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Quiz about The Many Meanings of Run
Quiz about The Many Meanings of Run

The Many Meanings of "Run" Trivia Quiz


In English, one word can say a great deal, and "run" is one of those words. I'm about to have dinner with my good friends Arun and Brunhilde, but they always pepper their conversation with "run" words and phrases; can you help me work out what they mean?

A multiple-choice quiz by CellarDoor. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
CellarDoor
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
299,871
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
9 / 10
Plays
6022
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: robbonz (9/10), heidi66 (7/10), kino76 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. It's been ages since I've seen Arun and Brunhilde, and I'm excited about meeting them for dinner! But just as I'm getting ready to leave for the restaurant, I get a phone call from Arun: he wants me to know that they're "running late." What does he mean by that? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Brunhilde sits down breathlessly next to me. "It's so good to see you!" she says, as Arun takes her coat and smiles. "This is a great place; you'll just love it. After the day I've had, I'm looking forward to it! I had a big presentation this morning, and would you believe that just then I noticed a run in my stocking?" What should I believe? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. We order drinks and begin to debate the menu: what shall we get for an appetizer? I express curiosity about the fried onion; Arun favors the buffalo wings. We ask Brunhilde what she thinks, and she pauses before answering, "The buffalo wings here are run-of-the-mill." What is her opinion of the buffalo wings? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Our orders having been placed, we turn to the serious business of catching up. I'm surprised to hear that they've decided to invest in some serious camping equipment. Arun is gushing about their new tent: "It's lightweight and it folds up well, but on the inside it's very luxurious. Basically, we can carry all the comforts of home except for hot and cold running water!" What is he saying that they can't carry with them? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Brunhilde is telling me now about a mutual friend of ours, who was always a troublemaker at school. Apparently, she's a guidance counselor at our old high school now! "I went to see Janine last month at the school," Brunhilde says, "and after all the trouble she used to get into, it was so strange to see that she has the run of the school now!" What does it mean for Janine to have "the run of the school"? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The appetizers arrive just as I'm telling my friends about a charity event I'm helping put together. There will be comedians, magicians, even acrobats, but I'm worried about whether they'll remember their cues. "So when are you having a dry run?" Arun asks. What should I tell him? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The subject changes to my friends' niece, Joanna. Apparently, Brunhilde just attended a youth league game of hers, and was very impressed: "She looked so confident out there! And she scored two runs near the end." Which of these sports might Joanna have been playing? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Arun seems a little distant as we savor the main course. He stabs his roast chicken with his fork and says, "You know, this reminds me a little of a run-in I had with my boss the other day." What happened between Arun and his boss? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Brunhilde and I take a moment to reminisce about a bad movie that we watched together, repeatedly, in high school. Brunhilde fondly remembers one scene involving the villain: "Do you remember the looks on the extras' faces when he was run through?" What happened to the villain? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. My lovely evening with friends is drawing to a close, but Brunhilde has one more piece of news to share. It turns out that the next few months will be busy for her: she says she's running for office! What is Brunhilde doing? Hint



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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. It's been ages since I've seen Arun and Brunhilde, and I'm excited about meeting them for dinner! But just as I'm getting ready to leave for the restaurant, I get a phone call from Arun: he wants me to know that they're "running late." What does he mean by that?

Answer: They have been delayed and will arrive at the restaurant later than expected.

Perhaps they were "running errands" or taking care of other business, but they've gotten a late start - or else they've been delayed along the way - so now they're behind schedule and they can tell that they're going to be late for our rendezvous at the restaurant.

They're pretty busy people, though, and I was kind of expecting this; I'll just bring a book to the restaurant, so I can read while I'm waiting.
2. Brunhilde sits down breathlessly next to me. "It's so good to see you!" she says, as Arun takes her coat and smiles. "This is a great place; you'll just love it. After the day I've had, I'm looking forward to it! I had a big presentation this morning, and would you believe that just then I noticed a run in my stocking?" What should I believe?

Answer: Brunhilde's stocking became partly unraveled.

The end of a stocking's life is heralded by the dreaded "run": once a small section gets torn or stretched, the stocking begins to unravel in that area - and the unraveling spreads up and down. If you don't catch it soon enough (nail polish is a great way to stop a run in its tracks), you end up with a long, skinny vertical section where the threads are just barely hanging on, or have given up entirely. How embarrassing for poor Brunhilde! She'll probably want to buy new stockings soon.
3. We order drinks and begin to debate the menu: what shall we get for an appetizer? I express curiosity about the fried onion; Arun favors the buffalo wings. We ask Brunhilde what she thinks, and she pauses before answering, "The buffalo wings here are run-of-the-mill." What is her opinion of the buffalo wings?

Answer: They aren't anything special.

