Some Things Last Forever and a Day Quiz

Answer: a glove

Many words suit a feeling or situation, but few as close as the idiom "it fits like a glove", a handy phrase with no known origin, though it was seen in print around the 18th century and possibly used in the 16th, when men and women wore gloves for most occasions.

Answer: a hot potato

"A hot potato" shows how food can convey feelings about complex problems. The earliest written use of "hot potato" to describe something difficult is found in 19th century British and US political records. For example, Thomas Jefferson used it in one of his written polemics. (Seen in The Free Dictionary)
If "a bed of roses" looks puzzling because some roses have thorns, early written forms go back as far as 16th century Christopher Marlowe's 'The Passionate Shepherd to His Love' in the lines, "And I will make thee beds of roses / And a thousand fragrant posies..." (Seen in The Idioms)

Answer: come apart at the seams

The loose-seams idiom reveals a problem by using what we wear to describe and emphasize our state of mind. For example, when an unexpected shock occurs, perhaps involving money, health, or peace of mind (or all three), we might feel we have 'come apart at the seams' and our distress seems as obvious and revealing as holes in our clothes.

Answer: breath of fresh air

Idioms grow fluidly in many ways, places, and languages. The idiom "a breath of fresh air" is used in English when a pleasant thing relieves an otherwise stuffy, even heated, situation. W. Somerset Maugham wrote it in 1930, in a piece called "Cakes and Ale." He used a capsulized version of the older phrase "like the breath of heaven or spring." (Seen in The Idioms)

Answer: scared of his own shadow

The ancient Greek philosophers Plato and Socrates both discussed how humans in a cave might only see their own distorted shadows and become too timid to venture out into light. These allegorical stories may be the basis for the correct idiom here, "scared of his own shadow."
The other three idioms show confidence, sometimes too much confidence, and a positive attitude.

Answer: put it away for a rainy day

The idiom "...for a rainy day" encourages saving money for unexpected and important expenses, often related to home and health. "In for a penny, in for a pound" started in Great Britain in the 17th century to warn about debts, but it now often means once a project is started, it should be continued. The other idioms generally encourage spending.

Answer: a clotheshorse

Several dictionaries define "clotheshorse" as someone quite interested in appearances and fashion, which applies to Oscar Wilde, as he often said of himself, and as he also wrote: "One should either be a work of art or wear a work of art." He seemed to do both.

Answer: a canary in a coal mine

A canary, as several historical papers show, was sometimes used in coal mines, put ahead of workers to warn miners that bad air was ahead. The canary was in a threatening position, because its distress and death indicated danger for the miners. We still use this idiom to describe someone in a dangerous situation.

Answer: they can sell an icebox to an Eskimo

The idiom "they can sell an icebox to an Eskimo" is as dated as calling northern Indigenous people "Eskimos," a term currently out of favor. Yet like many idioms, people continue to use it, even if the words change somewhat. For example, one might say "they can sell sawdust to a lumber mill." (Seen in the Free Dictionary)

Answer: take a shot in the dark

The phrase "take a shot in the dark" will be immdiately understood by people who have made a wild guess (or shot) in attempt hit a target they cannot see. The first record of this idiom is from an 1895 issue of The Saturday Review, written by George Bernard Shaw about a failed attempt by a peer. (Seen in The Grammarist)