Welcome to Porky Pies !!!

Important: This page explains how the game works. All the other pages are part of the game, so no peeking! (You may need to look at one other page to help you understand the rules).

What to do now:

Take a moment to read this page, print off a few pages and that’s it! You’re all set to enjoy this great new trivia bluffing game!

Getting Ready:

Each player will need a pen to write with.

Page 2 of this file contains the player scoring pads – you’ll need to print one copy of this page for each person playing. After page 2 there are about 90 more pages full of questions – there’s no need to print the whole file, you will only need one page of questions per player.

So for example, if you have four people playing you need to print of four copies of page 2 (the player scoring pads) and then the following four pages. This is enough to play the game once. When you want to play again, print another four copies of page 2 and four new pages of questions. A game usually lasts somewhere around 10 –15 minutes so if you want to play for longer, print off enough for more games straight away.

How to play:

Give each player their pen, scoring pad and questions (people must not see each other’s questions).

One player chooses a phrase from their question sheet and reads it aloud twice, together with the three possible explanations of the phrase. There are all kinds of phrases but most stem from the UK in the 16^th to 18^th century. The other players decide whether they think the correct answer is A, B or C and write down the answer on their score pads. When they have all done that, the correct answer is revealed (it’s the one written in italics) and everyone who guessed correctly scores a point. Then the next player asks a question and so the game continues. Be sure that each individual reads out an equal number of questions during the game – otherwise the scoring doesn’t work! The number of questions depends on how many people you have playing:

If you have 2 people playing, each person reads out 6 questions each.

If you have 3 people playing, each person reads out 4 questions each.

If you have 4 people playing, each person reads out 3 questions each.

If you have 5 people playing, each person reads out 2 questions each (and you disregard rows 11 and 12 on the scoring pads).

If you have 6 people playing, each person reads out 2 questions each.

Some of the questions are very UK oriented (this game was devised in Britain) and if that does not suit you, we suggest that you simply skip over the offending questions!

Player Scoring Pad

Use row 1 for the first question, row 2 for the second and so on. For each question, decide whether you think answer A, B or C is correct and place an “x” in that box. If you answer correctly, put a “1” in the score column.

At www.FreeBoardGames.com you’ll find lots more games like this as well as thousands of free copies of great new board games, family games and party games (real ones in boxes) that we send out to your home for a small delivery and administration fee.

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"JACK STRAW"

This phrase was coined in the 16th century and has nothing whatsoever to do with the present day politician of the same name. The phrase would have been used to describe:

(A) Somebody who was widely considered to be good for nothing.

(B) Somebody who was as thin as a rake.

"BEAUTY SLEEP"

This term originates from:

(A) The story of Sleeping Beauty where a beautiful Princess slept for many years under the spell of a sorcerer.

(B) The belief that young people who stay up late into the night will not retain their looks as well as others.

(C) The belief that by keeping your daughter at home in the evenings, she was more likely to meet a suitable husband than she would if she was allowed to go out with the local girls and boys.

"AESOP'S FABLES"

Aesop's Fables are a well known collection of stories but who was Aesop?

(A) An eighth century Norwegian scholar and seal hunter.

(B) A deformed slave who lived in the sixth century B.C.

"MAID OF HONOUR"

As well as it's usual meaning, this phrase also describes a type of:-

(A) Beetle

(B) Cheesecake

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"LIKE A CAT ON HOT BRICKS"

This phrase would refer to somebody who:-

(A) Was moving very fast indeed

(B) Was feeling uncomfortable in a certain situation

"APPLE OF THE EYE"

This phrase meaning something or someone that is much loved or sought after, originally referred to:

(A) The Serpent's apple in the Garden of Eden.

(B) A much prized golden apple that Greek gods raced to win.

"THE BACK END"

This is a phrase used in parts of Northern England to mean:

(A) Scotland

(B) Autumn

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"A BOOBY PRIZE"

Is a gift for the loser of a game. It originates from:

(A) The booby bird which was the victim of an early American army ritual. A booby was set loose in a garrison courtyard and the last five soldiers to pluck a feather from it would have to undertake the menial cleaning chores for the following month.

