A Wordwise Revival (2) Trivia Quiz

Answer: cap in hand

The letters HA + ND (Hand) surround the word CAP: HA-CAP-ND.

To approach someone with "cap in hand" means that you're approaching them in a humble manner, generally, seeking a favour. The phrase survives from the 1700s when doffing the cap i.e. taking it off your head as someone approached, was a mark of respect.

Scottish band, The Proclaimers, released the song "Cap in Hand" in 1988 from their album "Sunshine on Leith", an LP famous for its hit single "I Would Walk 500 Miles". Some 25 years later it would become an anthem for the Scottish move towards independence, thanks to its taunting lyrics that included the lines;

"We fight - when they ask us
We boast - then we cower
We beg
For a piece of
What's already ours
I can't understand why you let someone else rule your land, cap in hand"

Answer: All hands on deck

This one is fairly straight forward. The words ALL HANDS are perched ON the word DECK.

The phrase is naval in nature but its actual time of origin is not known. It does stem from a period when a "hand" was another word for sailor, while the deck is, obviously, a part of the ship. The call out for all hands would occur in times of emergency such as the approach of a storm. Today the term hands would apply to anyone that is nearby or part of a team. The situation that would require all hands does not necessary mean that an emergency is at hand (no pun intended) but simply that a deadline is approaching or that the task is one that is onerous or large and, the more hands that are applied, the easier it would be.

In much the same vein, "All Hands on Deck" is a 2010 business strategy book by Joe Tye that deals with organizations and their need to develop a strong culture within its employees to succeed. The emphasis being on the workers "owning" their space in the workforce, rather than simply "renting" it.

Answer: Two sides to every question

You can see the word SIDES on either side of the word QUESTION.

The phrase indicates that there is more than one perspective or view that can be expressed and that everyone has a right to be heard. The word question, in the phrase, can always be altered to show argument or story.

Diogenes Laertius, biographer of ancient Greek philosophers, in his book, "The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 9", asserts that the phrase was first recorded by the Greek philosopher Protagoras (481-411 BC), with the addition that "each (side) is exactly opposite to the other". This quotation was adopted by the American politician, Stephen A. Douglas, during his last public address, at the time of the American Civil War; "There are only two sides to this question. Every man must be for the United States or against it. There can be no neutrals in this war; only patriots and traitors."

Answer: Ships passing in the night

The words SHIPS PASSING sit IN between the words THE NIGHT

The phrase refers to two people who might meet for a brief time. It may just be a greeting that is exchanged or it may be one that is intense. Regardless, it will be brief, and the pair are destined never to see each other again. It draws a parallel to a couple of ships that pass each other in the dark. They will shine a light to show that they are there or, perhaps, to greet each other, before disappearing from sight.

The phrase originated from the poem "Tales of a Wayside Inn" (1863), which was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow:
"Ships that pass in the night, and speak [to] each other in passing, Only a signal shown and a distant voice in the darkness; So on the ocean of life, we pass and speak one another, Only a look and a voice, then darkness again and a silence."

Answer: Not much between the ears

The words NOT MUCH sit in between the words EARS.

This is a disparaging term that questions someone's intelligence. Technically, it doesn't question, it states it. There have been, over time, many colloquialisms that have had a similar meaning. Among these you'll find "a few tiles short of a roof", "not all there" or "there's a few roos missing from the top paddock". All of them are not kind.

I have not been able to track down any origins to this proverb but I can advise that this has proven to be a staple for movie makers for generations. Some very clever (pun intended) films have been created about people not so clever. Carl Reiner's "The Jerk" (1979) and the Farrelly Brothers' "Dumb and Dumber" (1994) readily spring to mind but, one of the cleverest, is Mike Judge's "Idiocracy" (2006). The film deals with an average couple who are placed in a form of hibernation for a year, however, they get forgotten about and are woken 500 years later. Here the level of intelligence has dropped so significantly that the couple find themselves to be the smartest people on the planet.

Answer: Laughter in the rain

The word LAUGHTER sits right IN between the words THE RAIN.

This was a hit for Neil Sedaka in 1974 and it appeared on the ironically titled album "Overnight Success". Ironic because Sedaka had been a major name on the US music charts in the early 1960s, generating some eleven Top Forty hits in the years between 1960 and 1963. Then came the Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion and it was almost like someone had placed an anchor on Sedaka's career and threw it overboard.

