Apples Galore! Trivia Quiz

Answer: New York

There is a multiplicity of ideas as to how this nick-name originated. Some say that it comes from the popularity of a 1930s' dance called The Big Apple: others say that it comes from the pavement apple sellers of the Depression era.
In the 1940s, jazz musicians referred to New York as The Big Apple - thinking of the city as a kind of prize venue. They all wanted to play in front of Manhattan's large, jazz-loving, appreciative audiences. So, perhaps the nick-name started with them.

Answer: Calvados

Calvados is more familiarly known as Calva. It originated in the department of the same name and is distilled from cider which is fermented apple juice.
Nowadays it is made throughout Normandy where the climate and soil conditions are ideal for growing apple trees.

Answer: William Tell

The story of William Tell belongs in the realm of Swiss legends. He may never have existed in reality.
It is said that Gessler, a newly-appointed local ruler, set up a pole, with one of his hats on it, in the middle of the village where William Tell lived. Gessler demanded that all the villagers should bow down to this symbol of his rule over them. Tell refused to do this and was taken prisoner. He was told that his freedom would be granted if he could perform the act which is described in the question.

Answer: go upstairs

Take a phrase, or a pair of words, which rhyme with a particular word; use the phrase, or pair of words, instead of the particular word, then you have Cockney rhyming slang. As an example, - if a Cockney (or anyone else, because use of this slang has spread) refers to his 'trouble and strife', he is talking about his wife.
Sometimes, as in the case of 'apples and pears', only the first word is used, so 'apples' become 'stairs'.

Answer: no

An apple-pie bed is usually made with the bed-sheets doubled up so that it is impossible, or even painful, to get into.

Answer: Isaac Newton

The story of Isaac Newton and the apple falling on his head is probably not true. It is more likely that when he observed an apple falling from zero velocity, as it hung on the tree, and accelerating as it fell towards the ground, it helped him to develop his theory of gravity.

Answer: tomato

The tomato is native to South America and, nowadays, it is widely grown throughout the world. Early explorers could have taken the plants or the seeds across the Atlantic to Europe. It was known in Italy in the mid 1500s where its name was pomo d'amore and the French used the same name - pomme d'amour (apple of love) because they believed that the tomato had aphrodisiacal powers.

Answer: John Chapman

Most people imagine that Johnny Appleseed travelled about scattering apple seeds around him as he went. This is not so. He set up fenced-in nurseries which he left in charge of agents who, later, sold the trees to orchard growers. He obtained the seeds from cider mills whose owners wanted more trees to be grown.

Answer: eye

This is a very old expression. Alfred the Great used it in his work 'Gregory's Pastoral Care', written in AD 885. Shakespeare used the expression, so did Walter Scott and it also appears several times in the Bible. Figuratively it is something, or more usually someone, who is highly regarded above all others.

Answer: fish an apple out with their teeth

This game is known as bobbing for apples and has been played, in the British Isles, for hundreds of years.
In his book 'Curiosities of Superstition', written in 1902, W.H. Davenport Adams (writing about Celtic fairy lore) mentions how, at one time, once the apple had been caught, it was peeled and the long strip was wound round the head. After that it was thrown over the shoulder and it would fall to ground in the shape of the initial letter of your true love's name.
If you ever play this game, make sure that you have a towel handy. Your face and even your whole head could get very wet!