Funny Bone Trivia Quiz

Answer: Because of the "funny" or strange prickling sensation that occurs when one bumps the elbow

While some have speculated that "funny bone" is a pun on the word "humerus", the medical term for the long bone in a human's upper arm, most scholars now suspect this explanation to be in error. The term "funny bone" seems to have grown out of the culture of common folk who would not have been readily familiar with the term "humerus", and while "humorous" does mean "funny", most people do not find any humor in hitting their funny bones. Rather, the "funny" in "funny bone" seems to be more connected with another meaning of the word "funny"--"strange" or "weird". Often, when people hit their funny bones, they experience a strange or weird tingling sensation culminating in their hands, and sometimes the sensation is closer to a burning sensation or even pain. Again, this is certainly not humorous.

Interestingly, the whole idea of the source of this misery coming from hitting a bone is also erroneous. The sensation people feel comes from hitting the ulnar nerve, which passes near the back of the elbow, and pressing it against the bottom end of the humerus.

Answer: elbow room

"Elbow room" has been used an expression since the 1500's and means "sufficient space for moving about freely" or sometimes even "having ample opportunity for something". The phrase refers to the amount of personal space one would have around his or her body if he or she were to stand with hands on the hips and elbows protruding outward at his or her sides. In other words, the individual would be standing akimbo. "Schoolhouse Rock!" released "Elbow Room" as its first episode during its fourth season. Some of the lyrics are as follows:

Oh, elbow room, elbow room
Got to, got to get us some elbow room
It's the west or bust
In God we trust
There's a new land out there

Lewis and Clark volunteered to go
Goodbye, good luck, wear your overcoat!
They prepared for good times and for bad (and for bad)
They hired Sacagawea to be their guide
She led them all across the countryside
Reached the coast
And found the most
Elbow room we've ever had.

Answer: elbow my way

To use "elbow" as a verb usually requires an object following it. For example, "The basketball player elbowed the referee in the face". This would, of course, mean that the basketball player used part of his own body as a weapon with which to hit someone or something else.

However, if no object is provided when "elbow" is used as a verb, then the listener can assume that "elbow" means the following: "to move by pushing past people or several other obstacles, often with one's elbows". Thus, I would say, "I had to elbow my way through the crowd to get to my seat".

Answer: up to her elbows

Being "up to one's elbows" means "to be completely occupied with", "to be busily involved in", or "to be deeply immersed in". The expression is derived from the image of someone who is so involved and dedicated to his or her work that he or she has plunged his or her arms into the matter with which he or she is working.

For example, imagine Betsy rolling up her sleeves and thrusting her hands and arms all the way up to her elbows into a sink filled with water, soap suds, and dirty dishes.

Answer: to be within one's reach or to be nearby

If something is touching one's elbow, then it must be very close indeed, sometimes maybe even too close. You might use the expression to mean something is "within easy reach"; for example, you might say, "When my father sat down for the evening, he kept the television remote control always at his elbow".

However, the idiom is also used by some to mean anything that is nearby, whether it is within easy reach or not. For example, one might say, "I like living in the city because all the stores I like to visit are conveniently at my elbow". Sometimes, the expression can also be used to suggest that something is so close that it is a nuisance.

The idiom seems to have come into existence in the 1500's, but why people chose the elbow as a focus rather than some other body part is unclear.

Answer: drinking an alcoholic beverage

To "lift", "bend", or "crook an elbow" means to have an alcoholic beverage. The idiom is derived from the motion of bending one's elbow to lift a drink, such as a mug of ale, to one's mouth and then taking a hearty swallow so that one's arm is in that position for more than just a moment. Furthermore, bending the elbow to lift such a drink causes the length of the arm to look like the curved end of a shepherd's crook. "Crook one's elbow" dates back to about the 1820's.

Answer: rejected it

To "give the elbow" to something means "to push something aside", "eliminate something", "dismiss something", or "reject something". The figurative use of the expression, such as "I gave the elbow to his idea", is derived from the literal shoving someone aside with one's elbow, as one might similarly do when pushing through the crowd in an earlier question.

Answer: He seems to be indigent or impoverished.

"Out at the elbows" means "impoverished or poor" or "to be poorly or shabbily dressed". The expression dates back to the late 1500's and refers to how clothes that have been worn for a long while tend to wear out at the elbows so that holes form in the elbows of those items of clothing. Obviously, a person who continued to wear clothes that were worn out was assumed to be too poor to buy any new ones. Alternatives of this idiom are "out at the knees" and "out at the heels".

Answer: rubbing elbows

"Rubbing elbows" means "to mix, mingle, or socialize with others, particularly those people with whom one normally does not". The expression seems to have surfaced during the 1800's and alludes to being so close to someone that one would literally rub one's elbow against the elbow of the other person. Thus, one would be somewhat assuming familiarity. An alternative of the expression is "rubbing shoulders".

Answer: You need to apply some elbow grease.

"Elbow grease" is an idiom that refers to "hard work" or "manual labor". The idiom is derived from the wishful thinking that people sometimes have when faced with a difficult task; often people hope there is some miracle oil or tool or solution that will solve the difficult task instead of accepting that the only way to solve the problem is with hard work.

This derivation is derived further from an old practical joke that involves an experienced worker or master tradesman sending an apprentice or newly hired worker off on a quest for "elbow grease", knowing that such a thing does not exist.