FREE! Click here to Join FunTrivia. Thousands of games, quizzes, and lots more!
Quiz about Old Possums Practical Cats Which Cat
Quiz about Old Possums Practical Cats Which Cat

Old Possum's Practical Cats: Which Cat?? Quiz


I love these poems, as they never fail to make me smile! Here I will quote a line from each of the poems, and you get to pick from four possible answers, which cat I am talking about...

A multiple-choice quiz by Flapjack44. Estimated time: 4 mins.
  1. Home
  2. »
  3. Quizzes
  4. »
  5. Literature Trivia
  6. »
  7. Authors D-G
  8. »
  9. T. S. Eliot

Author
Flapjack44
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
89,283
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
15
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
11 / 15
Plays
1004
- -
Question 1 of 15
1. "For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity" Hint


Question 2 of 15
2. "From Gravesend up to Oxford he persued his evil aims, rejoicing in his title of 'The Terror of the Thames'" Hint


Question 3 of 15
3. "They did not advance or exactly retreat, but they stared at each other, and scraped their hind feet" Hint


Question 4 of 15
4. "For he will do, as he do do, and there's no doing anything about it!" Hint


Question 5 of 15
5. "He's a cat who has lived many lives in succession" Hint


Question 6 of 15
6. "He holds all the patent monopolies for performing surprising illusions and creating eccentric confusions" Hint


Question 7 of 15
7. "He gives one flash of his glass green eyes and the signal goes 'All Clear!'" Hint


Question 8 of 15
8. "I once was a pirate what sailed the 'igh seas." Hint


Question 9 of 15
9. "And we all say, 'Oh! Well I never! Was there ever a cat so clever'" Hint


Question 10 of 15
10. "She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice - their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice" Hint


Question 11 of 15
11. "His grandest creation, as he loves to tell, was Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell" Hint


Question 12 of 15
12. "If it happens to be a stormy night, they will practise a caper or two in the hall" Hint


Question 13 of 15
13. "Every now and then he has a cup of tea, with perhaps a drop of Scotch while he's keeping on the watch" Hint


Question 14 of 15
14. "They made their home in Victoria Grove. They had no regular occupation. They were plausible fellows, and liked to engage a friendly policeman in conversation" Hint


Question 15 of 15
15. "He doesn't haunt pubs - he has eight or nine clubs, for he's the St James's Street Cat!" Hint



(Optional) Create a Free FunTrivia ID to save the points you are about to earn:

arrow Select a User ID:
arrow Choose a Password:
arrow Your Email:




Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. "For he's a fiend in feline shape, a monster of depravity"

Answer: Macavity the Mystery Cat

T. S. Eliot's full name was Thomas Stearns Eliot and he was born in 1888 in Missouri. He was a delicate child and cosseted by his family and nurse.
2. "From Gravesend up to Oxford he persued his evil aims, rejoicing in his title of 'The Terror of the Thames'"

Answer: Growltiger

Eliot's father was the Reverend William Greenleaf Eliot, who founded the Washington University of St Louis.
3. "They did not advance or exactly retreat, but they stared at each other, and scraped their hind feet"

Answer: A Peke and a Pollicle

Eliot was lucky enough to study at some of the best educational establishments in the world, including the Sorbonne (France), Oxford University (England), and Harvard (USA).
4. "For he will do, as he do do, and there's no doing anything about it!"

Answer: The Rum Tum Tugger

Eliot moved to live in England in 1914. When he later applied to become a British subject he was quoted as saying "I don't like being a squatter, I might as well take the full responsibility".
5. "He's a cat who has lived many lives in succession"

Answer: Old Deuteronomy

While in England one of Eliot's jobs was as a clerk at Lloyds Bank. He also taught at Highgate Junior School for a while.
6. "He holds all the patent monopolies for performing surprising illusions and creating eccentric confusions"

Answer: Mr Mistoffelees

Eliot married ballet dancer Vivienne Haigh Wood in 1915 but unfortunately it was not a successful pairing. According to some sources, none of his relationships with women worked very well, as he was quite distant a lot of the time.
7. "He gives one flash of his glass green eyes and the signal goes 'All Clear!'"

Answer: Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

Possibly Eliot's most well-known work, "The Waste Land" was published in 1922 and its themes of regeneration and struggle struck a chord with the post-war public.
8. "I once was a pirate what sailed the 'igh seas."

Answer: Cat Morgan

In 1927, Eliot became a British subject and also became very interested in the Church of England. It was during this period that he wrote "Ash Wednesday", which made his allegiance to the Church amply clear.
9. "And we all say, 'Oh! Well I never! Was there ever a cat so clever'"

Answer: Mr Mistoffelees

In 1932, Eliot returned to the United States and for a while held a lectureship at Harvard.
10. "She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice - their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice"

Answer: The Old Gumbie Cat

"Murder in the Cathedral", a morality play about the murder of Thomas a Becket, was published in 1935 and stressed Eliot's belief that the Church was a medium for social action and change.
11. "His grandest creation, as he loves to tell, was Firefrorefiddle, the Fiend of the Fell"

Answer: Gus the Theatre Cat

He gave a number of lectures at the University of Virginia, and his preoccupation with the importance of tradition as it related to the expression of moral problems in the literature of the day became even more apparent.
12. "If it happens to be a stormy night, they will practise a caper or two in the hall"

Answer: Jellicle Cats

In direct contrast to his rather serious attitude to the roles of literature, religion, and tradition, Eliot appears to have been a practical joker (whoopee cushions, exploding cigars etc). He can't have been easy to live with!
13. "Every now and then he has a cup of tea, with perhaps a drop of Scotch while he's keeping on the watch"

Answer: Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

"Poetry is not a turning loose of emotion, but an escape from emotion; it is not the expression of personality, but an escape from personality." - T. S. Eliot
14. "They made their home in Victoria Grove. They had no regular occupation. They were plausible fellows, and liked to engage a friendly policeman in conversation"

Answer: Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer

Another of Eliot's loves were the Metaphysical poets, and he worked to revive the works of Donne, Herbert, and Crashaw amongst others. He apparently loved their mix of intellect and passion.
15. "He doesn't haunt pubs - he has eight or nine clubs, for he's the St James's Street Cat!"

Answer: Bustopher Jones the Cat about Town

T. S. Eliot died in 1965 aged 76. His ashes were interred in St Michael's Church, East Coker (in Somerset), the village his ancestors had come from.
Source: Author Flapjack44

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bullymom before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
3/28/2024, Copyright 2024 FunTrivia, Inc. - Report an Error / Contact Us