Roxane expresses her love for the title character at the end of which 1897 Edmond Rostand play?
Answer: Cyrano de Bergerac.
Edmond Rostand’s 1897 French play Cyrano de Bergerac blends the 17th-century Cyrano’s life with invention and myth; his large nose is real but usually exaggerated in performance.
Two
The order Lagomorpha contains the pika and two other animals. What one has a six-lettered name?
Answer: Rabbit.
Derived from Greek and meaning ‘hare-shaped’ Lagomorphs comprise Leporidae and Ochotonidae, with 109 extant species across twelve genera and one recently extinct genus. Found on all continents except Antarctica, they differ from rodents by having four upper incisors and more cheek teeth. They are almost exclusively herbivores with fur-covered feet. Great Britain alone is estimated to have about 36 million wild European rabbits.
Three
The principal activity of which Yokohama-headquartered company is the production, marketing and sale of commercial vehicles and diesel engines?
Answer: Isuzu.
Headquartered in Yokohama, Isuzu Motors Ltd. produces and sells commercial diesel vehicles and engines globally. Operations include subsidiaries such as UD Trucks and Jiangxi Isuzu Motors, with plants in Fujisawa, Tochigi and Hokkaido.
Four
Wikipedia describes the design of the Flag of Kenya as follows: ‘A horizontal tricolour of black, white-edged red, and green with two crossed white spears behind a red, white, and black … shield.’ What word has been omitted from the description?
Answer: Maasai.
The flag’s design draws from the banner of the Kenya African National Union (KANU), the movement that guided independence. KANU’s colours were woven into the national flag alongside the traditional Maasai shield and crossed spears to signal cultural heritage and defence. This adjustment ensured the flag captured both political history and the broader identity of the Kenyan people.
Five
What is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States?
Answer: Everglades.
The Everglades, a flooded grassland from Lake Okeechobee to Florida Bay, suffered habitat loss through drainage and development. Conservation efforts resulted with Congress approval of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan in 2000.
Roxane expresses her love for the title character at the end of which 1897 Edmond Rostand play?
Two
The order Lagomorpha contains the pika and two other animals. What one has a six-lettered name?
Three
The principal activity of which Yokohama-headquartered company is the production, marketing and sale of commercial vehicles and diesel engines?
Four
Wikipedia describes the design of the Flag of Kenya as follows: ‘A horizontal tricolour of black, white-edged red, and green with two crossed white spears behind a red, white, and black … shield.’ What word has been omitted from the description?
Five
What is the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States?
Camerlengo Patrick McKenna was played by whom in a 2009 film?
Answer: Ewan McGregor,
In Angels & Demons (2009), which was based on Dan Brown’s 2000 novel of the same name, Ewan McGregor portrayed Father Patrick McKenna, the Camerlengo. In the Catholic Church, the Camerlengo (Chamberlain) is the official responsible for the temporal and administrative affairs of the Vatican and the Papacy during the period when the office of the Pope is vacant (sede vacante), following a Pope’s death and before a successor has been elected.
Two
What make of car has a name which comes from the Latin meaning ‘roll, cause to roll’?
Answer: Volvo.
The name Volvo is derived from the Latin verb volvere, which means “to roll” or “to turn.” This root gives the car brand its connection to rolling motion.
roll, cause to roll; travel in circle/circuit; bring around/about; revolve;
— Oxford Latin Dictionary
Three
What eight-letter noun describes any one of these three historic figures: Jacques Cartier, Edward John Eyre and Henry Hudson?
Answer: Explorer.
Jacques Cartier became the first European to venture inland across North America, asserting French authority over the territory he surveyed in 1534. Edward John Eyre was an English explorer of the Australian continent, colonial administrator, Lieutenant-Governor of New Zealand’s New Munster province, and Governor of Jamaica. Henry Hudson explored what is now New York and northeastern Canada. Today he has both a river and bay named after him.
Four
Sitting at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg on the Atlantic Ocean this capital city of an African country is one of that country’s four imperial cities. It was founded in the 12th century by the Almohad dynasty and became the official capital in 1956 after the country gained independence from France. What is this city?
Answer: Rabat.
Rabat, founded by the Almohads in the 12th century, is Morocco’s capital and the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region’s centre. On the Atlantic at the Bou Regreg rivermouth, it became the French protectorate’s administrative hub in 1912 and the capital in 1956.
Five
If an airport runway is designated 18 in which direction is it orientated?
Answer: South
Runway 18 is oriented south, meaning that aircraft taking off or landing on it are heading in a southerly direction. The opposite end of this runway would be designated as Runway 36, which points north. These numbers refer to south being 180º on a compass and north 360º.
Bonus Question
The first letter of each answer, assuming you have answered the five questions correctly, will form a word which is the maiden name of a character in Dutch translations of Harry Potter; the first, second and fifth characters are the same as that used in the English language versions. What character?
