Word Power Quiz

1. Who is a "whipping boy"?
A boy who was to be whipped in place of a prince who was to be punished.

2. This ancient city in the land of Shinar, in which the construction of a tower intended to reach heaven was begun, has given a word to us. What is that word?
Babel. In the Bible, a city (now thought to be Babylon) in Shinar where God confounded a presumptuous attempt to build a tower into heaven by confusing the language of its builders into many mutually incomprehensible languages.

3. What is a "cat's paw"?
Someone used as a tool by another

4. What are the "locust years"?
A period of economic hardship. This word was coined by Winston Churchill (on the basis of the Bible verse Joel 2:25) to describe the years 1931–35 in Britain.


5. Who are the "hoi polloi"?
The common people. Hoi polloi is a borrowing of the Greek phrase hoi polloi, consisting of hoi, meaning "the" and polloi, the plural of polus, "many." Hoi polloi is sometimes incorrectly used to mean "the elite," possibly because it is reminiscent of high and mighty or because it sounds like hoity-toity.

Three of you got all the answers correct. The list:
1. Ankita
2. Swati Sinha
3. Sameer

Kudos to you folks. Hoping to get a better response for the next quiz.

Until then,

Ciao