Be-deviled Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Devil rides on a fiddlestick

Rubbish or nonsense (as in fiddlesticks!). "The Devil to pay and no pitch hot" is a nautical term. The "devil" in this case was the term given to the tarred seams between plankings. "To pull the Devil by the tail" is to continually struggle against adversity. The "Devil's Dancing Hour" is midnight of course.

Answer: The Devil among the Tailors

In the game, the "devil" is a spinning top and the "tailors" are little woooden figures. "Ship the Devil 'round the stump" means to enjoy the fruits of evil-doing without having to suffer the penalty. "Pull Devil, Pull Baker" is sort of like push me pull you, an argument neither can win. The Devil's Music is what "elder" folks in the 50's called rock (Elvis, etc)

Answer: Devil's Arrows

Only three of the Devil's Arrows remain standing today. They have also been called "The Three Greyhounds", "The Three Sisters" and "The Devil's Bolts". A "twilly devil" is a machine for cleansing or loosening wool. "Devil's Fingers" is a nickname for starfish. "Devil's Dozen" = 13.

Answer: The Devil's Missionary

Given to Voltaire by those who were critical of his libertarian views on religion. Note that the name Voltaire is also a "nickname"/pen name (he was born François-Marie Arouet in 1694). A "king devil" is a European hawkweed (Hieracium praealtum). A "printer's devil" is an errand boy in a print shop, so called because they were usually covered head to toe in black printing ink.

The "French Devil" is generally agreed to be the nickname of Jean Bart, a French admiral (called a privateer in England) who proved to be a royal pain in the stern to the English Fleet during the late 1600s.

Answer: The Devil's snuff-box

"Devil's Snuff-box" is the common name for the fungus Lycoperdon perlatum. As a child, you may have stomped on a few dried up ones just to watch the dust-like spores explode into the air. "Devil's dust" is flocking made from old rags torn up by a machine called a "devil". "Devil's Bolete" is indeed a member of the fungi family, but it is a toadstool-like mushroom, not a puff-ball (by the way, even the spores are considered poisonous, so never mind eating one, don't smell it either!). A "mountain devil" is a spiny Australian desert lizard (Moloch horridus)

Answer: White Devil

The phrase White Devil first appears in publication as the title of a 1608 dramatization by John Webster about an Italian murderess named Vittoria Corombona. "Devil on two sticks" is the original name of a juggling toy, later called a diabolo. "Devil's bird" is the Scottish nickname for the yellow bunting. "Devil's daughter" is slang for a shrewish woman.

Answer: Devil's livery

Livery is clothing, usually a uniform of some sort. The colours of the "Devil's Livery" are black (representing death) and yellow (for quarantine). "Devil With the Blue Dress On" was a song originally recorded by Frederick "Shorty" Long in 1964, later covered by Mitch Ryder and the Detroit Wheels in 1966, who made the speeded up version a bigger hit. "The Devil Wears Prada" was a 2006 movie starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway.

Answer: Devil's Lake

Devil's Lake is both a lake and a city in North Dakota. There is also a Devil's Lake (and State Park) in Wisconsin. Devil's Dyke is in the UK near Brighton. There are many Devil's Holes around the world (two most notable in North America are in the Niagara Falls area and the Nevada Desert), but none in North Dakota. Devil's Dip goes over great at parties.

Answer: Devil's bones

"Devil's bones" are dice (made from bones of course) which, according to folklore, led to the ruin of any poor soul silly enough to gamble with you-know-who. "Devil's coits" and "Devil's stones" are huge standing stones, typically in the UK. "Devil's stones" is also the nickname for plant with hard twinned fruits named field gromwell, reputed to have contraceptive qualities. "Knucklebones" is a slang term for normal dice, but the "Devil's Knuckles" is a scenic area in South Africa.

Answer: Devil's bedpost

The four of clubs is the "Devil's bedpost". In Cartomancy (a reading done with a normal deck of playing cards rather than a Tarot deck) the four of clubs, depending upon the position to where it is dealt, usually portends an imminent major setback. It's the "Murphy's Law" card, as it were. The "Devil's horn", aside from being the common name of several different plants, is also a slang term for a saxophone, as well as the name of a weird cocktail containing advocat and Bailey's. The "Devil's Tattoo" is the annoying sound of someone incessantly drumming their fingers on a tabletop. "Sign of the Devil" can mean many things, but the two most common are the hand signal (closed left fist with index finger and pinky raised) or 666 (as in the number of the Beast).

That's it, you're done! Now you can put the devil out (but make sure he takes his bags with him when he leaves!)