FRIENDS OF PETWORTH COTTAGE NURSING HOME (Reg’d Charity 1058769)
Christmas Quiz 2023
Thank you for all your entries to the quiz, and for the donations many of you added to your entry
fees. I think this year’s quiz may have been easier than last year’s, as virtually all contestants had
filled in the whole form, though that’s not to say that they all had the answers right!
This year’s winners have now been drawn and contacted. This year the main prize-winners are all
from West Sussex and Hampshire. Some of the minor honours went as far afield as Harrogate,
which gives you some idea of how popular the quiz has become countrywide. We even get
entries from New Zealand.
Provisional results suggest that we will have raised over £28,000 which is enough money to
refurbish several rooms in the nursing home – much more than we had expected. This is all thanks
to you!
The prize for the sayings you make up yourself is still to be judged and the winning entries will be
posted on the website pcnh.co.uk This may take a week or two so please bear with us.
Here now are the answers. All of the winners had the answers I intended, but I give details of
some variants, and whether I would have allowed them if they had been included in entries which
were drawn for a prize.
A Miscellaneous
1. To be economical with the truth
2. Through thick and thin
3. Me Tarzan, you Jane
4. It’s a long way to Tipperary
5. To put your cards on the table
6. To trip the light fantastic. I would also have allowed To trip the light fandango, the name of a
song I hadn’t taken into account when setting the question
7. Take me to your leader
8. Time is a great healer
9. The truth will out
10. To hang by a thread
B. Things with Wings
1. Who killed cock robin?
2. To set the cat among the pigeons
3. To be as sick as a parrot
4. To be a fly in the ointment
5. The Angel of the North
6. Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines
7. To have butterflies in your stomach
8. To be out for a duck
9. The early bird catches the worm
10. The Eagle has Landed
C. Film Titles
1. Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince
2. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
3. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
4. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
5. The Madness of King George
6. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
7. Back to the Future
8. North by Northwest
9. The Thomas Crown Affair
10. Gunfight at the OK Corral
D. Speed (or the lack of it)
1. At a snail’s pace
2. Procrastination is the thief of time. Quite a number of you had Patience is the test of time
which made me wonder whether this was a valid alternative answer but as far as I can see it
isn’t an accepted saying.
3. To get your skates on. Quite a number of you had To get your socks on, but I don’t believe
that necessarily implies having to hurry.
4. Marry in haste, repent at leisure
5. As quick as a flash
6. More haste, less speed
7. To break (or beat) the sound barrier
8. Faster than a speeding bullet
9. Slow but steady (or slow but sure) wins the race
10. Full steam ahead!
E. To do with Highways (and not a single pothole-themed answer!)
1. Why did the chicken cross the road?
2. On the sunny side of the street
3. To explore every avenue
4. On the road to Mandalay
5. On the Street Where You Live
6. One for the road
7. The man in the street
8. The road to rack and ruin
9. That’s just up my street
10. The road to Hell is paved with good intentions. Some people had The road to Heaven… but I
couldn’t find any authority for this as a valid alternative.
F. Music
1. Play it again Sam. Strictly speaking a misquotation, though it is also the title of a film.
2. To harp on about something
3. To fiddle while Rome burns
4. To face the music
5. To blow your own trumpet
6. Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
7. Sing a Song of Sixpence
8. Hark, the herald angels sing
9. The last night of the proms
10. The hills are alive with the sound of music
G. Clues instead of words
1. Oh yes it is!
2. Your call (or possibly your custom) is important to us
3. Two’s company, three’s a crowd
4. Tick all the right boxes
5. Scratch the surface
6. All the World’s a stage
7. In one ear and out the other
8. As the crow flies
9. To play Devil’s advocate (the question I think people generally found the most difficult)
10. Don’t let the grass grow under your feet
Once again, thank you to all who took part, and especially to those who sent kind messages of
support. If you remembered to tick the box asking for the quiz next Christmas then we’ll be in
touch, and we hope to hear from you again then.
Andrew Brooke