Actual white elephants are venerated by many in South Asia. One story about the origin of the term suggests that the kings of Siam...
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1. D
Actual white elephants are venerated by many in South Asia. One story about the origin of the term suggests that the kings of Siam (now Thailand) would give white elephants to people who displeased them. The venerated animals could not be put to work but required a lot of money to maintain – a massive financial burden in the guise of a gift.
2. A
The earliest written appearance of “salad days” was in William Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, as the later reminisces about her time with Caesar: “My salad days, / When I was green in judgment, cold in blood.”
3. A
Ancient Greek and medieval doctors believed that a buildup of “black bile,” supposedly produced by the spleen, was a cause of anger in some patients. Today people only metaphorically “vent their spleen” when they get hot-tempered.
4. C
Trip the light fantastic is a colourful way to refer to dancing.
5. C
According to legend, the tyrant Dionysius I of Syracuse taught his courtier Damocles about the precarious nature of power by inviting him to a banquet and seating him under a large sword hung in the air by a single thread.
6. A
A jockey who has a massive lead over the competition can afford to have a more relaxed pose crossing the finish line and so may lower the hands and loosen the grip on the horse’s reins.
7. B
At sixes and sevens is used to describe a disorderly state. The phrase has been used since the 14th century, originally referring to carelessness and risk-taking.
8. B
Dropping a dime refers to old pay phones that once required 10 cents, on which one might call the police to inform on someone.
9. B
While maintaining a polite composure outwardly, wedding reception guests may “laugh up their sleeves” about awkward dance moves or unfashionable bridesmaid dresses.
10. C
Powder in a musket’s pan would sometimes ignite, producing a flash, yet fail to discharge the weapon, providing an apt metaphor for something that initially shows promise but is ultimately disappointing.
11. A
In ancient times, people wearing long, flowing garments would “gird their loins” by tucking the fabric into their belt. The phrase is now often used to refer to preparation before action.
12. D
The legendary Phoenician hero Cadmus was said to have planted the teeth of a dragon he killed. From those teeth grew armoured men who did battle with each other.
13. D
In poker, five cards of the same suit are required to make a flush. Four-flusher refers to a person bluffing that they have a flush but in fact have only four same-suited cards. The term can be applied broadly to anyone making a false claim.
14. C
The phrase wigs on the green references a time when men regularly wore wigs that could end up on the ground in the event of a physical altercation.
15. B
Sackcloth is a type of coarse material that was worn to show mourning or repentance.
