Ready To Start Trivia Quiz

Answer: Show me the money!

As the picture of coins suggests, this is the Latin translation of the catchphrase memorably shouted by Tom Cruise in the 1996 movie "Jerry Maguire". As a bumper sticker, its significance is less clear than was the case in the movie.

Even without the photo of coins, you might have recognized the word 'pecuniam' as being related to such English words as 'pecuniary', meaning 'pertaining to money'.

Answer: Barbarian on board

This makes a refreshing antidote to the constant "Baby on board" signs, but one has to worry a bit about the family ties of parents who advertise the fact that they consider their child to be a barbarian (although I am sure many of us have felt that way in moments of stress). Just as I wonder what I as a driver am expected to do about the baby, I am in a quandary as to how I should respond to this warning.

The picture of a mock-Viking warrior might have reminded you of the word 'barbarian', meaning originally 'from a foreign country', but now more commonly used with a connotation of cruelty and a lack of civilization.

Answer: If Today Was a Fish I'd Throw it Back

Now this one had me scratching my head. Is the day too small to be worth the effort? Will the day get better if it grows for a while? Or maybe it isn't as fresh as it ought to be, having died before being caught. Still, we are clearly not having a good day if this bumper sticker is what we have to offer in words of wisdom on the car's bumper.

Even without the picture of a fish, you might have noticed the word "piscis", Latin for fish and related to the sign of the zodiac called Pisces, the Fish.

Answer: Don't Blame Me - I Voted for Miss Piggy

The Massachusetts slogan first appeared in 1973, in the wake of the 1972 US Presidential election when that was the only state in which George McGovern defeated Richard Nixon. It became even more popular during the Watergate scandal which led to Nixon's resignation in 1975. The Kerry sticker appeared after John Kerry lost the 2004 US Presidential election to George W. Bush. The other one I made up. The driver who proudly declared their vote for Miss Piggy was not only echoing these, but making a protest about the fact that voting is compulsory in Australia, even when none of the candidates appeals. In this situation, a write-in vote for Miss Piggy (or Kermit) avoids a fine, without supporting any candidate.

The picture of a pig should have helped you pick up the linguistic clue of the word "porcellae" - a feminine form of the word from which we get the word 'porcine', meaning 'of a pig'. 'Suffragatus' is a form of the verb meaning 'to vote', from which we get 'suffrage' and 'suffragette'.

Answer: The devil made me do it

"The devil made me do it" was one of Flip Wilson's catch phrases, in his persona of Geraldine Jones, seen regularly on American television in the late 1960s and early 1970s on "Laugh In" and "The Flip Wilson Show". Another of Geraldine's phrases, "What you see is what you get", is supposed to have inspired the computing acronym WYSIWYG.

The word 'diabolus' for a devil is the source of the English word 'diabolical', meaning 'pertaining to the devil'. The Latin phrase in the question should be more literally translated as 'The devil made me sin", but it conveys the implication of error in the otherwise relatively neutral phrase "do it".

Answer: Mom, Get the Hammer - There's a Fly on Dad's Head

One has to worry about using a hammer to swat a fly on the head of one's beloved (or anywhere else, for that matter - hammers can do a lot of damage). This sticker was actually seen at a music festival, apparently intending to make fun of country music titles. Those who attend jazz festivals are far too sophisticated for music with a title like this, or such other classics as "I Got the Hungries for Your Love, and I'm Waitin' In Your Welfare Line" and "You Can't Roller Skate In A Buffalo Herd".

The picture of the hammer should have helped make the connection between 'malleum' and 'hammer or mallet' from which we get the word 'malleable' to describe something that is readily hammered into a different shape; mater for mother and pater for father are commonly-seen bits of Latin; 'in capite' (on the head) uses a form of the word from which we get capital punishment to refer to someone being beheaded; the word 'mosquito' means more or less 'little fly', from the Latin word 'musca' for 'a fly'.

Answer: Make love not war

This slogan from the days of Vietnam War protests has been jokingly said to be the life motto of the bonobo, or pygmy chimpanzee, due to its observed high level of sexual activity and use of sexual relationships to define the social hierarchy within the group. The occupants of the car sporting this bumper sticker seem to have a happier relationship than some of the others we have seen!

The happy couple shouldn't have been necessary to help you recognize the link between 'amorem' and love - it is the origin of our word 'amorous', meaning 'loving'. 'Bellum', the Latin word for war, is the source for such words as 'bellicose' and 'belligerent', meaning warlike.

Answer: They ARE out to get me

The phrase in the question is rather a loose translation; the Latin version translates more literally as "The enemies pursue me in reality", but the original English bumper sticker said "They ARE out to get me". This phrase is more often seen in a longer form, such as "Just because I'm crazy doesn't mean they aren't out to get me". You've got to love a good conspiracy theory!

Answer: It isn't only done with smoke and mirrors, but also with bells and whistles

To use smoke and mirrors means to provide distractions that focus the subject's attention on irrelevant details instead of following the essential details of the conjuring trick being performed. Using bells and whistles suggests dressing something up to make it look more attractive than it might appear on closer inspection.

'Fumo' for smoke gives us the word 'fume', meaning smoke or vapor; 'speculis' leads to 'specular', meaning 'related to mirrors or glass'; 'tintinnabulis', meaning 'ringing bells' is the source of 'tintinnabulation', with the same meaning.

Answer: Holy cow!

"Holy cow!" is a phrase that recalls the television show "Batman", which ran on American television in the 1960s, starring Adam West as Batman and Burt Ward as Robin. Robin often exclaimed, "Holy {insert appropriate punning word), Batman!" whenever he was surprised. The climactic fight scene of each episode featured words such as "Wham!" and "Pow!" floating across the screen, reminding us that it was really a comic book come to life that we were watching.

'Sacra' is a form of the Latin word from which we get the word 'sacred', meaning 'holy'; 'bos', meaning 'ox or cow' is the source of the word 'bovine', meaning 'related to cattle'.