The Great Globe in Guyot Hall, home to the Geosciences Department of Princeton University. Image Wikipedia
Today you need to solve geographic anagrams. These ANAGRAMS are all written in capitals. For example
Example
WATCHING DONS at Georgetown University One answer: a capital city
Solution
You would be looking for a capital city and your answer would be an anagram of WATCHING DONS: Washington DC
One
Don’t be in DENIAL about the change to old NICKEL ON TUMMY — a lofty environment in the new world. Two answers: both the same place with a changed name
Two
JAVA ROSE is the capital of HONING BAZAAR NOSEDIVE Two answers: the city and the European country it is capital of.
Three
BET NUMEROUS eruptions have been seen from this southernmost volcano One answer: a volcano.
Four
BEACHFRONT BLUNDERING DAFFODILS are the capitals of the four nations that make up this one constitutional monarchy: NOT MINK GUIDED Five answers: the first anagram hides the four capital cities, while the second reveals a constitutional monarchy.
Five
ADIOS KARATE NINJA, according to the United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects 2025 this city is the world’s most populous. Two answers: one anagram hides the name of the city and the country it is in.
The theme for today’s questions repeats yesterday’s: five words, each beginning with a different letter — W, O, R, D, and S. Each word appears in the Oxford English Dictionary and is presented below with three possible meanings. Simply choose the correct one for each.
Widdershins
A. Small shears; secateurs B. A direction contrary to the sun’s course; anticlockwise C. Woollen leggings; gaiters
Answer: B. A direction contrary to the sun’s course; anticlockwise
adverb mainly Scottish English in a direction contrary to the sun’s course, considered as unlucky; anticlockwise: she danced widdershins around him.
– ORIGIN early 16th century: from Middle Low German weddersins, from Middle High German widersinnes, from wider ‘against’ + sin ‘direction’; the second element was associated with Scots sin ‘sun’.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Omasum
A. An estate held in absolute ownership, without acknowledgement to a superior. B. A hard, dark, glasslike volcanic rock formed by the rapid solidification of lava without crystallization. C. The muscular third stomach of a ruminant animal
Answer: C. The muscular third stomach of a ruminant animal
noun (plural omasa /əʊˈmeɪsə/) Zoology the muscular third stomach of a ruminant animal, between the reticulum and the abomasum. Also called psalterium
– ORIGIN mid 16th century: from Latin, literally ‘tripe’, probably from Gaulish.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Rhinal
A. In Palaeontology relating to unicorns B. The scientific study of water loss from riverine systems C. Anatomy relating to the nose or the olfactory part of the brain
Answer: C. Anatomy relating to the nose or the olfactory part of the brain
adjective Anatomy relating to the nose or the olfactory part of the brain.
A. One who is an identical twin B. An adolescent male kangaroo or wallaby C. An unsophisticated or unintelligent person; a country bumpkin
Answer: C. An unsophisticated or unintelligent person; a country bumpkin
noun (plural dubbos) Australian English informal, derogatory an unsophisticated or unintelligent person, especially someone from the countryside; a bumpkin: why was she working with such a bunch of dubbos?
– ORIGIN 1980s: from the name of a famous farming town in New South Wales.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Shadoof
A. A pole and bucket system to collect well water B. A shadow-like spectre C. A Jewish professional matchmaker or marriage broker
Answer: A. A pole and bucket system to collect well water
noun a pole with a bucket and counterpoise used especially in Egypt for raising water.
– ORIGIN mid 19th century: from Egyptian Arabic šādūf.
The theme for today’s questions repeats yesterday’s: five words, each beginning with a different letter — W, O, R, D, and S. Each word appears in the Oxford English Dictionary and is presented below with three possible meanings. Simply choose the correct one for each.
Widdershins
A. Small shears; secateurs B. A direction contrary to the sun’s course; anticlockwise C. Woollen leggings; gaiters
Omasum
A. An estate held in absolute ownership, without acknowledgement to a superior. B. A hard, dark, glasslike volcanic rock formed by the rapid solidification of lava without crystallization. C. The muscular third stomach of a ruminant animal
Rhinal
A. In Palaeontology relating to unicorns B. The scientific study of water loss from riverine systems C. Anatomy relating to the nose or the olfactory part of the brain
Dubbo
A. One who is an identical twin B. An adolescent male kangaroo or wallaby C. An unsophisticated or unintelligent person; a country bumpkin
Shadoof
A. A pole and bucket system to collect well water B. A shadow-like spectre C. A Jewish professional matchmaker or marriage broker
Today’s questions focus on five words, each starting with a different letter: W, O, R, D, S. These words are all found in the Oxford English Dictionary. Each word is listed below with three definitions, so simply select the correct one for each.
