Proverbs and Idioms

Question 1

“The best-laid plans of mice and men often go awry” is adapted from a line in this poem

Answer 1

“To a Mouse,” by Robert BURNs: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley”

(poem published in 1785)

no matter how carefully a project is planned, something may still go wrong with it.

Question 2

“Brevity is the soul of wit” is a proverb that comes from this play

Answer 2

Hamlet by William Shakespeare.

Question 3

President Harry Truman kept a sign on his desk with this proverb

Answer 3

“The buck stops here”

It means I am the ultimately responsible person in this organization. Other people can pass the buck to me, but I can’t pass the buck to anyone else. 

Question 4

“The course of true love never did run smooth” is a proverb that comes from this play

Answer 4

A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by William Shakespeare

Question 5

“The devil can cite scripture for his purpose” comes from this play

Answer 5

The Merchant of Venice, by William Shakespeare

Even things that are good in themselves (such as the Bible)can be twisted to serve bad purposes 

Question 6

The saying “don’t fire until you see the whites of their eyes“ comes from an order allegedly given by American officer William Prescott in this battle

Answer 6

The Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War 

As a saying, it means don’t react to a situation too early 

Question 7

A favorite motto of the United States Navy is the dying words of Commander James Lawrence during a battle in the war of 1812

Answer 7

Don’t give up the ship 

Question 8

The saying “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds“ is a saying from this essay

Answer 8

“Self-Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Published in 1841

It means a great person does not have to think consistently from one day to the next 

Question 9

The Proverbs “hell hath no fury like a woman, scorned” and “music has charms to soothe the savage beast” both come from this play

Answer 9

The Mourning Bride, by William Congreve

The Mourning Bride is a tragedy written by English playwright William Congreve. It premiered in 1697. The play centers on Zara, a queen held captive by Manuel, King of Granada, and a web of love and deception which results in the mistaken murder of Manuel who is in disguise, and Zara’s also mistaken suicide in response.

Question 10

“Old soldiers, never die; they only fade away” was famously, said, by this general, after being relieved of his command in the Korean War

Answer 10

General Douglas MacArthur

The proverb is a line from a song popular among soldiers in Britain in world war I

Question 11

This saying is a version of the Latin proverb “de gustibus non est disputandum”

Answer 11

 There is no accounting for taste

It means personal preferences are not debatable

Question 12

Where does the phrase “win this one for the Gipper” come from?

Answer 12

attributed to Knute Rockne coach of Notre Dame football team during a halftime peptalk at the 1928 Army-Notre Dame football game. Rockne told his team that a former player, George Gipp had said on his deathbed “Rock, someday when things look real tough for Notre Dame ask the boys to go out there and win for me“ the incident was made famous in a movie in which Ronald Reagan played George Gipp

Used in conversation, it can mean, Do this in memory of somebody you revere

Question 13

A saying involving an invertebrate that means: one’s luck or fortune changes

Answer 13

The worms turns

Question 14

This English scientist wrote: “If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants”

Answer 14

Sir Isaac Newton

Question 15

Meaning of “according to Hoyle”

Answer 15

With strict adherence to a set of rules: fairly and honorably: “ we don’t want to lose this case over any legal technicality; everything must be done strictly according to Hoyle“ Hoyle was the author of a book on the game of whist in the 18th century; his name since been used in the title of many books of rules for card games 

Question 16

The phrase “ an albatross around one’s neck”, meaning and annoying burden, alludes to this poem

Answer 16

“The rime of the ancient mariner“ by Samuel Taylor Coleridge 

A sailor who shoots a friendly albatross is forced to wear its carcass around his neck as punishment

Question 17

“And thereby hangs a tale” comes from this Shakespeare play

Answer 17

As You Like It

That means roughly “there’s a real story behind this“. It’s currently used by someone who’s about to give a background of an interesting object, incident or idea. 

Question 18

The meaning of annus mirabilis

Answer 18

A Latin expression meaning “miraculous year“

The reverse is an annus horribilus or “terrible year”. Queen Elizabeth II used the term in 1992, referring to a major fire at Windsor Castle and the widely publicized marital problems of her family members. 

Question 19

Meaning of “buy a pig in a poke”

Answer 19

To buy some thing sight unseen (a poke is a bag)

Question 20

A saying meaning to do something that is obviously superfluous: carry coals to ________

Answer 20

Newcastle

Newcastle is a city in northeast England where coal is mined 

Question 21

What does “cotton to” mean?

Answer 21

To take a liking to someone or something.

“ I was afraid Janet wouldn’t like my brother, but she cottoned to him immediately“

Question 22

What does “de rigueur” mean?

Answer 22

A French term meaning necessary according to convention: “formal dress is de rigueur at weddings“

Question 23

What does “dog in the manger” mean?

Answer 23

Idiom meaning of person who spitefully refuses to let someone else benefit from some thing for which he or she has no personal use. The phrase comes from one of Aesop’s fables about a dog lying in a manger full of hay. When an ox tries to eat some hay, the dog bites him, despite the fact that the hay is of no use to the dog.

