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Famous Put-Downs Trivia Quiz

There are so many things that I wish I'd said! So here are some that people did manage to say at the right time.

A multiple-choice quiz by TCEB. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
TCEB

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
312,358

Updated
Sep 16 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
3346

Awards
Top 10% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Which famous comedic personality said this about Los Angeles: "It's so clean out here. That's because they don't throw their garbage away. They turn it into television shows" ? Hint

Joan Rivers

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Jerry Springer

Woody Allen

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. About whom did David Niven say: "You always knew precisely where you stood with him because he always let you down"? Hint

Samuel Goldwyn

Michael Parkinson

Errol Flynn

Phileas Fogg

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Blackadder to his servant Baldrick taken from the TV series:
"Ah - it's time for us to meet our maker - in my case God , in your case ... "
How did this finish?
Hint

"Perhaps not."

"Probably Satan."

"God knows."

"Gepetto."

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. On being told that the infamously quiet President Calvin Coolidge had died, what did Dorothy Parker say?
Hint

"How could they tell?"

"I'll miss him"

"Who?"

"Up goes taxation"

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. "------- was as charming as always, which means that he was as charming as a dead mouse in a loaf of bread." About whom was Clive James speaking? Hint

Jimmy Connors

A small fluffy rabbit

John McEnroe

Arnold Schwarzenegger

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. "---- -------'s foreign policy experience is pretty much confined to having had breakfast once at the International House of Pancakes" (Pat Buchanan). Of whom was he speaking?
Hint

Socks

Anyone from Arizona

Bill Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "Women are like elephants. I like to look at 'em, but I wouldn't want to own one". Who is known for saying this?

Hint

Elephant Bill

WC Fields

Bill Clinton

WG Grace

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. "He is mad, bad and dangerous to know". Who was Lady Caroline Lamb speaking about? Hint

Lord Byron

Legolam

Charles Lamb

Lord Elgin

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. "What you've got to remember about Michael is that under that cold professional Germanic exterior beats a heart of stone." This was said by Damon Hill of whom? Hint

Michael Schumacher

Michael Gambon

Michael Jordan

Michael Jackson

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even when there is no river." Who was responsible for this very perceptive comment? Hint

Nikita Krushchev

John Kennedy

Winston Churchill

Harold Macmillan

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Which famous comedic personality said this about Los Angeles: "It's so clean out here. That's because they don't throw their garbage away. They turn it into television shows" ?

Answer: Woody Allen

Woody Allen is obsessive about New York, but he clearly doesn't like California at all, particularly Los Angeles.
My main impression was that it has everything, but mostly everything is a long way from where you happen to be.

2. About whom did David Niven say: "You always knew precisely where you stood with him because he always let you down"?

Answer: Errol Flynn

And they were friends!
They were in several films together in the 1930's, and shared a house which they named "Cirrhosis-by-the-Sea"

3. Blackadder to his servant Baldrick taken from the TV series: "Ah - it's time for us to meet our maker - in my case God , in your case ... " How did this finish?

Answer: "God knows."

Blackadder 111, episode 3.
Blackadder attempts to emulate the Scarlet Pimpernel - with less than successful results.

4. On being told that the infamously quiet President Calvin Coolidge had died, what did Dorothy Parker say?

Answer: "How could they tell?"

Notoriously laconic, Coolidge nevertheless held more press conferences than any US president before him. In his political campaigns he never maligned his opponents, or even mentioned them.
His policy was that taxes should be lower and that fewer people should have to pay them.
It makes me so nostalgic!

5. "------- was as charming as always, which means that he was as charming as a dead mouse in a loaf of bread." About whom was Clive James speaking?

Answer: John McEnroe

Not that he didn't respect him. I quote again:
"John McEnroe and Martina Navratilova are so interesting when they talk about tennis that they scarcely need to be accompanied by an actual match."

6. "---- -------'s foreign policy experience is pretty much confined to having had breakfast once at the International House of Pancakes" (Pat Buchanan). Of whom was he speaking?

Answer: Bill Clinton

His experience in foreign policy was admittedly not great, but with a 65% post office approval rating, he must have been doing something the American public approved of.

7. "Women are like elephants. I like to look at 'em, but I wouldn't want to own one". Who is known for saying this?

Answer: WC Fields

WC Fields was living in Mississippi with Carlotta Monti at the time.
Many of his sayings played to the audience, such as "Marry an outdoors woman. Then if you throw her out into the yard on a cold night, she can still survive." He had two children, so he can't have hated women all that much.

8. "He is mad, bad and dangerous to know". Who was Lady Caroline Lamb speaking about?

Answer: Lord Byron

Son of "Mad Jack" Byron and great nephew of "Wicked Baron" Byron, his life was full of debts, quarrels and love affairs with both sexes of various ages, married and unmarried. Deeply involved in both Italian and Greek independence, he died of fever in Greece at the age of 36.

9. "What you've got to remember about Michael is that under that cold professional Germanic exterior beats a heart of stone." This was said by Damon Hill of whom?

Answer: Michael Schumacher

A cold public persona and a ruthless competitor, Michael Schumacher, is an ambassador for UNESCO and has donated tens of millions of dollars to charity.

10. "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even when there is no river." Who was responsible for this very perceptive comment?

Answer: Nikita Krushchev

Both a liberal reformist and the architect of the Berlin Wall, Krushchev was an unpredictable politician. His lack of formal education affected many of his political decisions, but as this quotation demonstrates, he was a very smart man.

Source: Author TCEB

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