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About This Quiz
Life on a farm is more than just growing and harvesting crops or feeding fodder to livestock. A wide variety of slang words, phrases and idioms are used to describe people and specific situations. In this quiz, we'll take a look at 35 different words and phrases that have been popular throughout many years of farm life.
Let's take a look at two of these idioms. For example, do you know what it means to "get one's goat?" It actually has nothing to do with goats themselves. Rather, it means to make someone upset or irritated. An example of a sentence with this phrase would be "I can't stand talking to him anymore, he's just been getting my goat lately!"
Another example of a common farm phrase is "put out to pasture." This means that a farmer must retire from their line of work due to their old age. An example sentence would be "My aging father wanted to keep working, but the boss put him out to pasture and hired a young developer instead."
If you think you're an expert on farm slang words and phrases, than we challenge you to score at least a 70% on this farm slang quiz! Show us what you can do right now!
When you sell crops for money, this is known as a...?
Cash crop
A cash crop is when a farmer sells fruits, vegetables and grains off of the premises of the farm. For example, "I earned lots of money from all the cash crops that I sold over the past week!"
Britches
Fixin' to
Clod-hoppers
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What does "The Back 40" mean?
A way of asking how someone is
Another way of saying "I'm doing great"
An out-of-reach pasture or far afield land
An out-of-reach or far afield land is also known as "The Back 40." For instance, "Tomorrow, I have to go out to the back 40 to collect some wood."
A type of shed
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Farmers wear heavy shoes when doing farm work. Do you know what these shoes are called?
Auger
Broadcasters
Yield Mapping
Clodhoppers
Farmers wear large shoes when doing farm work so they can protect their socks and feet from things like wet soil and manure. These are known as clodhoppers, which also make quite a bit of noise when you walk in them!
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Farmers typically wear jeans on a farm, but do you know what they're called?
Britches
You won't catch a farmer without wearing some britches (or jeans) on a farm. Here's an example sentence, "Hey buddy, have you seen my britches? I've got some farm work to do!"
Uppity
Top dressing
Yapper
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What does it mean if meat is "well hung?"
It's hung in a room so it can age
Meat that is hung to age is referred to as "well hung." For example, "Once I clean out these pigs, they'll be well hung in this room over here."
It's of high-quality
It's of bad quality
It refers to cooked meat
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To fix something in a strange but workable fashion is called...?
Put out to pasture
Get one's goat
Jimmy-job
A jimmy-job involves fixing something in an unconventional way. For example, "My dad has taught me how to jimmy-job a bunch of home repairs."
Putting all your eggs in one basket
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When farmers put fertilizer on top of soil, what is this known as?
Top dressing
Top dressing is the layer of fertilizer that farmers put on top of soil to help plants grow. For example, "I can't find the top dressing to put on this soil, have you seen it?"
Value chain
Groundwater
Varmint
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A "difficult task" equates to which of these phrases?
High on the hog
Hard row to hoe
"Hard row to hoe" means that a task or job is difficult in nature. For example, "Trying to get this machine to work is a hard row to hoe."
Talk the hind leg off a donkey
Stubborn as a mule
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Wild animals that cause a nuisance to farmers are known as...?
Taters
Broadcasters
Varmint
Varmints are wild animals that may eat or destroy farmer's crops. Examples includes rodents, crows, foxes and wild boars. Here's an example sentence, "Where did all of my crops go? Those varmint must have eaten them again!"
Yappers
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When you burn down trees to make room for crops, this is called...?
Ranching
Smallholding
Slash-and-burn
Slash-and-burn is when trees are cut and burned down to make room for new crops to grow. For example, "Here's the area of trees that we need to slash-and-burn."
Mixed farming
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Some farmers live on a really small farm. Do you know what that's called?
Fallow
Ranch
Smallholding
A smallholding is simply a very tiny farm that farmers live on. For example, "I think I'm going to move into a smallholding since I"m getting too old to look after my big farm."
Holding
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If I own a piece of farm land, this is called...?
Disk
Intensive
Cob
Holding
Holding is a phrase that is used to describe ownership of a piece of farm land. The land can be either purchased or rented by the tenant as well.
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Farmers tend to nickname their cows as...?
Cowpie
Mutton
Pigsty
Boss
Farmers actually call their cows "boss," because the old Latin word for "cow" is "bos." Farmers may also signal their cows to move by saying, "Come here Bossie!"
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Some cows are brown in color. Do you know what they're nicknamed as?
Brown shellers
Brown Swiss
Another name for brown cows is brown swiss. For example, "We're going to need some brown swiss on this farm if we're going to produce high-quality dairy products."
Brown cows
Brown fowl
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When farmers use their crops and livestock to live off of (but not to sell for money), what is this called?
Mechanization
Ranching
Subsistence farming
Subsistence farming is when a farmer uses their livestock and crops to live off of. There is typically not enough leftover to sell for money or for profit.
Sheller
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When you grow crops and raise animals on the same farm, this is known as...?