(B) The booby who was the pupil that came lowest in a school class or competition. They would be awarded a prize to make them feel better which was called the booby prize.

(C) The term booby trap meaning an unexpected event. As there was no reason to expect a prize for losing, any such prize became known as a booby.

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"THAT RINGS A BELL"

This phrase is thought to originate from:

(A) A fairground attraction where by thumping a knob with a mallet, you could send a device up a column towards a bell.

(B) The Houses of Parliament where the chimes of Big Ben dictated the daily routine of the members.

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"GET OUT OF BED ON THE WRONG SIDE"

This phrase, now meaning grumpy, originates from:

(A) A Roman superstition that it was unlucky to put one's left foot on the ground first when getting out of bed.

(B) A Victorian habit of storing the chamber pot within close proximity to the bed. Getting out on the wrong side had highly unpleasant connotations.

(C) The British trenches in the First World War. Soldiers on night watch duty were exhausted the next day but had to work on regardless. The fatigue was eventually recognised as leading to fatality rates that were much higher than usual.

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"ASSASSINS"

This word meaning killers, stems from:

(A) A group formed in the eleventh century, made up of Moslem extremists who were reputed to get high on drugs before their lethal attacks.

(B) A medieval band of Celtic mercenaries, known for their vicious savagery and who were hired by the English in an attempt to quash Scottish uprisings.

(C) An elite squad of French soldiers who fled the country during the French revolution but subsequently returned to form the Foreign Legion.

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"THE MAFIA"

This phrase has come to refer to a group of gangsters. Originally it was an Arabic phrase that meant:

(A) Freedom Fighters.

(B) Family Strength.

"COAT OF ARMS"

A coat of arms was originally:-

(A) A symbolic coat presented to the British monarch after a major battle.

(B) A coat made of thin material worn by a knight over his armour.

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"ABOVE BOARD"

This phrase meaning proper and correct is believed to come from:-

(A) Card players who may be suspected of cheating if they place their cards below the table and out of sight. Therefore playing with cards in full view above the table (or board) was generally thought to be proper.

(B) Sailing crews who were allowed to be more relaxed when below decks but always had to behave well when on the main deck where they might be seen by senior officers.

(C) The Corporation of London whose administrative board were caught in a trading scandal in 1908. Eight gentlemen of integrity were selected by Parliament and given powers to act "above the board" to resolve the ensuing crisis.

"A BAKER'S DOZEN"

This means thirteen because in olden times:

(A) Bakers would throw in an extra loaf to ensure that they were not ripping off their clients. Heavy fines existed for bakers who failed to conform with the regulations.

(B) Bakers would give their favoured clients an extra loaf of bread for free as an incentive for repeat business.

(C) Bakers were amongst the least well educated people and were the butt of many jokes. A baker's dozen was one of these jokes, implying that bakers could not count well enough to know the difference between twelve and thirteen.

"BACK TO SQUARE ONE"

(A) The game of hopscotch where squares are marked on the ground and children must hop into them in order. If one is missed out, the child must start again at the first square.

(B) A puzzle set by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci. The object was to make a fiendishly complex series of logical deductions in order to arrive at the solution. These deductions were depicted graphically as squares. However if you made a false assumption at any point, you would be forced to go right back to the first square to work out what it was.

(C) Early radio broadcasts where drawings of the pitch were used by listeners to help them to follow the progress of the game. The drawing was divided into squares and so 'going back to square one' came to mean going back to the beginning.

"SPLICING THE MAINBRACE"

This is a nautical term that refers to:-

(A) Issuing an extra ration of rum to sailors

(B) Being becalmed in the doldrums where the trade winds meet

"OLD BENDY"

This phrase is another name for:

(A) Winston Churchill

(B) Scotch Whisky

"HOKEY-POKEY PENNY A LUMP"

(A) This was a phrase used by gamblers to set the stakes in a game of cards. Early games used stones as gambling chips and each stone would worth one penny.

(B) Hokey-Pokey was an early type of ice cream which would be sold in lumps by street traders. Typically each lump cost a penny, hence the phrase which was used for selling purposes.