Answer: (Any of) Lily Potter, Lily Evans or Lily Evers.
See below
Chapter and Verse
At the start you were told to ‘subverse the verse’, which I hoped you would read as a prompt to scramble the word ‘verse’ and reorder its letters. Those letters would serve as the initial letters of today’s answers. If solved correctly, you would have an anagram of verse as your first letters: E, V, E, R and S. Harry Potter’s mother Lily has the maiden name Evans in the English books, which became Evers in the Dutch version.
Camerlengo Patrick McKenna was played by whom in a 2009 film?
Two
What make of car has a name which comes from the Latin meaning ‘roll, cause to roll’?
Three
What eight-letter noun describes any one of these three historic figures: Jacques Cartier, Edward John Eyre and Henry Hudson?
Four
Sitting at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg on the Atlantic Ocean this capital city of an African country is one of that country’s four imperial cities. It was founded in the 12th century by the Almohad dynasty and became the official capital in 1956 after the country gained independence from France. What is this city?
Five
If an airport runway is designated 18 in which direction is it orientated?
Bonus Question
The first letter of each answer, assuming you have answered the five questions correctly, will form a word which is the maiden name of a character in Dutch translations of Harry Potter; the first, second and fifth characters are the same as that used in the English language versions. What character?
No more can be said than ‘sense lapsang souchong meeting Laphroaig’.
One
What dinosaur species is pictured?
Answer: Stegosaurus.
Stegosaurus, a Late Jurassic herbivorous quadruped from the western United States and Portugal, had kite-shaped plates and tail spikes likely used for display and defence although the plates may have regulated heat. Three species are recognised and remains exceed 80 individuals.
Two
Buonapart Ignace Gallia is the real name of which villain from an early James Bond novel by Ian Fleming?
Answer: Mr. Big.
Mr. Big serves as the alias for the central antagonist in the novel Live and Let Die and its 1973 film version. In the book, his actual name is Buonapart Ignace Gallia. Within Fleming’s narrative, Mr. Big acts as a SMERSH operative and leads the ‘Black Widow Voodoo Cult’, as it smuggles and launders 17th-century gold coins for the benefit of SMERSH.
Three
A highly poisonous plant of the dogbane family; an Australian wattle tree; and part of the title of a 2002 film featuring Billy Connolly. One eight-lettered word fits all three things above: what word?
Answer: Oleander.
Nerium oleander is native from the Mediterranean to southern Asia and cultivated widely. It is highly poisonous yet rarely ingested due to bitterness; ingestion causes gastrointestinal and cardiac effects, and sap causes irritation. Acacia neriifolia, known as oleander, silver or pechy wattle, is a tree native to north-eastern Australia and common in the Moonbi Ranges. The Billy Connolly film is White Oleander which also stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Renée Zellweger.
Four
What songwriter composed Help Me Make It Through the Night?
Answer: Kris Kristofferson.
Kristofferson claims that his inspiration for the song came from Frank Sinatra’s answer to an interview question asking what he believed in. Sinatra replied, ‘Booze, broads, or a bible…whatever helps me make it through the night.’ As well as Kristofferson’s recordings versions of the song has been released by several artists, including Sammi Smith, Brenda Lee, Gladys Knight, Elvis Presley, Tammy Wynette, Johnny Cash and many more.
Five
What links George Williams in 1844 London with a 1978 song written by Jacques Morali and Victor Willis?
Answer: Y.M.C.A.
Founded in London in 1844 by George Williams, YMCA is a Protestant parachurch federation based in Vernier, Switzerland, promoting Christian values through youth development. With 12,000 branches and 64 million beneficiaries, it follows principles known as the Paris Basis. Jacques Morali and Victor Willis were the songwriters who wrote the chart-topping Y.M.C.A. for the Village People.
Sense Lapsang Souchong Meeting Laphroaig
Lapsang souchong is a well-known black tea which originated from Fujian Province, China and Laphroaig is a malt whisky from the Scottish island of Islay. Both of these drinks share a smoky aroma and taste and that is a small clue to today’s answers which begin with the letters S, M, O, K and Y
No more can be said than ‘sense lapsang souchong meeting Laphroaig’.
One
What dinosaur species is pictured?
Two
Buonapart Ignace Gallia is the real name of which villain from an early James Bond novel by Ian Fleming?
Three
A highly poisonous plant of the dogbane family; an Australian wattle tree; and part of the title of a 2002 film featuring Billy Connolly. One eight-lettered word fits all three things above: what word?
Four
What songwriter composed Help Me Make It Through the Night?
Five
What links George Williams in 1844 London with a 1978 song written by Jacques Morali and Victor Willis?
Today’s title could be the antithesis to the answers.
