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Common Idioms
The Classics (Book)
Random Questions
100

Some people consider this to be an unlucky number.

What is 13? The myth of 13 being unlucky dates to ancient times. One theory is that since 12 was considered the perfect number, the number that follows it must be unlucky. TWA never had a 13th row on their airplanes, and the building that housed its corporate headquarters did not have a 13th floor.

100

Fonzi (“The Fonz”)

What is Happy Days? Henry Winkler plays the Fonz.

100

Money doesn’t grow on these.

What are trees? The idiom has two meanings, the less common one being that it takes trees many years to grow from a seed, and seed money requires time to grow

100

Black Beauty is this kind of animal.

What is horse? Black Beauty learns from his mother to “do good and give your best effort always, and everything will work out.”

100

Which national park is known for geysers and the largest high-elevation lake in North America?

Yellowstone. The massive park is larger than Rhode Island and Delaware combined, by area. The surface area of Yellowstone Lake is 131.7 square miles, and it has 141 miles of shoreline.

200

His famous address begins, “Fourscore and seven years ago."

Who is Abraham Lincoln? The Gettysburg Address continues with, “our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.”

200

Ted Baxter

What is The Mary Tyler Moore Show? Ted Knight plays Ted Baxter, the pompous television news anchor. The character has little influence, as the station’s nightly news is not widely viewed.

200

When something becomes popular and sells quickly, it sells like this food.

What are hotcakes? This is another name for pancakes, an American invention dating back to the 1600s. Hotcakes were once a staple food at fairs.

200

He is the author of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Who is Mark Twain? Twain drafted his book Life on the Mississippi on the newly invented typewriter

200

What is the name of the singer who gave us “Rocky Mountain High” and “Annie’s Song”?

John Denver. Denver began learning guitar when he was 11 and joined a boys’ choir as a young man.

300

This American city is famous for its cable cars.

What is San Francisco? The first cable car was placed into service in 1873.

300

Miss Ellie

What is Dallas? Miss Ellie is mostly played by two actresses: Barbara Bel Geddes, and Donna Reed after Bel Geddes’ death. A third Miss Ellie is played by Eve Brent in one 1989 episode.

300

When taking questionable shortcuts, we cut these.

What are corners? Cutting corners can backfire, taking longer to complete a task.

300

This Charles Dickens novel begins, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

What is A Tale of Two Cities? The two cities are Paris and London, and the book is set during the French Revolution.

300

What superhero is Adam West known for playing?  

Batman. West was a comic book fan from childhood. He wrote an autobiography called Back to the Batcave in 1994.

400

This is an ancient Chinese discipline of meditative movements practiced as a system of exercises.

What is tai chi? It was originally a martial art, but today it is a gentle exercise that focuses on postures and controlled breathing. It helps improve balance, which can reduce slips and falls.

400

Endora

What is Bewitched? Before appearing in Bewitched as Endora, Agnes Moorehead performed on the big screen, debuting in Citizen Kane. She also earned an Academy Award for Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte.

400

When something is tried for the first time or when building something new, we are said to break this

What is new ground? The idiom dates to ancient times and comes from breaking ground to build a new structure.

400

This is the author of Green Eggs and Ham.

Who is Dr. Seuss? Dr. Seuss was the pen name of Theodor Geisel. Green Eggs and Ham was his most popular book, followed by The Cat in the Ha

400

What is the last name of Canadian sisters Annette, Emilie, Yvonne, Cecile, and Marie, the first quintuplets to survive infancy?

Dionne. Born in 1934, the Dionne sisters attracted global attention and fame, even inspiring several Hollywood films.

500

This is known as “the fabric of our lives.”

What is cotton? “The fabric of our lives” is the tagline for the cotton industry.

500

Angel and Rocky

What is The Rockford Files? Angel is an audience favorite for his shady antics, but he always comes through for Jim Rockford due to his questionable contacts. Rocky is Jim’s curmudgeonly father.

500

This effect is the result of momentum building, such as one success leading to another and another.

What is the snowball or domino effect? If you start a snowball and roll it down a hill, it gathers momentum even as it grows larger.

500

George Orwell’s novel 1984 was published during this decade.

What is the 1940s? The book was published in 1949. It is modeled on the Imperial Japanese Army’s military police arm, which was a secret police force that could arrest people for thinking “unpatriotic thoughts” and operated from 1881–1945.

500

What is the meaning of the Japanese word Konnichiwa?

“Hello/good day.” Other Japanese greetings include the casual Yaa, meaning “Hi,” and Konbanwa, meaning “Good evening.”