Black as the Hobs of Hell... and a Quiz

Dodging the showers, thunder and lightening today from skies that have been as 'black as the hobs of hell' I trotted off to the dentists thinking I had lost a filling last week only for him to tell my that all my amalgam is in perfect condition with just one minor crack in the enamel of one tooth which doesn't need anything doing to it. I must have chewed some mud or dirt from the lettuce I was eating to think I had lost a filling. Ah well, saved me a few bob. Not that I'm stingy or anything, but they do say Yorkshiremen are like Scotsmen but with the generosity taken away - with the money anyway.

'Black as the hobs of hell,' is an interesting phrase and as I am interested in where words and phrases come from, I thought I'd look this one up and there are surprisingly few answers, two in fact that have any credibility.

The first is supposed to be derived from Hobgoblins who inhabit holes in Yorkshire and they are in fact black in colour. Apparently there are several 'Hobs Hole' in Yorkshire.

The second, and probably more likely is a a swinging metal plate in a fireplace that swung over the fire when you wanted to cook something on it or place a kettle on it. Clearly this would get sooty and dirty and housewives would spend hours black-leading them and cleaning them. The 'hob' which we have today, a thing to cook on is still used. As punishment for bad housewives, they would be required to polish the black hobs of hell.

Today's Quiz Questions

Here are some testing questions for you and the answers are below - no cheating now - see if you can answer them correctly. Don't take your time, answer them instantly, no pondering:

Question 1
You are participating in a race and you overtake the second person, what position are you in?

Question 2
If you overtake the last person in the race, you are...

Question 3
Bit of simple arithmetic, don't use a pencil and paper, just do it in your head, it's easy:

Take 1000 and add 40 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 30 to it. Add another 1000. Now add 20 to it. Now add another 1000. Now add 10. How much have you got?

Question 4
Mary's father has five daughters: 1. Nana, 2. Nene, 3. Nini, 4. Nono.
What is the name of the fifth daughter?

Bonus Question
A woman who cannot speak goes into a shop and wants to buy a toothbrush. By imitating the action of brushing her teeth she successfully expresses herself to the shopkeeper and the purchase is done. Next, a blind man comes into the shop who wants to buy a pair of sunglasses; how does HE indicate what he wants?

Well done, that was easy wasn't it? Hmmm.

Well here we go with the answers:

Question 1
If you answered that you are first, then you are sadly wrong! If you overtake the second person and you take his place, you are second!

Question 2
If you answered that you are second to last, then you are wrong again.. Tell me, how can you overtake the LAST Person?

Question 3
Did you get 5000?

The correct answer is actually 4100. If you don't believe it, check it with a calculator! Today is definitely not your day, is it? Maybe you'll get the last question right... Maybe.

Question 4
Did you Answer Nunu? NO! Of course it isn't. Her name is Mary.

Bonus Question
He just has to open his mouth and ask...

Finally... Today's quotation is a question with an answer.

If your dog is barking furiously at the back door and your wife is yelling at the front door, who do you let in first? The dog. At least he'll shut up after you let it in.

Chat soon

Ta-ra.