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The Dark Is Light Enough Trivia Quiz

This quiz is part of the "Adventures in Authoring" challenge. All of the questions refer to common idioms or phrases with the words "dark" or "black" in them.

A multiple-choice quiz by nahs386. Estimated time: 3 mins.

Author
nahs386

Time
3 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
359,052

Updated
Jul 23 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Very Easy

Avg Score
9 / 10

Plays
1316

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. If you wanted to describe someone making a wild attempt at something, what word or phrase would you use? Hint

dark horse

darken one's door

blackball

a shot in the dark

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. What word or phrase has come to mean voting someone out of a club or organization? Hint

dark horse

blacklist

blackball

black book

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. If you fell down the stairs and woke up looking like spoiled produce with bruises all over, what word or phrase would you use to illustrate this? Hint

into the black

darken one's door

blackball

black and blue

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. What idiom would you employ if you wanted to illustrate a person as a disreputable ne'er-do-well? This is generally used to describe a member of one's family. Hint

black sheep

dark horse

blacklist

darken one's door

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. If you wanted to delineate a clear moral decision, what term or phrase might you say? This idiom can also refer to something that must be true as it has been written down. Hint

blackball

blacklist

in black and white

into the black

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. What word or phrase, generally used of political candidates, designates someone (or something) that rises to prominence from obscurity? Hint

black sheep

blacklist

black book

dark horse

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. If you tell someone never to darken your door again, what do you mean? Hint

They are selling something.

They painted your door too dark.

You never want to see them again.

They are a burglar and should be arrested.

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. If someone has been deemed unsuitable and has been denied employment, a service, or a privilege, what word or phrase listed below might you use? Hint

blackboard

blacklist

black sheep

black book

9. What term would you use to describe a movie that uses morbid, ironic, and farcical elements in an effort to disturb the viewer while still making them laugh? This style of film making sees human suffering as both comic and absurd. An example of this would be "Heathers". Hint

black humor

in the dark

black and white

back to black

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. If a company makes a profit, what word or phrase might you use? Hint

back to black

dark horse

blacklist

in the black

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. If you wanted to describe someone making a wild attempt at something, what word or phrase would you use?

Answer: a shot in the dark

The use of the word "shot" for attempt has been in use since the nineteenth century. Therefore, a shot in the dark refers to trying something blindly.

2. What word or phrase has come to mean voting someone out of a club or organization?

Answer: blackball

This term came into common usage from the Masons; however, its derivation comes from the ancient Roman practice of voting on someone's guilt in court using black and white pebbles. A majority of black pebbles meant a conviction. While "blacklist" has a similar meaning, it does not mean to be excluded through a vote. Both terms are considered pejorative.

3. If you fell down the stairs and woke up looking like spoiled produce with bruises all over, what word or phrase would you use to illustrate this?

Answer: black and blue

The term is fairly self-explanatory. It describes the color of fresh bruises.

4. What idiom would you employ if you wanted to illustrate a person as a disreputable ne'er-do-well? This is generally used to describe a member of one's family.

Answer: black sheep

For sheep farmers, black sheep were undesirable as their wool could not be dyed. They were therefore useless. In modern terminology, it has come to mean someone who is profligate and makes bad decisions.

5. If you wanted to delineate a clear moral decision, what term or phrase might you say? This idiom can also refer to something that must be true as it has been written down.

Answer: in black and white

If you stated that something was "black and white" you might mean that the issue was very clear as to the path you should take. It can also be used to describe the written word and therefore a truism. "Her confession was in black and white."

6. What word or phrase, generally used of political candidates, designates someone (or something) that rises to prominence from obscurity?

Answer: dark horse

The phrase is thought to have been first used by Benjamin Disraeli in his novel, "The Young Duke". It came into common parlance in the 1844 U.S. Presidential election of the little-known candidate James K. Polk.

7. If you tell someone never to darken your door again, what do you mean?

Answer: You never want to see them again.

The phrase is thought to have originated with Benjamin Franklin in "The Busybody" (1729): "I am afraid she would resent it so as never to darken my doors again."

8. If someone has been deemed unsuitable and has been denied employment, a service, or a privilege, what word or phrase listed below might you use?

Answer: blacklist

The word initially came into usage to describe a list England's King Charles II made of the judges and court officers who sentenced his father to death. Thirteen of these executioners were put to death and twenty-five sentenced to life imprisonment. It was also used in Nazi Germany as a list of several thousand British citizens that would have been sent to concentration camps if Britain had lost the Battle of Britain.

Answer: black humor

I also found "The Duchess of Malfi" to be a black comedy, but perhaps that was just my interpretation.

10. If a company makes a profit, what word or phrase might you use?

Answer: in the black

This is opposed to "in the red", which implies that a company is in financial trouble. This is one of the few connotations in which black is meant in a positive manner.

Source: Author nahs386

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