"Run-of-the-mill" means ordinary or average; the idiom is believed to refer to the output of a standard production run of a mill, or factory. A run-of-the-mill object isn't handmade or lovingly quality-controlled; it's just the standard, mass-produced product. I think Brunhilde's going to vote against the buffalo wings and for the fried onion!
4. Our orders having been placed, we turn to the serious business of catching up. I'm surprised to hear that they've decided to invest in some serious camping equipment. Arun is gushing about their new tent: "It's lightweight and it folds up well, but on the inside it's very luxurious. Basically, we can carry all the comforts of home except for hot and cold running water!" What is he saying that they can't carry with them?

Answer: Plumbing: they'll have to get their water from outside the tent.

The phrase "running water" refers to water that moves, be it in a streambed, a riverbed, or pipes. "Hot and cold running water," however, can only refer to the water that courses through modern plumbing, which can emerge from the tap either heated or at room temperature. This is not a common amenity while camping in the great outdoors!
5. Brunhilde is telling me now about a mutual friend of ours, who was always a troublemaker at school. Apparently, she's a guidance counselor at our old high school now! "I went to see Janine last month at the school," Brunhilde says, "and after all the trouble she used to get into, it was so strange to see that she has the run of the school now!" What does it mean for Janine to have "the run of the school"?

Answer: She is free to do whatever she wants.

To have the run of a place is to be completely free within that place: you can go where you like and do what you like. For example, a pet has the run of the house if there are no closed gates or doors, and no rooms it has been trained not to enter. In our school days, Janine forged so many hall passes and caused so much trouble with them that she wasn't allowed in the hallways during class even WITH a pass! If we'd known to vote on it, we would certainly have named her Least Likely to Have the Run of the School.
6. The appetizers arrive just as I'm telling my friends about a charity event I'm helping put together. There will be comedians, magicians, even acrobats, but I'm worried about whether they'll remember their cues. "So when are you having a dry run?" Arun asks. What should I tell him?

Answer: We're going to practice entrances, exits and other cues on Thursday.

A "dry run" is a practice, a rehearsal before the big day, but it isn't usually a complete practice: it's just going through the motions, so to speak. It's "dry" because some critical element has been removed - in this case, the actual performances. We'll just be practicing the transitions, and trusting the performers to handle their own acts.

A full practice would be a dress rehearsal. The phrase "dry run" could also refer to other situations - like industrial tests, or airline simulations - where only certain parts of the procedure are being practiced.
7. The subject changes to my friends' niece, Joanna. Apparently, Brunhilde just attended a youth league game of hers, and was very impressed: "She looked so confident out there! And she scored two runs near the end." Which of these sports might Joanna have been playing?

Answer: Cricket

Players of lacrosse and football (or soccer, as it's known in the U.S.) refer to scoring events as "goals," reflecting the fact that the ball must be put through a goal in order to score. For a similar reason, basketball players score points by making a basket! It's cricket players (along with baseball and softball players) who score runs, because in those sports, it is a player's progress around the field - in other words, his or her running - that determines the score.
8. Arun seems a little distant as we savor the main course. He stabs his roast chicken with his fork and says, "You know, this reminds me a little of a run-in I had with my boss the other day." What happened between Arun and his boss?

Answer: They had a confrontation.

To have a run-in with someone or something is to have an unfriendly or difficult encounter with them. It turns out that Arun and his boss had a disagreement about the best way to hold eating utensils at a business luncheon; luckily, they were able to come to a civil resolution!
9. Brunhilde and I take a moment to reminisce about a bad movie that we watched together, repeatedly, in high school. Brunhilde fondly remembers one scene involving the villain: "Do you remember the looks on the extras' faces when he was run through?" What happened to the villain?

Answer: He was impaled with a sword.

A person who has been run through has been stabbed with a blade so that there is both an entry wound and an exit wound. It's a popular way to dispatch enemies in movies like this one. However, in this particular case, the filmmakers had already blown their special effects budget on a particularly cheesy fight scene involving the hero and three octopuses (octopi? octopodes?), and they didn't have enough money left to make the dramatic death scene look believable.

The sword "blade" was clearly just tucked under the actor's arm, and the extras had hilarious expressions as they wondered who on earth thought that this would work.
10. My lovely evening with friends is drawing to a close, but Brunhilde has one more piece of news to share. It turns out that the next few months will be busy for her: she says she's running for office! What is Brunhilde doing?

Answer: She is campaigning to be elected to a public office.

American political candidates "run" for office, while British ones "stand" for office, but major elections in both nations tend to be energetic affairs with spirits running high on all sides. Brunhilde is hoping to become a member of the council of our small town, so her run for office might actually be more of a sedate stroll - but perhaps the election will surprise us!

Thank you for sitting in with me on this dinner with my friends. It made a big difference to be able to run everything by you!
Source: Author CellarDoor

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor gtho4 before going online.
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