Lamb to the Slaughter
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40 free Lamb to the Slaughter trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Lamb to the Slaughter is one of the most widely taught short stories in English. In a few pages a devoted housewife becomes a killer, a frozen leg of lamb becomes a weapon, and a team of detectives sits down to a meal they will never understand. It is set in classrooms year after year because it is short, shocking and built like clockwork. This quiz follows the story from the calm opening to the last line: what Mary Maloney does before and after the blow, how she builds her alibi, and what the investigators miss. It also covers the writer behind the tale, how it reached print, the literary terms teachers ask about, and the television versions it inspired. It is written for students revising the story, teachers who want a ready-made multiple-choice check on the reading, and anyone who remembers the ending and wants to test the details. Every answer comes with a short explanation, so you can play it online or print it for a class.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which spy novelist, a friend of the author, came up with the plot of Lamb to the Slaughter?
Ian Fleming
Ian Fleming, the creator of James Bond, suggested a wife who kills with frozen meat and then feeds it to the detectives. The two men had worked for British intelligence in wartime America.
Q 02Which much-loved children's author also wrote the adult short story Lamb to the Slaughter?
Roald Dahl
Roald Dahl published it in 1953, years before Matilda or The BFG. His stories for adults are known for dark humour and a sting in the final lines.
Q 03Which famous film director turned Lamb to the Slaughter into a 1958 episode of his own television series?
Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock directed it himself, which he did for only 17 episodes of his anthology series. The story's own author wrote the script.
Q 04In Lamb to the Slaughter, how does Mary Maloney react as she listens to the detectives eating in the next room?
She giggles
She giggles, and that is the story's final image. One of the men, his mouth full, has just guessed that the missing weapon is somewhere very close by.
Q 05In Lamb to the Slaughter, which drink does Mary Maloney persuade the detectives to accept while they are on duty?
Whiskey
Whiskey is what the sergeant pours, first for Mary and then, against the rules, for himself. It takes the edge off a search that is going nowhere.
Q 06In Lamb to the Slaughter, what news does Patrick Maloney give his wife shortly before she kills him?
He is leaving her
He is leaving her, although the narrator never reports his actual words. Readers piece it together from his awkward talk of money and of avoiding a fuss.
Q 07In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does Mary Maloney do with the frozen leg of lamb straight after the killing?
Puts it in the oven
She puts it in the oven, so the weapon is already roasting when help is called. By the time the house is searched it looks like nothing more than supper.
Q 08In Lamb to the Slaughter, whose safety makes Mary Maloney decide to cover up what she has done?
Her unborn child
Her unborn child is her first thought: Mary is six months pregnant and has no idea what the law does with an expectant mother who kills.
Q 09In Lamb to the Slaughter, what do the detectives believe the killer used on Patrick Maloney?
A blunt metal object
A blunt metal object is the sergeant's theory, and he tells Mary that finding it will lead them to the killer. Nobody thinks to look at the roast.
Q 10The saying behind the title Lamb to the Slaughter, about going meekly towards harm, comes from which book?
The Bible
The Bible uses the image in the Book of Isaiah, for a servant who goes to his death without protest. In the story it is the husband who never sees the blow coming.
Q 11In Lamb to the Slaughter, where does Mary Maloney go to fetch the leg of lamb she plans to cook?
The cellar
The cellar holds the couple's deep freeze, and she takes the first thing her hand finds. A biographer has called the plot one of the first to depend on a home freezer.
Q 12In Lamb to the Slaughter, in which room do the detectives sit down to eat the leg of lamb?
The kitchen
The kitchen is where the men eat, while Mary sits listening in the living room. She had pressed the roast on them as a favour to her.
Q 13In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does Patrick Maloney do with his first drink that tells Mary something is wrong?
Drains it in one swallow
Q 21In Lamb to the Slaughter, where does Mary Maloney suggest the detectives look for tools that might be the weapon?
The garage
The garage is her helpful answer when she is asked about heavy tools around the house. It sends the search outdoors while the real weapon sits roasting.
Q 22In Lamb to the Slaughter, which sergeant, a friend of the family, looks after Mary Maloney during the search?
