Wordwise II 23 Trivia Quiz

Answer: A snake in the grass

Adder refers to several venomous snakes. These are mainly vipers. Vipers are poisonous snakes with fangs. Adders are common in Europe and Asia, and to a lesser extent in other parts of the world. The longest of all adders, the Puff Adder, is found in Africa.

Answer: Puss in Boots

"Puss in Boots" is a European fairy tale. Versions date back to the 16th century. The various versions all tell of a special cat who helps its poor owner gain wealth and love, through trickery and deceit.

Answer: Twin Peaks

"Twin Peaks" was a TV show that originally ran in 1990 and 1991. It followed a special agent from the FBI doing a murder investigation. The mystery of who killed a young woman, along with some supernatural aspects to the show, made it very popular. Taking advantage of its popularity, there was also a movie in 1992, which was a prequel to the show.

A third season, set 25 years later, was released in 2017.

Answer: October

October does have a prefix of "Octo" relating to eight, but is the tenth month of the year. September for seven, November for nine and December for ten, are correspondingly similar. They were the seventh, eight, ninth and tenth months, until the Romans introduced a new calendar, around 153 BC.

The new calendar assigned two new months to about 60 days of winter, that were not assigned to any month. These became January and February. The last months retained their names, leading us to the modern confusion over their names seeming to be out of sync with a calendar of twelve months.

Answer: sleeping on the job

Sleeping on the job can mean its literal sense, but can also mean not giving due care to sometimes basic tasks. Not something you want to be doing, or at least caught doing. Pay attention at all times.

Answer: Stick in the Mud

A stick in the mud can refer to someone old-fashioned, someone afraid to enjoy themselves or to push themselves beyond their normal limits. They play it safe, by the rules. They can be seen to be boring.

Answer: Doctor Who

"Doctor Who" is famous British science fiction show, first broadcast in 1963. The Doctor is a time lord, travelling through space and time and having different adventures. The Doctor does not have a fancy spaceship, but just what from the outside looks like a British police box. Due to the length of time the show has been broadcast, various actors have taken the role.

Answer: Three sheets to the wind

A common idiom for someone who has had too much to drink. Drinking and being drunk is one of those things in life that attracts all sorts of words and idioms. Other related idioms include people having "One too many", being "Off the wagon", or "Drinks like a fish". Some of the individual words include "legless", "plastered", "flutered" among many, many more.

Answer: Cock and bull story

Any far-fetched story. In times where coaches were a common method of travel in England, The Cock and The Bull were two coaching inns in the town of Milton Keynes. Banter and rivalry between groups of travellers is said to have resulted in hard to believe tales. These became known as 'cock and bull stories' and the phrase has persisted to modern times.

Answer: Meteor shower

A meteor is a small piece of dirt burning up in the sky. They are not "falling stars". There are a number of meteor showers during the year. While the media portray them as one night events, that night is only the peak and you will see meteors for many nights before and after, just not as many.