the pain is withdrawal symptoms so a drink makes them go away (for a while anyway).

Greyhounds chase hares both real and imaginary, but how this could relate to a hangover is beyond me, especially given the difference in spelling and the fact that greyhounds generally don't drink (although I've bet on a couple that I have doubts about).

Homeopathy is based on the following:
1. Choose a substance that mirrors the symptoms in some way, e.g, for fever, pick chili peppers.
2. Water it down so that there is none of it left.
3. Sell it to people.

Any homeopathic remedy would be good for a hangover given that they are pure water and one of the factors of being hungover is dehydration. The tap would be a cheaper source though.

The answer about Dickens is completely made up. I like Charlie's stuff and just wanted him to get a mention. He may or may not have liked a drink, but that was his business so long as he didn't scare the horses.

Answer: He peeped at Lady Godiva when she rode naked through the streets of Coventry.

Lady Godiva was the wife of Lord Leofric, Earl of Mercia. According to legend, Lady Godiva rode naked through the streets of Coventry so that her husband would reduce the taxes on the peasantry. I was born in Coventry but to this day can not see the connection between reducing taxes and humiliating the missus. Anyway, she did it and asked the populace not to look (as if). The only one to look was Tom, a tailor. He was immediately struck blind and was forever known as "Peeping Tom".

In the middle of Coventry there is a statue of Lady Godiva mounted (on her horse). They also have a clock tower from which Lady Godiva appears on the hour and is perved on by Tom. This may not exist anymore; it's 40 years since I last looked.

The other main attraction in Coventry is its cathedral, which was opened in the early 1960s to replace the one which didn't survive the Luftwaffe's advanced remodelling techniques in 1941.

They tell me that there is a Thomas in the Bible. I am also reliably informed that he was known for "doubting" rather than "peeping".

"Peeping", "Peking", "barbequed duck with tadpole sauce". You surely didn't fall for that one did you? The only excuse you could have is to not know what a tadpole is (I think they might call them pollywogs in some climes).

Although old George wasn't averse to owning the odd human being of African heritage, there is no recorded history of any of his possessions spying on Mrs W while she was sluicing herself down. I kind of like the story though and might post it on Wikipedia and see if I can get a bit of a myth going. Don't you just love the power that this Interweb thingy gives you?

Answer: Greek drama: the machina was the device from which gods were suspended in the Greek theatre.

When the cavalry suddenly appears on the horizon just as the Native Americans are about to get some revenge, then this is the "Deus ex machina". The gods were regular players in Greek Theatre and they hung around above the stage suspended from the machina. When all seemed lost, they stuck their oars in and saved the day. "Deus ex machina" is actually a Latin term.

I am reliably informed (usually when debating theology and atheism with Christians) that the Bible tells us that "God works in mysterious ways" but Jehovah has nothing to do with "Deus ex machina".

Isaac Newton was a brilliant Jehovah-fearing man. He was also an astrologer, alchemist and the boss of the Royal Mint. Like a lot of truly brilliant people he was probably as mad as a hatter (hat makers used to use mercury in their jobs and it made them appear crazy at times - once again, two for the price of one, folks. You can't say you get short changed by LillianRock).

Shakespeare invented heaps of words and phrases but he didn't invent this one (though he often employed "Deus ex machina"). He also didn't write "The Merry Wives of Wolverhampton". Google tells me it is a movie directed by Ben Dover.

Answer: It is a minced oath literally meaning "God's Hooks", i.e. the nails used to nail Jesus to the cross in the Christian belief system.

In the Christian tradition, it was quite common to employ a euphemism rather than take Jehovah's name in vain. Examples include Struth (God's truth) and Bejabbers (By Jesus). As we all know, the third of the ten commandments says "Ye shall not take the Lord's name in vain" (it's the 3rd in the reference I read but I understand that this may vary from source to source).

Gadzooks means God's Hooks and refers to the nails of the Christian cross.

I've never really been able to understand the concept of a minced oath. Surely the sin is in the intent as much as the action. And don't get me started on using the word "Heck" instead of "Hell". They can all go to Hades as far as I'm concerned.

No doubt there were a lot of oaths (both minced and otherwise) exclaimed on French ships when Nelson appeared on the scene. In fact Napoleon is reputed to have expressed in exasperation that "Sacre Bleu, everywhere I looked there is tha Nelson bloke" (or words to that effect). Some sources hold that "Sacre Bleu" is a French minced oath, Bleu substituting for "dieu" (God). Other sources disagree. Me? I don't care. I have enough fun with the English language.

No doubt the Hindi vocabulary contains oaths and swearwords but I'm sure its alphabet does not contain the Commercial A, Octothorpe, Dollar, Percentage, Carat or Ampersand (@#$%^&). I'm informed that Hindi has over 100 words for curry.

"Pulling your leg". Now where did that come from? I'm not saying - I'm keeping it in stock for another quiz.

Answer: Barry Humphries in his "The Wonderful World of Barry McKenzie" comic strip in "Private Eye."

Australian funny man Barry Humphries created the character Barry McKenzie for "Private Eye" in the 1960s. A couple of feature-length films followed, starring Barry Crocker as Baz. Baz was the stereotypical loud-mouthed Ocker in London. He liked nothing better than to crack a few tubes and follow up with a good chunder. OK, for the uninformed, that's "drink a large quantity of beer and have a good refreshing vomit".

Barry Humphries' most famous avatar is Dame Edna Everidge from Moonee Ponds. He is also responsible for Sir Les Patterson, the Minister for The Yartz.

Who can forget Billy Connolly's rant on vomit and why it always contains diced carrots and tomato skins irrespective of what you have eaten? You HAVE forgotten it? You've never heard of it? Go and google "Billy Connolly" and "when in Rome," and you can read the whole thing.

All complaints about blasphemy, sacrilege etc. should be directed to Billy, not me. I'm merely the messenger.

I'm sure Paul Segal won't mind me taking his name in vain. Besides, he hasn't issued his 10 Commandments to tell me not to and even if he did, I doubt that I'd be listening anyway. (I have a very short attention span. I put it down to the drugs. I'm just not sure whether it is too many drugs or too few drugs. But I digress).

Did you notice the reference to O'Rourke? This is another euphemism for vomiting - "He's hanging over the side of the boat looking for O'Rourke". Head over the side making a noise that sounds like Oh! Roaaaark! - get it?

No I didn't make it up - I lack the imagination. Once again I blame the medication (or lack thereof).