(C) Hokey-Pokey was a cheap form of highly sulphurous coal that was sold to paupers by the lump every week - the only way that they could afford to keep their homes warm in winter.

"TO DRIVE YOUR HOG TO MARKET"

The meaning of this phrase is:

(A) To snore in an unusually loud way.

(B) To cash in on something that you have been working very hard to achieve.

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"A KIPPER"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) Somebody who is prone to taking short sleeps during the day to keep themselves refreshed and alert.

(B) Somebody who shovels coals into a fire to keep a process going (for example, to keep a steam train running).

"A JAPANESE KNIFE TRICK"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) Somebody who commits suicide using a knife.

(B) A street mugging where there is violence or the threat of violence.

"KILLING THE CANARY"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) Being desperate for food, literally so hungry that you are thinking about killing the pet canary and eating what little meat it might offer.

(B) Taking extra long tea-breaks at work and generally indulging in other activities that mean you do less work.

"A CUFUFFLE"

This phrase would have been used in earlier times to describe:

(A) A commotion.

(B) A flowery cravat.

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"BLACK DOG"

This was an 18th century term that referred to:

(A) A highwayman

(B) A forged shilling

"AN ALLELUIA LASS"

This phrase refers to:

(A) A Salvation Army Girl.

(B) A priggish young girl.

"BARBER"

As well as cutting people's hair, in centuries past barbers also used to:

(A) Make and mend clothes.

(B) Act as dentists and surgeons.

"TAKING MEAT FROM THE GRAVES"

This phrase from bygone times means:-

(A) Being so poor that you need to stoop to stealing church offerings to feed yourself or your family.

(B) Making a killing in a business venture, the implication being that you are doing so well that there won't be anything left for anybody else.

(C) Saying something about a deceased person which is controversial and which cannot be disputed because of the inability of the dead person to talk back.

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"ONE'S LONG HOME"

(A) This phrase was used to refer to the grave, the place where everybody would be spending the longest amount of time.

(B) This phrase was used by gentlefolk to describe a holiday retreat, deemed to be a long way from their usual residence although perhaps as little as five miles away.

(C) This phrase was used by early immigrants to describe their country of birth, as opposed to their country of residence.

"HIPPOCRAS"

Hippocras is or was:-

(A) An ancient Greek surgeon who is said to be the father of medicine and after whom the Hippocratic oath is named.

(B) A contest of strength between two or more male hippopotamus that results in the winner being able to mate with the female of his choice.

"A GERMAN DUCK"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) A sausage.

(B) A bed bug.

"F SHARP"

This phrase would be used to mean:

(A) "Do it quickly"

(B) Something that grates with you or annoys you.

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"KITCHEN MIDDENS"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) An early type of oven glove.

(B) A disease that causes violent and involuntary muscular spasms.

"GET YOUR EYES CHALKED!"

This phrase would be used to mean:

(A) Covering something up (i.e. to pretend that you have not done something). If for example, you wanted to pretend that you didn't have a black eyes, you might put chalk over the bruise to try to disguise it.

(B) "Get your eyes tested".

"BIILIES AND CHARLIES"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) Types of goats.

(B) Fake metal plaques that deceive people into thinking a place is of special interest.

"EEL SKINS"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) Trousers that are very tight fitting.

(B) Sheets of sandpaper.

Come and discover some great new ways to have fun!

"ENGLISH PLUCK"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) Somebody who is very brave.

(B) Rain.

"DEVIL'S SMILES"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) Lies that are told with a laugh and smile.

(B) Weather that changes between scattered showers and patches of sunshine.

"DEW DRINK"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) An early morning drink.

(B) A glass of water.

"DOCTOR JERK"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) A vet.

(B) An uneducated but highly opinionated person.

"THE JUMPING CAT SCHOOL"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) People who are very fickle.

(B) People who take a long time to make up their minds.

"EGG SATURDAY"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) The last Saturday before Lent.

(B) The first Saturday after Christmas.

"AN ELBOW SHAKER"

This phrase would be used to describe:

(A) A pneumatic drill, so called because of the forceful vibrations emitted by the drill.