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Quiz about People and Places in Phrases
Quiz about People and Places in Phrases

People and Places in Phrases Trivia Quiz


There are a lot of idioms that reference people and places, and this quiz is about those people and places. How many of them do you know?

A multiple-choice quiz by john_sunseri. Estimated time: 3 mins.
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Author
john_sunseri
Time
3 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
321,369
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
3082
Awards
Top 10% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Mattamuskeet (9/10), Rumpo (10/10), Guest 99 (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there was a stable owner in England who would rent you any horse you wanted, so long as it was the horse in the stall next to the stable door. What do we call this kind of option? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. This rhetorical device is named for the town that the 14th-century friar William lived in, and it states, basically, that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. What do we call this principle? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Referring to an Austrian scientist and his gedankenexperiment, which is the feline that might be alive or might be dead--or might be both? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Referencing one of Jesus' disciples, what is the idiom that you might use to describe someone who demands proof before he commits to something? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Someone who looks intimidating but is really a big softie might be referred to as this, named for an American president. What's the term? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What idiom, referring to a courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, might you use to imply a doom that's barely contained and could hit at any time? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In 1928, Peter Markus invented and patented an inflatable life preserver. During World War II, some bright soldier noted that its...pneumatic...shape resembled a celebrity. What did the US soldiers and British Air Force servicemen call this device? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. What is the term that waiters and waitresses use in hash house slang to indicate that a customer wants a glass of water? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. In Italy they called it "the French disease", in France "the Italian disease". Russians called it "the Polish disease", Turks "the Christian disease" and the Dutch "the Spanish disease". What is the real name for this disease that's attracted so many national names? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Finally, in the Superman comic books, television show, radio series, and movies, "Daily Planet" editor Perry White is wont to use an exclamation that references a historical figure. What's the expression? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, there was a stable owner in England who would rent you any horse you wanted, so long as it was the horse in the stall next to the stable door. What do we call this kind of option?

Answer: Hobson's Choice

Thomas Hobson was the man's name, and the 'choice' in the phrase is, of course, no choice at all--you're obliged to either take what is offered you, or take nothing. A good example of Hobson's Choice (and the most famous one) is what Henry Ford offered when it came to the color of the car you were going to buy--"Any color you like, so long as it's black".
2. This rhetorical device is named for the town that the 14th-century friar William lived in, and it states, basically, that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. What do we call this principle?

Answer: Occam's Razor

William of Ockham (a town in Surrey, now usually written 'Occam' in the principle) said that "entities should not be multiplied unnecessarily", which has been simplified since he wrote about it (and might even correspond to the classic "keep it simple, stupid!") William was a Franciscan friar and is considered one of the titans of medieval philosophy.
3. Referring to an Austrian scientist and his gedankenexperiment, which is the feline that might be alive or might be dead--or might be both?

Answer: Schrödinger's Cat

Erwin Schrödinger wasn't expecting his thought experiment to be taken seriously--his cat in the box with an equal chance of being alive or dead after a certain amount of time was meant to expose the problems he saw with quantum mechanics. But the expression has taken on a life of its own, and physicists still argue about exactly what happened to that darned cat.
4. Referencing one of Jesus' disciples, what is the idiom that you might use to describe someone who demands proof before he commits to something?

Answer: Doubting Thomas

In the book of John (20:24-29), Thomas demanded to be allowed to touch the resurrected Christ's wounds, just to be sure it wasn't some fraud who had appeared before the apostles for whatever reason. Thomas is popularly supposed to be the disciple who traveled farthest in his preachings--he reportedly showed up in India to spread the Word of Christ.
5. Someone who looks intimidating but is really a big softie might be referred to as this, named for an American president. What's the term?

Answer: Teddy bear

The teddy bear was named for Theodore Roosevelt, who had gone on a hunting trip with friends and been presented with a black bear that had been beaten and captured and was just waiting for him to shoot it, to claim his kill. He refused, the story spread, and a toymaker named Morris Michtom came up with a stuffed animal to capitalize on the tale.
6. What idiom, referring to a courtier in the court of Dionysius II of Syracuse, might you use to imply a doom that's barely contained and could hit at any time?

Answer: Sword of Damocles

Damocles and Dionysius agreed to switch places for a day, so that the lackey could get a taste of what it was like to be a king. He enjoyed the heck out of the experience until he looked up, at a banquet at which he was being feted, and noticed that there was a sword hanging above his head, suspended by a horsehair.

This symbolized the imminent danger that all potentates had to live with, and Damocles decided that it wasn't such a great thing being a king after all.
7. In 1928, Peter Markus invented and patented an inflatable life preserver. During World War II, some bright soldier noted that its...pneumatic...shape resembled a celebrity. What did the US soldiers and British Air Force servicemen call this device?

Answer: Mae West

The Mae West (more strictly known as a personal flotation device, or PFD) was designed to keep a person afloat in water, and came in handy when one got one's plane shot out from under one. Mae West had a very generously-sized bosom (her measurements, according to costume designer Edith Head, were 38-24-38).
8. What is the term that waiters and waitresses use in hash house slang to indicate that a customer wants a glass of water?

Answer: Adam's ale

"Adam's Ale" makes sense, because water is pretty much the only beverage the first man in the Garden of Eden had available to him. A cup of Joe is coffee, a Jack Benny means cheese and bacon, and a Murphy is a potato.
9. In Italy they called it "the French disease", in France "the Italian disease". Russians called it "the Polish disease", Turks "the Christian disease" and the Dutch "the Spanish disease". What is the real name for this disease that's attracted so many national names?

Answer: Syphilis

The proclivity to pin syphilis on some other country is possibly due to the fact that the disease often used foreign soldiers (and their dalliances with local prostitutes) as vectors. And, after all, it's a whole lot better to blame foreigners for all those lesions and chancres.
10. Finally, in the Superman comic books, television show, radio series, and movies, "Daily Planet" editor Perry White is wont to use an exclamation that references a historical figure. What's the expression?

Answer: "Great Caesar's Ghost!"

In the television series "Lois and Clark", White sometimes exclaimed, "Great shades of Elvis!" According to the mythology, White worked for the "Gotham Gazette" and the Metropolis "Daily Star" before he went to work for the Planet, and he's been the name on the bottom line of the paycheck for Clark Kent and Lois Lane since 1940.
Source: Author john_sunseri

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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