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Quiz about Phrases and Terms from a Younger USA2
Quiz about Phrases and Terms from a Younger USA2

Phrases and Terms from a Younger USA-2 Quiz


Recently while creating a quiz on this topic, I found so much material it wouldn't fit into a single quiz. So, here's more-

A multiple-choice quiz by austinnene. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
austinnene
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
369,448
Updated
Jun 04 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
570
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 174 (4/10), Guest 172 (6/10), tjmartel8 (2/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Language evolves continuously. In the late 1700s, which of these was a newly-coined word? And what American is thought to have coined it? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. If someone was "wamble-cropped", would you kiss him goodnight? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Did people in Colonial America really have backlogs? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. To whom or what did the term "Peter Funk" refer in 19th century auctions in the US? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What would one do with kinnikinnick, in the 1800s? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. An "afterclap" was a term for an ovation.


Question 7 of 10
7. If you "rowed up Salt River", what happened? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What part of speech is the term "all-fired"? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. If there was "bocking" in your home, what would you do about it? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. If Person A called Person B a "buckra", in the American South of the 18th and early 19th centuries, what would be the likely relationship between the two? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 27 2024 : Guest 174: 4/10
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 172: 6/10
Mar 12 2024 : tjmartel8: 2/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Language evolves continuously. In the late 1700s, which of these was a newly-coined word? And what American is thought to have coined it?

Answer: belittle-Thomas Jefferson

According to the Oxford English Dictionary (and a number of other sources), Thomas Jefferson was the first to use the term "belittle" as we know it today. He did so in 1788 in response to writings by one Count de Buffon, a French naturalist, who, in Jefferson's view, did not pay proper homage to the natural wonders of America. Noah Webster, upon hearing the newly-coined term, approved of it to the extent that it was included in the 1806 dictionary bearing his name.

There is evidence that the other three terms may indeed have been coined by the individuals listed, but none of them in 18th-century America.
2. If someone was "wamble-cropped", would you kiss him goodnight?

Answer: No way--you might get sick, too!

"Wamble-cropped" meant sick to one's stomach, so you probably would not want to get too close! It also carried the meaning of being humiliated. The term appeared in the 1913 edition of Webster's Dictionary.
3. Did people in Colonial America really have backlogs?

Answer: Yes-but not of paperwork

A "backlog" of the time was literally the log that was positioned at the back of the fire.
4. To whom or what did the term "Peter Funk" refer in 19th century auctions in the US?

Answer: A hired bidder whose job it was to overinflate prices of auctioned goods

"Peter Funk" (origin uncertain) was a term used to refer to several types of swindles associated with auctions of the time--a bidder who was hired to raise the price of items above their true value, an auctioneer who claimed an item was genuine when it was what we'd today call a knockoff, or auction houses that displayed genuinely valuable items at the time of bidding, but who subsequently delivered imitations to purchasers.
5. What would one do with kinnikinnick, in the 1800s?

Answer: Smoke it

Another thing they probably did to it was, misspell it!

Kinnikinnick was a blend of bark, leaves and other plant materials developed by Native Americans and used as a smoking mixture. It was popular in the American West for a time because tobacco was somewhat scarce, being produced at the other end of the North American continent. It is still produced for sale today.
6. An "afterclap" was a term for an ovation.

Answer: False

Afterclaps were things that happened after an event was supposed to be over-with a connotation of unpleasant consequences. An afterclap would be more similar to an aftershock from an earthquake than a resurgence of applause for an actor's inspired performance. Dictionary.com lists its origin as Middle English or Low German of the 13th or 14th century, but it was still in use in post-Revolutionary America.
7. If you "rowed up Salt River", what happened?

Answer: Your political party sustained a loss

The phrase is thought to have originated in the 1830s, and there are several stories of its origin. One is that in the 1832 election, Henry Clay hired a boat and driver to take him up the Ohio River to Louisville, Kentucky, where he was scheduled to make a speech.

The boatman, mistakenly or otherwise, steered him instead up the Salt River, which is a tributary of the Ohio. Clay missed his speech and subsequently lost the election to Andrew Jackson (although I don't believe anyone has theorized that the failure to give this one speech caused his loss!).
8. What part of speech is the term "all-fired"?

Answer: adverb

"All-fired" is a synonym of "very". According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is thought to have arisen in the US as a euphemism for "hell-fired".
9. If there was "bocking" in your home, what would you do about it?

Answer: Walk on it

This one originated in England. Bocking was a coarse woolen fabric used as a floor covering, named for the village in England where it was first produced.
10. If Person A called Person B a "buckra", in the American South of the 18th and early 19th centuries, what would be the likely relationship between the two?

Answer: African slave referring to his/her master

"Buckra" was a term used mostly disparagingly for a white man who owned slaves, in pre-Civil War America. In the past it held connotations of a demon with much power. It survives today as a racially-loaded term for a white man, used by some African-Americans, but its use nowadays is not widespread.

The term originated in Africa. Some sources characterize the current use of the term as a reference to a poor white man. (Sources: Dictionary of Americanisms, Dictionary.com)
Source: Author austinnene

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