After releasing it in England he received support from Elton John, who arranged to release the song in the States on his own, Rocket Records, label. This worked. While Sedaka's name may have been mud to the American DJ's anything with Elton's name on it was immediately seized upon. The song became a hit and Sedaka's US career was reborn, generating a further six Top Forty hits over the next three years. This would include the song "Love Will Keep Us Together", which was covered by the Captain and Tennille and became the biggest selling song on the US charts in 1975.

Answer: Top Gun

Of the pile of guns presented above, the TOP GUN was highlighted with ** to indicate that it was only this gun that you needed to be concerned with.

"Top Gun" is a 1986 action film that came under the directorship of Tony Scott and was produced by the prolific team of Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer. It centres on a young naval aviator, Lieutenant Pete "Maverick" Mitchell played by Tom Cruise, and his radar buddy, Lieutenant (junior grade) Nick "Goose" Bradshaw played by Anthony Edwards, who are given the chance to enhance their skills at the US Navy's Fighter Weapons School.

The film was praised by critics for its stunning action scenes but they also warned viewers to beware when the actors opened their mouths. Despite this, the film, which was created on a budget of $15 million, would become the biggest grossing film of 1986. Its soundtrack proved equally as popular, selling sufficient copies to be classified nine times platinum and igniting the career of the band Berlin whose single, "Take My Breath Away", would win both a Grammy and an Academy Award.

Answer: To be in the same boat

2B, meaning TO BE, is parked between the words SAME and BOAT.

The basic meaning of the phrase is to be facing the same problems or challenges that others are enduring. One of the earliest mentions of the phrase comes from Thomas Hudson's translation of Du Bartas' "Historie of Judith" in 1584. Within comes the following line; "Haue ye paine? so likewise paine haue we: For in one bote we both imbarked be.", which alludes to the fact that two people are sharing the same fate.

Idiom.com also points the the Greeks in the mid 1800s commenting that passengers on board a boat all bear the same risks. They also point out that the argument that it grew from the legend of the Titanic is based on an erroneous assumption.

This author's first impression was that it may have stemmed from the old nursery rhyme "Rub-a-dub-dub", which featured three men in a tub, that went out to sea. However, I could not find any reference to link it to the idiom.

Answer: Measure twice, cut once

The word MEASURE appears TWICE and the word CUT ONCE. While the word CUT is close TO the second MEASURE, "Cut to measure" ignores the first instance of the word measure so doesn't fit the puzzle properly.

The term is often heard among carpenters and tailors, admonishing apprentices to double check their measurements. Failure to do so may lead to a loss of both time and material and, as a consequence, decreasing the profit margin in the job. Essentially the phrase is used as a warning to plan each endeavour carefully to avoid costly mistakes. Similarly, look before you leap or think before you act or speak.

There are claims that the proverb dates back to Medieval times and that it was associated with both the tailoring industry and the carpenter's guilds, however, there is no evidence to be found to substantiate this. It is also claimed as a British proverb with attention drawn to the book "A Collection of Gaelic Proverbs and Familiar Phrases Based On MacIntosh's Collection" (1752), which indicates that the saying is based on an older Gaelic idiom "better measure short of seven, than spoil all at once". This referred to the creation of kilts which, for a grown man, took seven yards of cloth.

Interestingly, there is also a Russian saying that says something similar, but, instead of measuring twice they beseech you to measure seven times before you cut.

Answer: Writing on the wall

The word WRITING appears ON the words THE WALL.

As shown in the hint, it is an omen of dread or foreboding. It's a portent that something terrible is about to happen. The phrase stems from a passage in the Book of Daniel in the Bible. In Daniel 5:5-31, King Belshazzar has put on a mighty feast when a disembodied hand appears and scrawls a message on the wall. He calls his astrologers and soothsayers to decipher it but they can make no sense of it. Daniel is called forward and asked to interpret the words. He advises the king that he, like his father, has earned the wrath of the Lord for failing to humble himself. The message indicates that the king's kingdom would end up being divided between the Medes and Persians. That night the king is slain and the throne is taken by Darius the Median.