Shooting the Breeze Trivia Quiz

Answer: chat

Another phrase which means pretty much the same thing as 'shoot the breeze' is 'chew the fat'. There isn't one definite origin of this phrase, but one such possibility is having a conversation with guests after dinner while chewing on leftover fat from the meal. This, of course, is not likely to be something people do these days.

Answer: coat

A coat is not just something that you can wear. Animals also have coats, though it's not actually an item of clothing. The hair or fur on the outside of an animal's body is the coat, and you get all sorts of coats. Take dogs, for instance. An Afghan hound has a long, silky coat, whereas a Bichon Frise can have a shorter, curlier coat.

Answer: coal

Coal was used in the days of the old steam trains, when it was burnt at a very high temperature to provide steam which powered the train. Because the crew pretty much had to shovel coal for hours and hours, they'd become extremely dirty. Coal is also a "present" that naughty children might have found in their Christmas stockings, instead of something nice like a clementine.

Answer: foal

Foal is one of those words that is both a noun and a verb. As a noun, a foal is specifically a horse under 1 year old. As a verb, to foal is to give birth to a foal.

Answer: foil

Along with the foil, fencing can also use an épée or a sabre. Each of these comes with its own set of rules. For example, if you're wielding a foil, you can only target your opponent's torso, whereas for the épée, all of your opponent's body represents a valid target.

The sport of fencing has been around for hundreds of years, and even has a mention in "The Merry Wives of Windsor", one of Shakespeare's plays.

Answer: fail

Failure is almost always nothing of which to be ashamed - as many people say, that's how we learn from our mistakes. For instance, if you fail your driving test, it's not the end of the world. You learn what you did wrong, practice more, and take the test again.

Answer: fall

Fall, or autumn, comes in between summer and winter, as the weather begins to cool down and nature takes on a distinctive red-orange colour. Roughly speaking, this season occurs from September to November in the northern hemisphere and from March to May in the southern hemisphere.

Answer: wall

The Great Wall of China isn't one single wall but a series of walls and barriers constructed by various Chinese dynasties that collectively cover more than 10,000 miles. Other famous walls include Hadrian's Wall, an ancient Roman fortification that runs widthwise across England (but doesn't form the actual border between England and Scotland), and the Berlin Wall, which divided Berlin (and, indeed, Germany) for nearly thirty years during the twentieth century.

Answer: walk

One of the early things a baby learns to do is walk. For humans, it can take a year or two. For some animals, it can be a matter of hours after birth. Take giraffes, for instance. A baby giraffe will start trying to get on its feet pretty much immediately after birth and will generally be upright and starting to walk after an hour. Within a day, it's not impossible for it to be running around, particularly if the herd needs to make a speedy getaway from predators.

Answer: talk

We've come full circle - we started by shooting the breeze and now we're ending by shooting the breeze. You might have heard someone say they can 'talk the talk but not walk the walk' - this generally refers to someone whose actions don't quite live up to the things they say.