The Middle Man Trivia Quiz

Answer: Peter

The Blue Peter is a flag flown by ships preparing to leave port, and Peter the Great (1672-1725) was the Russian emperor who ruled from 1682 until his death and moved Russia from the Middle Ages into modern times. True trivia lovers will enjoy knowing that there is a suburb of Worcester in England called St. Peter the Great. It derives its name from the local Parish Church.

Answer: John

King John (1188-1216) was the youngest son of King Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine and brother of Richard I. He ruled England from 1199 until his death and his chief claims to fame are the signing of the Magna Carta, losing the crown jewels in The Wash, and starring as the chief villain in the legend of Robin Hood. John o'Groats is a village in northern Scotland, long-reputed to be the most northerly settlement on mainland Great Britain (except it isn't; that distinction belongs to the nearby hamlet of Dunnet Head).

Answer: Julius

An Orange Julius is a frothy orange milkshake. Take one 6-0z can of frozen orange juice, one cup of milk, one cup of water, 1/2 cup of sugar, one teaspoon of vanilla and 12 ice cubes. Combine all ingredients in a blender and beat until they're fully combined. Enjoy! Julius Rosenberg, with his wife Ethel, was executed as a spy in 1953 for allegedly passing American atomic secrets to the USSR.

The Rosenbergs were the first American civilians in history to be sentenced to death for espionage.

Answer: Tom

Uncle Tom is a pejorative used by African-Americans about any African-American who is deemed to be selling out to the white majority. Tom Thumb is the central character in a 1621 story by Richard Johnson. The name was appropriated by showman P.T. Barnum for Charles Sherwood Stratton (1838-1883), a dwarf who was one of his star attractions.

Answer: Richard

Maurice 'The Rocket' Richard (1921-2000) was a star right-winger for the Montreal Canadians from 1942-1960 and probably one of the most beloved hockey players Canada ever produced. King Richard I (1157-1199) is better known as 'The Lion Heart' (so-called because of his reputation for valour and military leadership) - but that would have been too easy! He was also known as Oc e No, (which means "yes and no" in the southern French langue d'oc), because of his frequent mood changes - and general indecisiveness.

The Saracens against whom Richard crusaded referred to him as Melek-Ric (Arabic for 'The True King'). Despite the fact that Richard spent very little time in England, he was a hero to the English people and remains one of the few English kings known by his nickname rather than his number.

Answer: Jude

St. Jude is generally believed to have been a brother of Jesus, or he may have been the disciple Thaddeus, or both! He is the patron saint of desperate causes. "Jude the Obscure' is a novel by Thomas Hardy and when I had to read it for an English Lit. course at university, I asked St. Jude to intercede because I think any novel by Thomas Hardy is a lost cause.

Answer: Bill

A handbill is a pamphlet used in advertising (people are constantly shoving them under the windshield wipers of my car when it's parked at the Mall!) and a billhook is a European agricultural tool used for clearing brush or pruning.

Answer: Mark

Watermarks are invisible-until-held-up-to-the-light identifying images in paper indicating the source and manufacturer. You'll find watermarks on all genuine paper currency - that's how you know it's genuine! When you mark time, you're just hanging around waiting for the right job or other opportunity to present itself.

Answer: James

"Home, James" is a command frequently given to coachmen (and nowadays cab drivers), whether or not their name was or is James. Jamestown, founded in Virginia in 1607, is the first permanent English settlement in North America.

Answer: Billy

Silly Billy is a reasonably affectionate term of derision for someone who is acting the fool or playing dumb or just not 'getting it'! Billy Budd is the central character of a Herman Melville novella (unfinished at the time of Melville's death) which examines the nature of good and evil.

It is the basis for the opera with music by Benjamin Britten and libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier. 'Billy Budd' is one of the major works frequently staged by the Metropolitan Opera in New York.