My definition of "correct" is based on the reliable source that provided the questions and the only one that matters in this contest. Answers in the following format only will be considered.
1 = A
2 = B
3 = C.../etc
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1) The original meaning of the phrase worth his salt is:
- Not worth more than a few grains of salt
- Characterized by use of profanity
- The Romans used valuable salt to pay their armies
- Quantity of cured hams in his house
2) The popular company Google based its name on the word googol, the number 1 followed by 100 zeroes. But where did googol come from?
- The Latin 'oogol', meaning 'extremely large number'
- Sevententh Century mathematical slang meaning 'nonsense' or 'impossible to calculate'.
- The Russian play 'The Grand Googol', which centers on corrupt scientists.
- The 9-year-old nephew of mathematician Edward Kasmer.
3) Where does the phrase bury the hatchet come from?
- A marking by pirates who are looking for treasure.
- A Canadian expression use after one falls a tree.
- A Native American action to end a tribal war.
- The battle cry during the French and Indian war.
4) Where does the word serendipity originate?
- From the Old English 'serendity', meaning 'calm recollection'.
- From the Latin serenus + Greek dipitos meaning 'doubly calm'
- From the novel by Horace Walpole 'Three Princes of Serendib' in which the characters have this ability. Serendib = ancient / obsolete name for Ceylon.
5) We've all heard of cushy jobs, even if we've never had one. From where do we get that word?
- From the ancient Cushites of Egypt, who had one of the first aristocracies.
- Persian 'khosh,' pleasant.
- From Benjamin Cush, a notoriously lazy civil servant of the 1800's
