Gallimaufry III—Answers

Here are the answers to my earlier post. According to the Oxford English Dictionary ‘gallimaufry’ originated: mid-16th century: from archaic French galimafrée ‘unappetizing dish’, perhaps from Old French galer ‘have fun’ + Picard mafrer ‘eat copious quantities’.

Today we have gallimaufry, ‘a confused jumble or medley of things’.

One

What ’S’ is a subject in which Professor Robert Langdon specialises at Harvard in the novel and film The Da Vinci Code?

Answer: Symbology

Langdon is Professor of Religious Iconology and Symbology at Harvard University. The Oxford English Dictionary defines symbology as ‘the study or use of symbols’ or ‘symbols collectively’.

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Two

What ‘S’ is the town of Freddie Mercury’s birth?

Answer: Stone Town (in Zanzibar)

Freddie Mercury, born Farrokh Bulsara in Stone Town, in the British Protectorate of Zanzibar (now Tanzania) in 1946. He spent a large part of his childhood in India, where he attended St. Peter’s School and formed a band, the Hectics.

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Three

What ‘W’ does an oenophile love?

Answer: Wine

Oenophile is defined as ‘a connoisseur of wines’. Its origins are from the mid-19th century: from Greek oinos ‘wine’ + -phile. Oxford English Dictionary.

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Four

What ‘A’ is the name of the submarine commanded by Gene Hackman’s character in Crimson Tide?

Answer: Alabama (USS Alabama)

The film centres on a conflict between a submarine commander and his XO over a missile launch order, mirroring a Cuban Missile Crisis incident onboard the Soviet submarine B-59.

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Five

‘G’ was the first initial of the author of The Canterbury Tales. What are this writer’s first and last names?

Answer: Geoffrey Chaucer

Geoffrey Chaucer, an English poet and writer, is best known for The Canterbury Tales and is considered the ‘father of English literature.’ The Canterbury Tales, an anthology of twenty-four stories written by Chaucer between 1387 and 1400, are widely regarded as his magnum opus and a paramount work of English literature. The tales, presented as part of a fictional storytelling contest, are incomplete, with Chaucer’s intention being to write four stories from the perspective of each of the 30 pilgrims.

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