Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

€2 a Month €5 a Month One-off amount
Xinhua News Agency/PA Images
brexit means brexit

Quiz: Can you finish these Brexit catchphrases?

In a specific and limited way.
9.30pm, 10 Sep 2020
29.0k
12

WE’VE HAD A lot of Brexit talk over the past four years.

In that time, we’ve had many weird and wonderful phrases that have ping-ponged through social media and comedy sketches. As soon as one gets old, another pops up.

So how many of these Brexit phrases can you finish off?

What was the mantra repeated ad nauseam by Theresa May in the run-up to the 2017 British general election, and right up until her resignation in 2019?
Strong and stable
Big and bold

Strong, proven leadership
The backstop means the backstop
In an optimistic and energetic speech given days before Theresa May became the leader of the Conservatives, she uttered this line that hasn't aged well: "Brexit means Brexit - and we're going to make a ____ of it." Fill in the blank:
Mess
Chess game

Festival
Success
Finish this exasperated tweet sent out by the then-President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, in 2019: "I've been wondering what ____, for those who promoted Brexit without even a sketch of a plan of how to carry it safely."
"...serious repercussions there will be..."
"...the special place in hell looks like..."

"...the stupid, selfish motivations were..."
"...heavy guilt is possible..."
In his first speech as British Prime Minister, delivered on 24 July, who did Boris Johnson hit out at, saying "they are going to get it wrong again"?
The European Union
The Labour Party

The doubters, the doomsters, the gloomsters.
The pollsters.
To the backdrop of a bizarre press event at a police training college in September 2019, what was Boris Johnson's response when asked whether he would seek another Brexit extension?
We are leaving on 31 October, no ifs or buts.
There will be no further pointless delay.

I will repeatedly say we'll leave on 31 October, then request an extension, hold an election and leave on 31 January.
I’d rather be dead in a ditch.
Finish this old mantra of the Irish government: It isn't a backstop if it is...
...limited in a specific way.
...region-limited.

...time-limited.
...limited to customs rules.
And another one, that's still in use: We will not enter into ____ with the UK.
...bilateral negotiations...
...the Commonwealth...

...another Treaty negotiation...
...a game of chicken...
While visiting a Tayto factory in Armagh in November 2019, what did Boris Johnson say companies in the North should do if they're asked to fill in customs declaration forms for goods being sent to Great Britain?
Tell them to ring up the Prime Minister and I will direct them to throw that form in the bin.
Tell them to ring up the Prime Minister and I will direct them on whether customs apply.

Tell them to ring up the EU and ask them.
Tell them to ring up the Prime Minister and I will direct them to find a way around it.
In Johnson's speech to the the UN summit in New York in September 2019, what did he compare to the "experience of Brexit"?
When Zeus punished Prometheus by chaining him to a Tartarian crag while his liver was pecked out by an eagle.
When Narcissus fell deeply in love with his own reflection, left unable to stop staring at it and finally melted away.

Hercules' bare-handed battle with the three-headed, dragon-tailed dog Cerberus, the guardian of the gates to the Underworld.
Terrifying limbless chlorinated chickens and pink-eyed customs terminators.
And finally, finish this quote sent from a British Cabinet minister to Newsnight's Nicholas Watt when asked why Theresa May was pressing ahead with another vote on the Withdrawal Agreement: "Fuck knows..."
"...I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this house."
"...I’m past caring. It’s like the living dead in here."

"...She reminds me more and more of Field Marshal Haig in Blackadder."
"...I'm quitting and getting a job in the EU."
Answer all the questions to see your result!
You scored out of !
Theresa May
You are the luckless former British PM, Theresa May! You don't really know what you're talking about, do you?
Share your result:
You scored out of !
Simon Coveney
You are Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney! You're very well-informed on Brexit.
Share your result:
You scored out of !
Michel Barnier
You are the EU's Brexit guru, Michel Barnier! You know negotiations inside out.
Share your result:

 

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More

Author
Gráinne Ní Aodha
grainne@thejournal.ie
Send Tip or Correction
Read Next
More Stories
Related Tags
Your Voice
Readers Comments
12
This is YOUR comments community. Stay civil, stay constructive, stay on topic. Please familiarise yourself with our comments policy here before taking part.
Leave a Comment
    Submit a report
    Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
    Thank you for the feedback
    Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.

    Leave a commentcancel