FunTrivia Humanities Mix: Vol 5 Quiz

Answer: Comedy club: it is a loud, boisterous laugh

The word guffaw traces its origins to 18th-century Scotland. It is thought to have originated as a word to emulate the sound made by a sudden, brief burst of laughter. In current usage it has come to mean an enthusiastic explosion of laughing, usually brought on by good feelings, to distinguish it from derisive, mean-spirited laughs.

Question by player shorthumbz

Answer: Monkeys

Although research on the origination of this phrase is slim, some sources indicate it was meant as sarcasm, as in "not fun at all". This sounds about right, as you probably wouldn't want the barrel or the monkeys after they left it.

Question by player Kablooey1

Answer: to fawn, cower, beseech, self-abase

One grovels before someone more powerful, seeking favour by cowering, cringing and crawling on the ground. Acts of submission are often cowering. There is a hint of insincerity in the modern use of the term grovel, in the sense that someone may act as if the other is superior while believing that the other is not truly superior. "Grovel" entered English from the Old Norse in the 14th century. Shakespeare used it.

The Old Norse word was "gruffe", which meant prone or facedown -- a posture which would today be recognized as groveling.

Question by player FatherSteve

Answer: Mansfield Park

The fictional Mansfield Park is in the English Midlands county of Northamptonshire, whereas the real Mansfield is a town in Nottinghamshire, as are Newark, Worksop and Bulwell.

Question by player Seurat

Answer: Into The Woods

Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for the musical "Into The Woods", first performed in 1986, which opened on Broadway in 1987. It is very popular, and a film based on this musical has been created.

Question by player JenniferKeller

Answer: Head

A diadem is type of crown and would be worn on the head. It is usually an ornamental headdress worn by European monarchs to denote their status. Sometimes the term diadem can be used interchangeably with the term tiara.

Question by player dcpddc478

Answer: fade away

This phrase was used in a speech by American General Douglas MacArthur when he retired from service. It was also the title of a popular song composed by Frank Westphal in 1939 and recorded by Gene Autry.

Question by player debodun

Answer: The Globe Theatre

Shaw and Wilde do have theatres named for them, and the Courtyard was a temporary theatre in Stratford-on-Avon while the main theatre was rebuilt. The Globe, however, was the brainchild and passion of the late Sam Wanamaker and is designed to be as close as possible in structure to Shakespeare's own Globe Theatre, which in reality was a few hundred yards away.

Question by player GillianO

Answer: find a partner and dance

The gavotte is a form of dance which originated in France, although its precise history is hotly contested by several regions. It was popular in the 16th through the 18th centuries. The modern version owes little to the original and resembles it only slightly. A piece of music written for the dance is often itself called a gavotte.


Question by player FatherSteve

Answer: Ron Baird

The "Spirit Catcher" is an iconic sculpture that stands on Barrie's waterfront. It looks like an angel spreading its wings and includes 16 quills that rock back and forth when the wind blows. It was designed by Ron Baird, a sculptor known for creating large stainless steel sculptures and a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts.

The "Spirit Catcher" was originally created for Expo 86 in Vancouver and was then transported to Barrie in 1987.

Question by player ramonesrule