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Quiz about Old Superstitions Myths and Customs

Old Superstitions, Myths and Customs Quiz

Do you know old superstitions, customs and old wives tales from Scotland? They often say that there is no smoke without fire!

A multiple-choice quiz by t_s. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
t_s

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
237,283

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
4626

Last 3 plays: Guest 71 (9/10), Guest 2 (9/10), Guest 80 (8/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Where in the home must a pair of new shoes never be placed? Hint

In the bath

In the shoe closet

On the table

On the wrong feet

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. When is not the best day to cut finger and toe nails? Hint

Sunday

Monday

Wednesday

Thursday

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. What is said to have happened if you feel that either one or the other of your ears is burning hot? Hint

You have Vulcan Spock syndrome

You ate too much chili sauce

You are the topic of a discussion

You have ear mites

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. What does it mean if someone says "it is raining in Paris"? Hint

A man's toupe blew off in a wind and rain storm

A lady's umbrella blew away in a hurricane

A lady's underskirt is visible and hanging below her frock

A man's pants zip or fly is undone

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. What does it mean when you hear or read the phrase "He has egg on his face"? Hint

A man has been made to look foolish or embarrassed

A lady threw an egg at him for stealing her parking space

A man is eating a soft boiled egg and got in a mess with yolk all over the place

A man washed his hair in raw eggs and it ended up with more egg on his face than his head

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. When a mirror gets broken in Scotland it is said to sentence the culprit who broke it to seven years bad luck. How can this bad luck be cancelled? Hint

Run around the broken mirror seven times backwards

Bury a small fragment of the mirror in the nearest flower bed

Place the fragments in a shoe box and do a hand-stand chanting

Buy a new identical mirror and kiss your reflection for the next seven years

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. In the bad old days of smoking when lighting more than one cigarette with the same match there was a phrase 'third light first...'. Which word is next? Hint

Prize

Sneeze

Dead

Asleep

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. On New Year's Eve or Hogmanay as it is called in Scotland, there is a tradition of opening the windows at the time of midnight. Why is this? Hint

To wish any passing neighbors a happy new year without asking them inside

To allow evil sprits to come inside to scare unwanted guests

To allow all the previous year's evil spirits to leave

To allow some homeless highland haggis to jump inside

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Why is 'Friday The Thirteenth' a very bad day according to one school of thought, in ancient superstition and folklore? Hint

Christ was crucified on a Friday, the thirteenth person at the last supper was Judas

Following Friday 13th, people confessed sins for the whole weekend

It was fish on Fridays, many families had thirteen hungry children

After every thirteenth Friday of the year, Saturday and Sunday got cancelled

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. In superstition and old wives tales in the bonny wee land of Scotland, if your nose itches it means? Hint

You will be extremely nosey about everything and everyone and upset folk

You will be sick, as a fly landed on it and regurgitated

You are going to be angry today for some reason

You will be cleansed, as a ghost dusted you with a phantom feather duster

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Where in the home must a pair of new shoes never be placed?

Answer: On the table

Apparently, it is not a good idea to do this as it means bad luck for the remainder of the day! This comes from when a condemned prisoner, who was due to be hanged- the guards placed a pair of new shoes on the table for the prisoner to wear. On the correct feet would be better than the opposite, otherwise it could incur a few painful blisters or at the worst disfigurement! Sitting submerged in warm water and bubbles, with a floral bath hat, loofa and nice new pair of shiny loafers could be construed as rather strange behavior and a complete waste of money! In the boring, old, correct storage place that they are supposed to be kept in seems rather pointless to mention!

2. When is not the best day to cut finger and toe nails?

Answer: Sunday

It is very bad luck to have a nail clipping day on this day.
The old saying is: Cut your nails on a Sunday, you cut them for evil and for all the next week you will be ruled by the devil!

3. What is said to have happened if you feel that either one or the other of your ears is burning hot?

Answer: You are the topic of a discussion

Apparently, it means that if a person's ears feel hot and burning that someone is talking about them. It matters which ear is hot as it can be either good or bad, left ear for love or right ear for spite!

4. What does it mean if someone says "it is raining in Paris"?

Answer: A lady's underskirt is visible and hanging below her frock

Whoever is first to notice this shocking occurrence should try to be discreet and whisper this phrase to her so she can rush to the restroom and fix it!

5. What does it mean when you hear or read the phrase "He has egg on his face"?

Answer: A man has been made to look foolish or embarrassed

Some poor unfortunate man has made a dreadful public idiot of himself and is feeling rather stupid and red faced. Therefore, for some strange reason, metaphorically speaking, it is rather like when unpopular stage entertainers literally used to have rotten eggs and tomatoes lobbed at them! Oh what Fun! Getting in a mess eating this for breakfast surely happens on a daily basis in the world (if under school age!).

In a car park it is most likely that a lady would wack him with her handbag or some more handy object! Conditioning hair with this product is feasible but if the water is too hot it scrambles (solidifies and cooks) and it has to be picked out bit by bit.

6. When a mirror gets broken in Scotland it is said to sentence the culprit who broke it to seven years bad luck. How can this bad luck be cancelled?

Answer: Bury a small fragment of the mirror in the nearest flower bed

Doing this cancels the bad luck sentence and leaves the unfortunate, accident prone person free to incur another 7 years bad luck with the next mirror that gets broken! So there is no need to worry! Have a smashing time! (excuse the pun!). It must be made sure that it is buried in a safe place (inside an old match-box is one suggestion) where no one can be cut when doing future gardening!
Running around a broken mirror backwards is dangerous and unnatural. It could cause serious injury and broken bones!
A hand-stand chanting could be a good excuse to be taken away by a big white van and with the help of men in white coats with a nice, fresh, new padded, ready to wear jacket!
An attractive option is to kiss a beautiful, familiar reflection for seven years but wear and tear on the lips could cause another medical problem!

7. In the bad old days of smoking when lighting more than one cigarette with the same match there was a phrase 'third light first...'. Which word is next?

Answer: Dead

It is said that it is unlucky to light three cigarettes from one match, unlucky, that is, for the third person! The known explanation for this is that the time it takes from the striking of the match to the third light is enough time for a trained sniper to take aim and shoot.

This is said to have originated in the trenches during the First World War, but the Boer War claims it also. It is thought to come from a much earlier belief that it is a bad omen to light three candles or lamps with a single stub.

It is an ever evolving superstition.

8. On New Year's Eve or Hogmanay as it is called in Scotland, there is a tradition of opening the windows at the time of midnight. Why is this?

Answer: To allow all the previous year's evil spirits to leave

As in all these old customs there is usually a more practical reason that goes alongside the mythical one. It was also to allow the smells and germs to leave and so fresh air could get in due to that the house was probably full of celebrating (unwashed since spring) people! Phew, the aroma must have been strong!

9. Why is 'Friday The Thirteenth' a very bad day according to one school of thought, in ancient superstition and folklore?

Answer: Christ was crucified on a Friday, the thirteenth person at the last supper was Judas

According to popular legend and some religious belief, Christ was supposed to have been crucified on a Friday and the thirteenth person at the last supper was interpreted to have been this guy who betrayed him.

10. In superstition and old wives tales in the bonny wee land of Scotland, if your nose itches it means?

Answer: You are going to be angry today for some reason

Apparently, the reason for this happening will become apparent when you get angry! (small note: in other parts of the world 'getting a kiss' would be the answer but not this time!)

Source: Author t_s

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor LeoDaVinci before going online.
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