“We asked her neighbor for the fence posts he had left over, but like a dog in the manger, he threw them out rather than give them to us”

Question 24

A person who wields power behind the scenes. The French term meaning “grey eminence”

Answer 24

Éminence grise

Ex. “The kings brother-in-law is his eminence grise; he has enormous influence, even though he’s rarely in the public eye”

Question 25

Descriptive term for an official pronouncement from the pope. It is Latin for “from the chair“

Answer 25

Ex cathedra

Roman Catholics, believe the poke speaks infallibly, when speaking ex cathedra on questions of faith or morals, such as when Pope Pius XII declared in 1950 that Mary the mother of Jesus, was physically taken up to heaven after her death

Figuratively any authoritative pronouncement may be called ex cathedra 

Question 26

An explanation or regulation concocted after the event, sometimes misleading or unjust. From Latin meaning “after the deed”

Answer 26

Ex post facto

Example: your ex post factor defense won’t stand up in court 

Question 27

What are Fabian tactics

Answer 27

To “win like Fabius” or to win by “Fabian tactics” is to wear out an opponent by delay and evasion, rather than confrontation, in the style of the ancient Roman general Fabius 

Question 28

What does fait accompli mean?

Answer 28

Something that has already been done. From French meaning “ an accomplish fact”

The company president did not discuss the new hiring policy with her Board of Directors; instead, she put it into affect and presented the board with a fait accompli “ 

Question 29

What is a Faustian bargain?

Answer 29

Faust, in the legend, traded his soul to the devil, in exchange for knowledge. To “strike a Faustian bargain“ is to be willing to sacrifice anything to satisfy a limitless desire for knowledge or power. 

Question 30

This Roman emperor was said to have played his violin while a fire destroyed the city of Rome in 64 AD

Answer 30

Nero

Legend has it that while a fire destroyed the city of Rome the emperor Nero played his violin, thus, revealing his total lack of concern for his people and his empire

The saying “fiddle while Rome burns” means to do something trivial and irresponsible in the midst of an emergency 

Question 31

Acronym AWOL

Answer 31

Absent without Leave

The saying that now means to take an authorized time off from work school or other duties. The term originated with the military during World War I.

Question 32

According to the philosophy of Aristotle, the desirable middle ground between any two extremes

Answer 32

Golden mean 

Question 33

Saying meaning, the original place or arrangement. From the Latin meaning “in position”

Answer 33

In situ

“The body was left in situ until the police arrived“

Question 34

A saying meaning to encounter one’s ultimate obstacle, and to be defeated by it. The saying comes from the battle where Napoleon Bonaparte was finally defeated.

Answer 34

Meet one’s Waterloo

“After beating dozens of challengers, the champion finally met his Waterloo”

Question 35

A saying meaning, a compromise between adversaries that allows them to get along temporarily . It comes from Latin meaning “method of living”

Answer 35

Modus vivendi

Question 36

A phrase used to describe someone who was out of his or her mind, and therefore not legally responsible for his or her actions. It comes from Latin meaning “not having control of the mind”

Answer 36

Non compos mentis

“It was determined by the court that the killer was non compos mentis“

Question 37

To What does the phrase “once in a blue moon” refer?

Answer 37

The phrase means to do some thing very rarely. The phrase refers to the appearance of a second full moon within a calendar month, which actually happens about every 32 months. 

Question 38

In opera, the principal female soloist is called this

Answer 38

Prima donna

It can be used generally to mean an overly sensitive person who is temperamental and difficult to work with. Comes from Italian meaning “first lady“

Question 39

Quod erat demonstrandum (Q.E.D.)
Means

Answer 39

A phrase used to signal that a proof has just been completed. From Latin meaning “that which was to be demonstrated“


Question 40

Meaning of sangfroid

Answer 40

Composure in the face of difficulty or danger. From French meaning “cold blood”

Sahn-FRWAH

Question 41

Meaning of a stool pigeon

Answer 41

An informer, especially for the police

Question 42

A two-word phrase meaning a person or thing unique, in a class by itself. From the Latin meaning “of its own kind”

Answer 42

Sui generis

Question 43

a city in Mali, located at the southern edge of the Sahara desert used as an expression for a faraway and unknown place

Answer 43

Timbuktu

Question 44

The meaning of warp and woof

Answer 44

Essential foundation, or base of any structure or organization; from weaving, in which the warp— the threads that run length wise— and the woof— the threads that run across—make up the fabric

“The constitution and the declaration of independence are the warp and woof of the American nation “

Question 45

The meaning of Young Turk

Answer 45

An insurgent person trying to take control of a situation or organization by force or political maneuver. The term originated from the mostly young Turkish officers, who overthrew the Ottoman rulers after World War I.

Question 46

“L’amore e cieco” is this familiar proverb in Italian

Answer 46

Love is blind 

Question 47

I’m going to give you this 2-word French term that means “blank document”

Answer 47

Carte Blanche

Question 48

What does “deus ex machina” mean?

Answer 48

Literally means a god from the machine.

Today it refers to any person or event that provides a sudden, unexpected solution to a problem or situation

Ex: Euripides (yo-RIP-i-deez), An ancient Greek dramatist was the author of numerous TRAGEDIES, including the Bacchae, Medea, and The Trojan Women.
He often used the device of deus ex machina to resolve his plots.
“a god from the machine”) to resolve his PLOTS.

Question 49

What is a Faustian bargain?

Answer 49

A bargain in which a person is willing to make extreme sacrifices for power or knowledge without considering the ultimate cost

Faust Is a legendary 16th century, magician and practitioner alchemy who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for youth, knowledge, and power. Christopher Marlow, a 16th century English poet, and Johann Wolfgang von Goethe wrote famous plays about him.