Jack Noonan
Jack Noonan knows Mary well and keeps checking on her through the evening. The 1958 television version promoted the character to lieutenant.
Q 23In Lamb to the Slaughter, which punishment does Mary Maloney assume she will face for killing her husband?
The death penalty
He drains it in one swallow, with at least half still in the glass, then pours a second that is far stronger. Until that moment the evening had followed the couple's usual routine.
Q 14In Lamb to the Slaughter, what is Mary Maloney doing as she waits for her husband to come home?
Sewing
Sewing keeps her hands busy while she watches the clock. The cosy opening, with two lamps lit and two glasses set out, makes what follows all the more shocking.
Q 15In Lamb to the Slaughter, on which day of the week do the Maloneys usually go out to eat?
Thursday
Thursday is the couple's regular night for eating out, which is why Mary has nothing cooking. It also gives her a reason to dash to the shop for vegetables.
Q 16In Lamb to the Slaughter, what is the name of the grocer whose chat with Mary Maloney becomes her alibi?
Sam
Sam is the shopkeeper, and a detective later calls on him to check Mary's story. He confirms that she seemed her ordinary cheerful self.
Q 17In Lamb to the Slaughter, which vegetables does Mary Maloney buy from the grocer to go with the roast?
Potatoes and peas
Potatoes and peas are what she asks for, telling the shopkeeper there is not a vegetable in the house. The errand exists only so that someone sees her acting normally.
Q 18In Lamb to the Slaughter, which dessert does the grocer persuade Mary Maloney to take home for her husband?
Cheesecake
Cheesecake is the shopkeeper's idea for afterwards, and Mary happily agrees. Her husband has been dead for some minutes by then, which makes the small talk chilling.
Q 19In Lamb to the Slaughter, where does Mary Maloney rehearse her smile and her voice before visiting the grocer?
At her mirror
At her mirror, Mary practises greeting the shopkeeper until it looks and sounds natural. The killing was done in a daze; the cover-up is planned with care.
Q 20In Lamb to the Slaughter, where is Patrick Maloney standing, with his back turned, when Mary strikes him?
By the window
By the window, he does not even turn round as she walks up behind him. One swing to the back of the head is enough to kill him.
The death penalty is what she expects, and for herself she thinks it would almost be a relief. That cool acceptance marks the moment her shock gives way to clear thinking.
Q 24In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does the narrator hold back about Mary Maloney's husband until after he is dead?
His first name
His first name, Patrick, is not used until Mary chats to the grocer after the killing. Before that the story calls him simply her husband, or he.
Q 25In Lamb to the Slaughter, what proves to be genuine when Mary Maloney comes home and sees the body again?
Her tears
Her tears are real: the sight of him on the floor brings back how much she loved him. She had braced herself to act the part and finds there is no need.
Q 26In Lamb to the Slaughter, which relative of Mary Maloney do the detectives offer to take her to?
Her sister
Her sister is suggested, and so is the sergeant's own wife, but Mary insists on staying in the house. Throughout, the officers treat her as a widow to be comforted, never as a suspect.
Q 27In Lamb to the Slaughter, what does Mary Maloney do for her husband the moment he comes through the door?
Hangs up his coat
She hangs up his coat, then mixes the drinks: a strong one for him and a weak one for herself. This small ritual is the part of the day she looks forward to.
Q 28Lamb to the Slaughter, in which detectives eat the evidence, is often given as an example of which genre?
Black comedy
Black comedy finds laughs in grim subjects, here a murder weapon served up as supper. The author brought the same taste for nasty surprises to his children's books.
Q 29Which literary device is at work in Lamb to the Slaughter when readers know what the detectives are really eating?
Dramatic irony
Dramatic irony means the audience knows something the characters do not. Here readers know exactly where the weapon is while the experts hunting for it have no idea.
Q 30Before writing Lamb to the Slaughter, what was its author's job in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War?
Fighter pilot
Fighter pilot was his wartime role, and he survived a crash-landing in the North African desert. He was later posted to the British embassy in Washington, where he began to write.