The Orphans in the North American Tour of ANNIE. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

1. What does it mean if someone has a “hard-knock” life?

a. people need to knock loudly to enter their home
b. they have a difficult life
c. they like to sing a lot

The correct answer is: b
If someone has a “hard-knock” life it means they have a difficult life. “Hard knocks” describes experiences in life which include difficult times and disappointments. A “hard-knock” life is one which includes hard times, like those experienced by Annie and the other girls in the orphanage, which they sing about in the song “It’s the Hard-Knock Life.”

2. Who was not a US President?

a. Herbert Hoover
b. Franklin Delano Roosevelt
c. Harpo Marx

The correct answer is: c
Harpo Marx was a comedian and film star, while Herbert Hoover and Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) were Presidents. FDR served as President from 1932 to 1945. He was the President in 1933, when ANNIE takes place, and appears in the show. Hoover and Coolidge served as Presidents before FDR.

3. If someone says something is “swell,” what does she mean?

a. it’s getting bigger
b. it’s stinky
c. it’s great

The correct answer is: c
When people said something was “swell” in Annie’s time, they meant it was great. This word is used a few times in ANNIE. In the song “Maybe” Annie sings, “Betcha my life is gonna be swell.”

4. What is a “Dapper Dan”?

a. someone who dresses nicely
b. a comedian
c. a pilot

The correct answer is: a
A “dapper Dan” is someone who dresses nicely. The song “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile” says, “Hey Dapper Dan,” to mean a well-dressed man and “Hey Hobo Man” to mean someone who doesn’t have much money or fine clothes.

5. What does it mean if someone got their knuckles “rapped”?

a. They were hit on the knuckles
b. They had their nails painted
c. They had a rap song written about their hands

The correct answer is: a
Getting knuckles “rapped” means to get hit on the knuckles. In the song, “It’s the Hard-Knock Life,” the orphans sing about the hard times ahead for them and say “gonna get our faces slapped, gonna get our knuckles rapped.”

Christopher Swan and Rainier (Rainey) Treviño in the North American Tour of ANNIE. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

6. One of the police officers in ANNIE refers to Sandy as “mangy.” What does “mangy” mean?

a. raggedy
b. mango-colored
c. clean

The correct answer is: a
“Mangy” is a word that means raggedy or shabby. A police officer in ANNIE describes Sandy as a “mangy mutt.”

7. What is the meaning of the expression “come what may”?

a. wait until the month of May
b. no matter what happens
c. let’s eat pizza

The correct answer is: b
“Come what may” means no matter what happens. In “Tomorrow,” when Annie sings “The sun’ll come out tomorrow, so ya gotta hang on ‘til tomorrow, come what may!” she is saying that no matter what happens, you have to hold onto thoughts that things will be better tomorrow.

8. If people say they want to “bury the hatchet,” what do they want to do?

a. make peace with each other
b. start digging deep into the ground
c. play hide and seek 3

The correct answer is: a
The expression “bury the hatchet” means to make peace with each other. In ANNIE when Mr. Warbucks is talking to President Roosevelt he says, “…why don’t we bury the hatchet and you come here with Mrs. Roosevelt for supper Christmas Eve…”

9. Who was Babe Ruth?

a. a figure skater
b. a baseball player
c. an opera singer

The correct answer is: b
Babe Ruth was a baseball player. In ANNIE, Mr. Warbucks explains to Annie, “Babe Ruth is the right fielder for the New York Yankees.” He also offers to invite him and other well-known individuals to Annie’s adoption party.

10. When Annie says, “Leapin’ Lizards!” what does she mean?

a. Wow! Oh my goodness!
b. Let’s skip around the room!
c. That’s very sad!

The correct answer is: a
When Annie says, “Leapin’ Lizards!” she means “Wow! Oh my goodness!”

Stefanie Londino, Jeffrey T. Kelly and Samantha Stevens in the North American Tour of ANNIE. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

11. If someone is getting “spiffed up,” what would they be doing?

a. getting dressed up and trying to look nice
b. going to the library
c. playing hopscotch

The correct answer is: a
Getting “spiffed up” means getting dressed up and trying to look nice. In ANNIE, Mr. Warbucks tells the staff to get “spiffed up” in preparation for Annie’s adoption party.

12. What did people buy at “the Automat”?

a. electronic gadgets
b. little robots
c. food

The correct answer is: c
People bought food at the Automat. In ANNIE, Grace says Mr. Warbucks and Annie had lunch at the Automat. The Horn & Hardart Automat, started in 1902 in Philadelphia, was the first big fast-food chain in the US. Guests bought cold food (such as sandwiches, salad and pie) from coin-operated machines. When a person took food out of a machine, a worker behind the machine would replace it. Guests could buy hot food at buffet tables. Coffee was the most popular item at the Automat.