One
What martyr, who lived circa AD 255 – c. AD 288, is the patron saint of archery?
Answer: Sebastian.
Sebastian, an early Christian martyr, survived arrow wounds after being tied to a post and shot with arrows during the Diocletianic Persecution. He was healed by Irene of Rome but then clubbed to death after warning Diocletian about his sins; he is venerated as the patron of athletics, archery and plagues.
Two
This fisherman is known by his first name; he is known by some the ‘First-called’; and his cross forms part of the Union Flag of the United Kingdom. Who is he?
Answer: Andrew.
Andrew the Apostle, a fisherman and one of the Twelve Apostles, is titled First-Called in Eastern Orthodox tradition for following Jesus and introducing Simon Peter; the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is his successor. He is the patron saint of Scotland hence his cross being included in the Union Flag.
Three
The third of the Weasley children, Percy, shares his middle name with the first name of a saint who founded the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in 1534. What is the name they have in common?
Answer: Ignatius.
In Harry Potter Percy Ignatius Weasley was the very serious brother of Fred, George, Ron and Ginny. Ignatius of Loyola, born in 1491, was a Basque Catholic saint and founder of the Society of Jesus. Ignatius founded the Jesuit order through vows in Paris and an organisation approved by Pope Paul III. Innovations included a black robe, centralised authority, long probation, obedience to the pope and flexibility for global ministries.
Four
An early saint from what is now modern Turkey who was known for genorosity and gift giving. He is amongst others the Patron Saint of Children. This line of poetry may help, ‘’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house’. Who is he?
Answer: Nicholas.
St Nicholas, a fourth-century figure from Myra, is a widely honoured minor saint linked to Christmas and patron of children and sailors; gifts are given on 6 December in many countries.
Five
Which saint shown above is portrayed as being in seventh heaven?
Answer: Teresa.
The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, completed in 1652 by Gian Lorenzo Bernini, the white marble altarpiece in Rome’s Cornaro Chapel, depicts Saint Teresa of Ávila swooning in ecstasy beneath an angel with a spear. Some scholars describe the work as showing Teresa in religious ecstasy; others suggest that the work carries sexual implications.
The Sinners Are Much More Fun
The is from Billy Joel’s Only The Good Die Young, here is the full verse which ends with it:
And they say there’s a heaven for those who will wait
And some say it’s better, but I say it ain’t
I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints
The sinners are much more fun
The sinners are, according to Mr Joel, much more fun than the saints, and S A I N T singular is what should have been leading you today as the initial letters of the answers — Sebastian, Andrew, Ignatius, Nicholas and Teresa.
Today’s title could be the antithesis to the answers.
One
What martyr, who lived circa AD 255 – c. AD 288, is the patron saint of archery?
Two
This fisherman is known by his first name; he is known by some the ‘First-called’; and his cross forms part of the Union Flag of the United Kingdom. Who is he?
Three
The third of the Weasley children, Percy, shares his middle name with the first name of a saint who founded the Jesuits (Society of Jesus) in 1534. What is the name they have in common?
Four
An early saint from what is now modern Turkey who was known for genorosity and gift giving. He is amongst others the Patron Saint of Children. This line of poetry may help, ‘’Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house’. Who is he?
Five
Which saint shown above is portrayed as being in seventh heaven?
Diorama of life on the Capitan Reef, see question two. Image Wikimedia Commons
Today’s questions: an exercise in mediocracy.
One
What month is mentioned in the opening sentence of Chapter One of The Thirty-nine Steps by John Buchan?
Answer: May.
I returned from the City about three o’clock on that May afternoon pretty disgusted with life.
— The Thirty-nine Steps, John Buchan.
The Thirty-Nine Steps, a 1915 adventure novel by John Buchan, introduced Richard Hannay and was serialised before publication. It has been adapted repeatedly and featured in the BBC’s Big Read.
Two
What national park of the United States is in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico?
Answer: Carlsbad Caverns.
Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico, established in 1930 and a 1995 World Heritage Site, features the Big Room, North America’s largest chamber. Visitors access Carlsbad Cavern via natural entrance or lift; two-thirds is wilderness.
Three
What religious organisation was founded by Josemaría Escrivá de Balaguer y Albás?
Answer: Opus Dei.
Founded in Spain by Josemaría Escrivá, Opus Dei is a personal prelature approved by Pope Pius XII and affirmed by Pope John Paul II. Laypeople form most members; others are secular priests. Known as ‘the Work’, it trains members in Catholic spirituality across over 90 countries.
Four
What was the largest city in the world in the year AD 1, and what was its population?
Answer: Rome, I million.
Rome held this position for several centuries before the honour was claimed by Constantinople.
Five
Which part of a newt is a potion ingredient mentioned by the second witch in Macbeth?