One
Welkin
A. A barrel with a capacity of 12 pecks (24 gallons) B. A grandchild C. The sky or heavens
Answer: The sky or heavens
noun literary the sky or heaven.
– ORIGIN Old English wolcen ‘cloud, sky’, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch wolk and German Wolke.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Two
Ouabain
A. A poisonous white crystalline glycoside B. A two-wheeled cart C. A witches potion
Answer: A. A poisonous white crystalline glycoside
noun [mass noun] Chemistry a toxic compound obtained from certain trees, used as a very rapid cardiac stimulant. It is a polycyclic glycoside.
– ORIGIN late 19th century: via French from Somali wabayo, denoting a tree that yields poison (used on arrow points) containing ouabain.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Three
Regolith
A. Unified register of official documents. B. An order of reptiles characterised by a bony plate shell covered in horny scales. C. The layer of unconsolidated solid material covering a planet’s bedrock.
Answer: The layer of unconsolidated solid material covering the bedrock of a planet
noun [mass noun] Geology the layer of unconsolidated solid material covering the bedrock of a planet.
– ORIGIN late 19th century: from Greek rhēgos ‘rug, blanket’ + -lith.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Four
Deemster
A. An apprentice printer B. A judge C. A person falsely claiming to have a special knowledge
Answer: A Judge
noun a judge (of whom there are two) in the Isle of Man judiciary.
– ORIGIN Middle English (originally a general word for a judge): from deem + -ster. The current sense dates from the early 17th century.
— Oxford English Dictionary
Five
Starets
A. A magnesium flare
B. A spiritual leader
C. A Vietnamese roasted snake dish
Answer: A spiritual leader
noun A spiritual adviser, often a monk or religious hermit, in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
A religious adviser (not necessarily a priest) in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Thomas Hart Benton’s 1948 painting Poker Night depicts a scene from which Tennessee Williams play?
Answer: A Streetcar Named Desire
Two
What skill can be called funambulism?
Answer: Tightrope walking
Three
A ribauldequin was a type of musical instrument. Is this true or false?
Answer: False
It was a type of multiple barrelled gun
Four
The Taj Mahal is located on the south bank of what river?
Answer: Yamuna
The Taj Mahal, an ivory-white marble mausoleum in Agra, India, was commissioned by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in 1631 to house the tomb of his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
Five
Who is the world’s best-selling fiction writer?
Answer: Agatha Christie
The world’s best-selling fiction writer is the late Dame Agatha Christie (née Miller, later Lady Mallowan, 1890–1976), whose 78 crime novels have sold an estimated 2 billion copies in 44 languages. Agatha Christie (UK) also wrote 19 plays and, under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, six romantic novels. Royalty earnings are estimated to be worth millions per year.
Regular triskaidecagon or tridecagon, see #4. Image Wikipedia
The answers to my earlier post are shown below.
One
From which Asian language does the word ’jungle‘ originate?
Answer: Sanskrit (Hindi is a close second)
jungle /ˈdʒʌŋɡl / ▸ noun 1 an area of land overgrown with dense forest and tangled vegetation, typically in the tropics: we set off into the jungle [mass noun] the lakes are hidden in dense jungle.
a wild tangled mass of vegetation or other things: the garden was a jungle of bluebells.
a situation or place of bewildering complexity or brutal competitiveness: it’s a jungle out there.
2 [mass noun] (also jungle music) a style of dance music incorporating elements of ragga, hip-hop, and hard core and consisting of very fast electronic drum tracks and slower synthesized bass lines, originating in Britain in the early 1990s.
– PHRASES the law of the jungle the principle that those who are strong and apply ruthless self-interest will be most successful: power politics reflected the law of the jungle. – DERIVATIVES jungled adjective – ORIGIN late 18th century: via Hindi from Sanskrit jāṅgala ‘rough and arid (terrain)’. — Oxford English Dictionary
Two
A Scrabble board has how many squares to place tiles in?
Answer: 225
Scrabble, invented in 1931 by Alfred Mosher Butts, is a word game played on a 15×15 grid. Hasbro produces it in the US and Canada, while Mattel holds the rights for international production.
Three
In four English-speaking countries, a specific word is used to describe a particular capacity, ranging from as low as 237 millilitres to as much as 250 millilitres. What is this term?