13. What is a “fiver”?

a. something that happens at 5 o’clock
b. a child who is five years old
c. a five dollar bill

The correct answer is: c
A “fiver” is slang for a five dollar bill. In ANNIE, Rooster asks Miss Hannigan to borrow 10 dollars and then when she refuses, he asks for a “fiver.”

14. What does it mean to be “living in clover”?

a. living well
b. living in a field
c. not talking to people

The correct answer is: a
“Living in clover” means living well. In ANNIE, Miss Hannigan jokes that her brother had bragged that he would be “livin’ in clover” and now he is asking her for a “fiver” (a five dollar bill).

15. What are “bloomers”?

a. fancy hats with flowers
b. people over the age of 50
c. underwear

The correct answer is: c
“Bloomers” was a common term for underwear in Annie’s time. In the song “Little Girls,” Miss Hannigan sings, “how I hate little shoes, little socks, and each little bloomer.”

Julia Nicole Hunter, Rainier (Rainey) Treviño, Georgie and Christopher Swan in the North American Tour of ANNIE. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

16. What does “croon” mean?

a. sing
b. jump
c. spin

The correct answer is: a
“Croon” means to sing in a gentle, soft voice. In ANNIE, in the song “Easy Street,” Rooster says, “I remember the way our sainted mother would sit and croon us her lullaby.”

17. What were “breadlines” in the 1930s?

a. lines to buy fresh bread in a bakery
b. dotted lines on paper
c. lines people stood in to get free food

The correct answer is: c
Breadlines were lines people stood in to get free food. In ANNIE, Mr. Warbucks says that he and Barney Baruch (a wealthy man who advised President Franklin Delano Roosevelt about economic—money—matters) “are not exactly standing on breadlines,” as a way to point out that he is wealthy.

18. What did people do at penny arcades?

a. buy groceries
b. play games
c. catch a train

The correct answer is: b
One of the things people did at penny arcades was play games. Penny arcades were places with pinball, fortune-telling and slot machines, and other coin-operated machines. Penny arcades were popular at fairs and amusement parks. In the song “N.Y.C.,” Mr. Warbucks sings that New York City is as “bright as a penny arcade. It blinks, it tilts, it rings.”

19. What does “everything’s humming now” mean?

a. things are going great and running smoothly
b. birds are chirping
c. the car engine is on

The correct answer is: a
The expression “everything’s humming now” means things are going great and running smoothly. In the song “Annie,” when everyone is getting ready for Annie’s adoption party, Drake the butler says, “Everything’s humming now” to state that everything is going well.

20. What does “the jig is up” mean?

a. the band stopped playing
b. a balloon is in the sky
c. the plan has failed

The correct answer is: c
“The jig is up” means the plan has failed. In ANNIE, Mr. Warbucks tells Rooster “the jig is up,” which means that Rooster’s plan to fool Mr. Warbucks into thinking he was Annie’s father had failed.

21. What are “shenanigans”?

a. dances popular in the 1930s
b. family-style restaurants
c. mischief or naughtiness

The correct answer is: c
“Shenanigans” describe mischief or naughtiness. In ANNIE, Miss Hannigan describes Annie’s attempt to run away as “shenanigans” and says to the orphans, “Now, for this one’s shenanigans, you’ll scrub this floor, and strip the beds for the laundry man.”

The North American Tour of ANNIE. Photo by Evan Zimmerman for MurphyMade

22. What does the phrase “What a fix!” mean?

a. “What a beautiful sight!”
b. “What a difficult situation!”
c. “What a nice light!”

The correct answer is: b
The phrase “What a fix!” means “What a difficult situation!” In the song “A New Deal for Christmas,” when the orphans are with Annie at Mr. Warbucks’s mansion, Molly sings, “Oh, what a fix, no peppermint sticks!”

23. What is a “foundling”?

a. a child who has been found after being left by its parents
b. a place where metal is made
c. a small duck

The correct answer is: a
A “foundling” is a child who has been found after being left by its parents. In ANNIE, radio host Bert Healy describes Annie as “an eleven-year-old foundling who was left by her parents on the steps of New York’s Municipal Orphanage on the night of December 31st, 1922.”

24. What does “bunco” mean?

a. a trick or a dishonest plan
b. a bed
c. a type of truck or car

The correct answer is: a
“Bunco” is a trick or dishonest plan. In ANNIE, Rooster talks about the plan to pretend he and Lily are Annie’s parents by saying, “This is gonna be the best bunco job ever…”

This quiz was provided by ANNIE