The Last Straw Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hat

The phrase is 'at the drop of a hat', meaning immediately or without delay. Various suggestions for the origin of the expression have been made. They usually involve the lowering or dropping of a hat to signal the start of a race, fight or a duel.

Answer: Sliced-bread

Used to describe a good idea, the phrase 'best thing since sliced-bread' came from the 1928 invention of the bread slicer and the advertising which followed. The invention led to an increase in bread consumption. Perhaps strangely, there was a short-lived ban in USA on breadslicers during the Second World War as a conservation measure.

This was apparently due to a heavier wrapping being required to prevent sliced bread drying out when compared to unsliced bread.

Answer: Thunder

'To steal someone's thunder' is to take credit for someone else's work. The idiom has been attributed to John Dennis, a playwright from the 18th century, who created a new method of making 'thunder' for his play "Appius and Virginia". When his play failed, the method was then used in a production of "Macbeth".

He was quoted as saying: "Damn them! They will not let my play run, but they steal my thunder!"

Answer: Eye

When you 'see eye to eye', you are agreeing with someone about something. The expression has been around for a while and, for example, gets used in the King James Version of the Bible at Isaiah 52:8.

Answer: Moon

'Once in a blue moon' is the phrase meaning 'very rarely', however its origin is unclear. Blue-coloured moons do occur, however you typically need erupting volcanoes for that and a red moon is perhaps more likely.

There is the 'second full moon in a month' definition, which appears to have been a misinterpretation of a definition in an almanac by the astronomer James Pruett. Such moons occur every two or three years and so are not that rare, but this seems to be a popular explanation.

Answer: Doubt

How does belief come from doubt? When you 'give the benefit of the doubt' to someone. This probably comes from the courtroom. The standard of proof required for a criminal conviction is usually 'beyond reasonable doubt'. Where there is reasonable doubt then the benefit of the doubt is given, the 'not guilty' plea is accepted and the person walks free.

Answer: Wall

The expression 'the writing on the wall' refers to the biblical tale known as Belshazzar's feast when a disembodied hand appeared during a drunken feast to write words on a wall. This turned out to be a portent for the king. Modern use retains the portent/premonition meaning (and extends it), although graffiti is not usually involved.

Answer: Yards

'The whole nine yards' means everything or the whole thing. You can swap 'nine yards' with 'shebang', 'enchilada', 'shooting match' and so on, and get much the same thing. These all seem to have come out of America. The expression has an uncertain history, however it appeared in print in 1907 so any explanation postdating this is unlikely to hold water.

Answer: Swan

A 'black swan event' is an unforeseen event and is nothing to do with the 2010 film of the same name. Its original use dates back to Roman times when the colour was used to describe something impossible or extremely rare as only white swans were known to exist. And so it was until Dutch explorers discovered black swans on (what is now) Swan River in Australia at the end of the 17th century.

When black swans were brought back to Europe, the meaning of the idiom changed to reflect this unexpected event.

Answer: Horns

Nothing to do with bulls or other potentially aggressive animals, 'pull in your horns' refers to snails. The eyes of snails are located on tentacles known as horns, which are retracted when the snail encounters an obstacle. There are literary examples going back to the 14th century. Modern usage includes fiscal prudence, suppression of feelings and becoming less assertive.