Why Numbers? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Zero

"Zero tolerance" can be used to deter many types of criminal activity, from terrorism and drug use to petty shoplifting and anti-social behaviour. The meaning is very clear and concise in that crimes will not be overlooked.

Answer: Forty

If you "take forty winks", it is equivalent to a short sleep or cat nap. The person is not normally in bed, but they may be rested up watching television and feeling warm and cosy after lunch.

Answer: Sevens

This is a term used to describe a person, or people collectively, who are in a complete muddle or at loggerheads with each other. A badly run office at work can cause confusion, disorder and being "at sixes and sevens" with each other.

Answer: Eight

"Behind the eight ball" is an idiom used when you are in trouble and put at a disadvantage. It is believed to originate from the game of Kelly pool which is played on a billiards table where the number eight ball is the black ball. In some games played on a billiard, pool or snooker table, you can incur penalties if you touch the black ball with another coloured ball.

Answer: One for the road

"Just a quick one" or "one for the road" is the last drink you have before you make your way home. In 1943, Fred Astaire sung the song "One for My Baby (and One More for the Road)" which featured the lyrics:

"We're drinking my friend
To the end of a brief episode
So make it one for my baby
And one more for the road"

Answer: Nineteen

The phrase "nineteen to the dozen" is believed to stem back to the copper and tin mines of the 18th century although this cannot be proved. Pumps were installed into the flooded mines and every twelve bushels of coal burnt would release nineteen thousand gallons of flood water. The term "ten to the dozen" is also used but again the origins are unclear.

Answer: 11th

Something which happens almost too late is said to happen "at the eleventh hour". You can find the phrase taken from the Bible in Matthew 20:1-16. A quote (from the King James Version) reads "And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny". Men were given a penny to labour in a vineyard during the last, or eleventh hour of the day, creating them equal to the men who were paid the same amount for working all day.

Answer: Two

It is not clear where the idiom "two shakes of a lamb's tail" originated from. If you have seen a lamb gambolling in a field and leaping in the air, you would have noticed how quickly they shake their short little tails. A blink of an eye and it is over.

Answer: Nine

The idiom probably stems back to World War II with ammunition that fed into machine guns reaching 27 feet in length. It used the whole nine yards when it was spent. Scots people believe the saying originated from kilt making, and that a whole nine yards of tartan would be used to make a great kilt which included a cloak draped over the shoulder.

Answer: Five o'clock

Men were usually expected to be clean shaven, unless they had already grown a beard. They would shave first thing in the morning. A light stubble could often be seen by the time high tea was served at five o'clock in the afternoon, hence the term, "five o'clock shadow". These days, it is more common to see men with stubble any time of day.