Answer: Cup
A measure of capacity used in cooking. In the US and Canada it is equal to half a US pint, therefore 8 fluid ounces or 237 millilitres. In the UK it is 10 fluid ounces or 284 millilitres and Australia it is 250 millilitres.
Four
A triskaidecagon, or tridecagon, has how many sides?
Answer: Thirteen
In geometry, a tridecagon, also known as a triskaidecagon or 13-gon, is a thirteen-sided polygon, see image above.
Five
What ‘H’ is an alphabet containing the word ‘qoph’?
From which Asian language does the word ’jungle‘ originate?
Two
A Scrabble board has how many squares to place tiles in?
Three
In four English-speaking countries, a specific word is used to describe a particular capacity, ranging from as low as 237 millilitres to as much as 250 millilitres. What is this term?
Four
A triskaidecagon, or tridecagon, has how many sides?
Five
What ‘H’ is an alphabet containing the word ‘qoph’?
The Avro Vulcan, a jet-powered, tailless, delta-wing bomber, was operated by the RAF from 1956 to 1984. It served as the backbone of the UK’s airborne nuclear deterrent during the Cold War and was later adapted for maritime reconnaissance and aerial refuelling. Vulcan, the Roman god of fire, volcanoes, deserts, metalworking and the forge, is often depicted with a blacksmith’s hammer. His Greek counterpart is Hephaestus, and his Etruscan counterpart is Sethlans.
Two
King Neptune, SpongeBob SquarePants. Image Pinterest
Can you name a powerful, trident-wielding merman from SpongeBob SquarePants?
Answer: King Neptune
In SpongeBob SquarePants King Neptune, a powerful merman god, rules the sea from Atlantis with his wife and son. He is portrayed as arrogant and selfish, but is a fan of Patrick Star, releasing the Star family from trespassing charges and moving his ball to their house. In mythology, Neptune, the Roman god of freshwater and the sea, is the counterpart of the Greek god Poseidon. He is associated with horses and horse-racing, and his festival, Neptunalia, is celebrated on July 23rd.
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned: —Introibo ad altare Dei.
The opening words of a novel are quoted above. What is this work that chronicles the events of a single day, the 16 June 1904?
Answer: Ulysses
Ulysses, a modernist novel by James Joyce, chronicles the experiences of three Dubliners on 16 June 1904. The novel, published in 1922, parallels the Odyssey and explores themes of antisemitism, sexuality, British rule, Catholicism and Irish nationalism. Bloomsday, celebrated annually on 16 June, commemorates the life of Irish writer James Joyce. The day is named after Leopold Bloom, the protagonist Ulysses, and the events of the novel take place on this date. Odysseus (Roman Ulysses), the legendary Greek king of Ithaca, is the hero of Homer’s epic poem, the Odyssey. He is known for his cunning and intelligence, and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War.
Quicksilver is connected to this United States human spaceflight programme (1958–1963): Project…
Answer: (Project) Mercury
Quicksilver is defined as ‘the liquid metal mercury’. Project Mercury, the first US human spaceflight programme, ran from 1958 to 1963. It conducted 26 flights, six with astronauts, and cost $2.76 billion. Mercury is a major Roman god, associated with commerce, communication, travellers and thieves. He is the son of Maia and Jupiter, and is often depicted holding the caduceus, a staff with intertwined snakes.
Five
Archaeological Museum in Herakleion. Statue of Isis-Persephone holding a sistrum. Temple of the Egyptian gods, Gortyn. Roman period (180-190 C.E.). Image Wikipedia
PRONE SHEEP
…can be rearranged to give the name of a daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She was abducted by Hades and became the queen of the underworld. Who is she?
Answer: Persephone
In Greek mythology, Persephone, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, became the queen of the underworld after being abducted by her uncle Hades. Her myth symbolises spring and vegetation, representing the eternal cycle of life and death.
Can you name a powerful, trident-wielding merman from SpongeBob SquarePants?
Three
Stately, plump Buck Mulligan came from the stairhead, bearing a bowl of lather on which a mirror and a razor lay crossed. A yellow dressinggown, ungirdled, was sustained gently behind him on the mild morning air. He held the bowl aloft and intoned: —Introibo ad altare Dei.
The opening words of a novel are quoted above. What is this work that chronicles the events of a single day, June 16th, 1904?
Four
Quicksilver is connected to this United States human spaceflight programme (1958–1963): Project…
Five
PRONE SHEEP
…can be rearranged to give the name of a daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She was abducted by Hades and became the queen of the underworld. Who is she?
Quizology.Online 