Hydroponics
Paddy field
Mixed farming
Mixed farming is when crops and animals are grown and raised on the same farm. For example, "If I were to be a farmer, I would utilize mixed farming since I love vegetables and animals."
Fowl
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When a farmer chooses to raise crops instead of livestock, this is also called...?
Arable farming
Arable farming is when a farmer focuses on raising crops (like fruits, vegetables and grains) over animals. For example, "I prefer doing arable farming since it's easier to maintain."
Grazing
Fish farming
Subsistence farming
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One of these words also means "corn." Can you spot it?
Nodule
Offal
Silage
Maize
Another word for "corn" is "maize." Maize also refers to a type of plant that is used to feed livestock. For example, "I'm going to need some more maize if I'm going to feed all of these animals."
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A person who helps to raise cattle is called a...?
Cattle farmer
Cattleman
A cattleman is simply someone who helps to raise cattle. For example, "I'm getting too old to raise cattle myself, I need to hire a cattleman to help me out on this farm."
Cattle rancher
Livestock breeder
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When a farmer raises crops and livestock to sell for profit, what is this called?
Paddy field
Commercial farming
Commercial farming is when a farmer raises livestock and crops for the use of sales (aka profit). This type of farming also utilizes large fields of land and heavy machinery.
Hectare
Grower
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Do you know the type of field where rice is grown?
Silage
Grain field
Paddy field
Rice is grown in a paddy field, which is a very wet or flooded type of field. For example, "I'm having a tough time growing rice in my paddy field this year because of how hot and dry the climate has been!"
Dry field
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When a farmer primarily raises livestock, this is known as...?
Pastoral farming
Pastoral farming is when a farmer primarily focuses on raising livestock for food. These types of farmers don't really raise crops either. For example, "I think I'm going to switch gears by transitioning into pastoral farming this year."
Arable farming
Mixed farming
Holding
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What does "cereal" refer to?
A type of chicken
Crops, such as wheat or barley
In the context of farm life, "cereal" actually refers to crops that they grow, such as barley or wheat. For instance, "I'm going out to harvest some cereal today."
To work long hours
A type of agricultural machine
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Old machines are typically stored in the ______.
Warehouse
Garden
House
Yard
With regards to farm life, a yard is where old machines are stored. For example, "I'm going out to the yard to get that machine workin'."
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An "animal thief" is also called a...?
Lodging
Header
Straw
Poacher
A poacher is someone who steals animals from farmers. For example, "One of my pigs is missing; a poacher must have taken it."
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What does "PTO" stand for?
Power take-on
Power take-off
With regards to machinery, "PTO" stands for "power take-off." It's used to transfer power to various types of machines.
Pull take-on
Pull take-off
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Where do farmers sit in a tractor?
The "top"
The cab
A cab does not mean a taxi with regards to farm life; it's the place where farmers sit in a tractor. For example, "I left my wallet in the cab, can you go get it?"
The interior
The cushion
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A large farm is called an...?
Back 40
Estate
A large farm is also called an estate. For example, "My wealthy grandfather owns a large estate in the rural acres of Wisconsin."
A lick and a promise
House
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Some farmers grow peach trees on a farm. Do you know what this is called?
Peach orchard
A peach orchard is a group of peach trees on a piece of farm land. For example, "I think I'm going to start a peach orchard to sell some peaches for extra money."
Peach land
Peach farm
Peach crops
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Do you know where apple cider is made from?
Apple orchard
Rangeland
Cider mill
As the name implies, apple cider is made from a cider mill. The juice is removed from apples to create that sweet and slightly tangy apple cider that we're all familiar with.
Dairy farm
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Corn kernels that taste a bit sweet are called...?
Sweet corn
Corn kernels that taste sweet are simply called sweet corn. This is also used to describe the young age of the corn. For example, "I'm going to use some sweet corn to make a delicious side dish for dinner."
Sugar corn
Fluffy corn
Sugar cobs
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When a farmer uses GPS data to look at certain aspects of their farm, this is known as...?
Value chain
Chemigation
Yield mapping
Yield mapping is when a farmer uses GPS data to look at positive and negative trends of their farm, such as the quality of the crops being grown. This can also help a farmer notice certain problems in their crops.
Top dressing
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What is it called when a farmer breeds certain types of fish?
Fly fishing
Fish farming
Fish farming is the process of breeding fish, which can be used for profit or as food for the farmer. For example, "I'm going to be transitioning into fish farming starting next year."
Bottom trawling
Angling
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Plants are sometimes grown in water instead of soil. What is this known as?
Agronomy
Paddy field
Mixed farming
Hydroponics
Hydroponics is a method that is used to grow plants in water instead of soil. For example, "I'm going to study the nutritional value of plants through the method of hydroponics."
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What's another word for a farm?
Homestead
Another word for a house is a home, which means that the answer is homestead. A homestead is a fancy word for a farm, which also includes all of the animals and buildings.
Fallow
Agronomy
Culture
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