Do the Twist! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Daffy's Elixir

Dr Thomas Daffy, who died in 1680, patented his elixir as a generic cure-all. It contained a lot of alcohol and operated mainly as a laxative! Mrs. Mann, the parish baby farmer, claimed that she gave it to the infants in her care but it is doubtful if she did.

She also claimed that, in the interests of infant humanity, she sometimes added gin to it. These infants, however, possibly fared better than those farmed out privately. Victorian morality was outraged by illegitimacy among the poor and many scandals arose.

In 1870 in Brixton a Mrs Waters was found to have murdered sixteen infants in her care.

Answer: Plummy and slam!

"Plummy and Slam" seems to be thieves' cant for "Alright!" It is first recorded in 1860 but, since Dickens wrote this book in 1837, it must have existed before.
Jack Dawkins, aka The Artful Dodger, having picked up a destitute and exhausted Oliver in Barnet, takes him to Cripplegate where a "kind old gentleman", Fagin, operates a thieves' kitchen. The password keeps out unwelcome visitors. Once inside, The Dodger is asked who is friend is. Dodger replies that he is a new recruit to the gang and is from Greenland which seems to refer to Oliver's complete innocence.

Answer: Unwin

What a wonderful way of naming a child. In Jean Webster's "Daddy-Long-Legs" the heroine is Jerusha Abbot. She too came from an orphanage. The name Jerusha came from a tombstone, and Abbot from a telephone directory!

Mr Bumble, as Parish Beadle, would be responsible for naming the child, though often he is just addressed as "Work'us". Names are important to identity. In primitive folk lore names were never revealed since knowledge of the name conferred some power over its bearer. "Twist" may have been meant to suggest the many twists of fortune that would overtake Oliver. Alternatively, as a slang word for hanging it may be meant to suggest the fate either expected or desired for him.

Answer: Saffron Hill

Were you puzzled by the reference to crocuses? Saffron comes from crocus stamens. Saffron Hill is a street in the London borough of Camden and was once part of Ely Gardens, an estate on which saffron was grown. By the time the book was written the crocus fields were long gone and only the name remained as a reminder. Fagin's boys stole the elaborate silk handkerchiefs of the rich and resold them in this Victorian equivalent of a dubious car-boot sale.

Answer: ophthalmia

Ophthalmia is the condition of inflamed eyes. The phrase is the equivalent of "You're a sight for sore eyes!" - recorded by Jonathan Swift in 1738. It is the title of a book by Ruth Rendell (which has nothing to do with Oliver Twist).
Mr Lively is a little man who lives in Saffron Hill and makes his living by selling stolen property. He spends his time squeezed into a child's chair outside his shop waiting for custom. Fagin goes there looking for Bill Sykes after the abortive burglary, but does not find him.

Answer: Brittles and Giles

Oliver's plight would have been worse if the law had caught up with him. In 1842 Henry Catlin, aged fourteen, was deported to Tasmania for fourteen years for stealing 3/6 (17 1/2 pence).

Brittles was the man of all work at the Maylie's house, while Giles was the butler. Both pretended to be very brave but were not, and were very embarrassed when it appeared they had shot a boy. Oliver had been pushed through the house window to open the door but had raised the alarm when he had realized the purpose of it all. Sykes fled with him but dropped him when he was wounded.

Answer: Mr Bumble's greed

This collection of assets could be called Mrs Corney's dowry. Mr Bumble was quite smitten with Mrs Corney, the mistress of the workhouse, and in a very amusing romantic interlude he asked her to marry him. He was influenced, needless to say by the sight of her material possessions! By this act Bumble lost his former glory as parish beadle and his peace of mind (though he often got a piece of his wife's).

The name Beadle still survives as an occupational surname. It is shared among others by Jeremy Beadle, a British TV presenter and Peter Beadle, a professional footballer and manager.

Answer: A locket and a ring

Old Sally, also known as Mrs Thingummy, was a pauper who, somewhat worse for drink, had acted as a nurse at Oliver's birth. She had stolen a bag from the hand of the dying woman but had later pawned it. In her turn she died, and Mrs Bumble stole the pawn ticket from her. The locket contained two locks of hair and a wedding ring with the name Agnes inscribed inside.

Answer: Morris Bolter

Noah Claypole was a charity boy, which was one step above a workhouse orphan. Noah could boast a mother at least! He worked for Mr Sowerberry the undertaker, as did Oliver, who ran away because of Noah's bullying. Later Noah and his girlfriend Charlotte stole money from Sowerberry and ran away to London where it seemed safer to have a new name.

Answer: Taking money from children sent on errands

Kinchin seems to have been a nineteenth century slang term for a child, derived from the German kindchen, still alive today in "kindergarten". "Lay" just means a scam or crime of some sort. Noah was a coward and did not want hard or dangerous work.