See question two. ?, the hybrid offspring of a donkey and a zebra. Image Wikimedia Commons
Today’s questions are not date-related, nor are the questions related, but there is a theme concerning the answers.
One
What word completes the title of a 1965 war film starring Kirk Douglas and Richard Harris, which was based on a true story and shot in Norway: The Heroes of …?
Two
What is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as ‘the hybrid offspring of a donkey and a zebra’? (NB. The same word is used in Mexico for donkeys painted as zebras for tourist souvenir photos.)
Three
Dating from the first half of the 20th century from what language did the words ‘rooibos’ and ‘apartheid’ originate?
Four
Who won Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her part in The Constant Gardener?
Five
What body of water was home to the British Fleet during both the First and Second World Wars, as well as being the site of the 1919 scuttling of the interred German High Sea Fleet and the 1939 sinking of HMS Royal Oak?
What does the name of the dinosaur Falcarius mean?
Ground scraper
Sickle cutter
Wood driller
Answer: Sickle cutter.
Falcarius, meaning ‘sickle cutter’, is a primitive therizinosaur from the Early Cretaceous in North America. Discovered in the Cedar Mountain Formation, it was a 4 m long bipedal herbivore with a small head, elongated neck, and tail. It is considered a transitional form between theropods and Therizinosauridae.
Three
Spectrophobia, catoptrophobia and eisoptrophobia can all relate to what household item?
Kettle
Linoleum
Mirror
Answer: Mirror.
Catoptrophobia, eisoptrophobia and spectrophobia are terms related to fear of mirrors, but they have distinct meanings. Catoptrophobia is the fear of mirrors themselves, eisoptrophobia is the fear of seeing one’s reflection, and spectrophobia can mean fear of mirrors or ghosts. Etymologically, catoptro– and eisoptron– mean ‘mirror’, whereas spectrum means ‘apparition’, explaining spectrophobia’s dual association.
Four
What word can be added to crow to complete this plants name: crow …?
Foot
Quill
Steps
Answer:
Crowfoot is a herbaceous plant of the genus Ranunculus, related to the buttercups, typically having lobed or divided leaves and white or yellow flowers.
Many kinds are aquatic with flowers held above the water. Crow quill is a quill pen made from a large feather of a crow’s wing and used in fine writing. Crow steps are projections resembling steps on the sloping part of a gable, common in Flemish architecture and in 16th- and 17th-century Scottish buildings. Also called corbie steps. — all three definitions from Oxford English Dictionary.
Five
Which of these words means the 1938 annexation of Austria by Hitler’s Nazi Germany?
Anschluss
Rindereintopf
Schlafwandeln
Answer: Anschluss.
Anschluss /ˈanʃlʊs / ▸ the annexation of Austria by Germany in 1938. Hitler had forced the resignation of the Austrian Chancellor by demanding that he admit Nazis into his cabinet. The new Chancellor, a pro-Nazi, invited German troops to enter the country on the pretext of restoring law and order. – ORIGIN German, from anschliessen ‘to join’. — Oxford English Dictionary
Rindereintopf is a beef stew, and Schlafwandeln is sleepwalking.
Woodcut representing the waterfront of Memphis, Tennessee, published 1879. Image Wikimedia Commons
Today’s five questions form a theme, and that is all I am alluding to.
One
The Perry Index sorts fables attributed to which ancient Greek writer?
Answer: Aesop.
The Perry Index is a comprehensive index of Aesop’s Fables, attributed to the ancient Greek storyteller Aesop (620-560 BC). Created by Ben Edwin Perry, a University of Illinois classics professor, it categorises and references the fables. Modern scholarship suggests Aesop didn’t compose all of the fables attributed to him; some predate him, others appear over a millennium after him.
Two
What singer’s debut album was Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number?
Answer: Aaliyah.
Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number is Aaliyah’s debut album, released on 24 May 1994. Produced by R. Kelly, it blends R&B with new jack swing, peaking at number 18 on the US Billboard 200. It sold over three million copies in the US and six million worldwide, featuring two gold-certified singles.
Three
In 1938, which national leader was named Time magazine’s Man of the Year?
Answer: Adolf Hitler.
TIME explained what was perhaps the most controversial of its choices thus: “Hitler became in 1938 the greatest threatening force that the democratic, freedom-loving world faces today” (1/2/39).
Hitler’s rise began in 1919, when he joined the German Workers Party, which was renamed the Nazi party. Within two years he was the party’s leader. In 1933, Hitler became chancellor of Germany and soon consolidated his power, banning other parties and establishing totalitarian rule. He put the unemployed to work in public programs, rebuilt the army and sent Jews, communists and others to concentration camps. On September 1, 1939, Hitler began World War II by invading Poland. By 1941, German troops had become bogged down in Russia, and in 1944 the Allies began their advance on Germany. Hitler lived his final months in a Berlin bunker, committing suicide on April 29, 1945.
Big River, a 1984 musical, is based on which Mark Twain novel?
Answer: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Roger Miller’s Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a musical based on Mark Twain’s novel, featuring bluegrass and country music. The 1985 Broadway production ran for over 1,000 performances and won seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical.
Five
What word describes the repetition of the same sound at the start of each word?
Answer: Alliteration.
alliteration | əˌlɪtəˈreɪʃn | noun [mass noun] the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words: the alliteration of ‘sweet birds sang’ | [count noun] : alliterations are clustered in the last few lines. – ORIGIN early 17th century: from medieval Latin alliteratio(n-), from Latin ad– (expressing addition) + littera ‘letter’. Oxford English Dictionary
In the Beginning
The post title refers to all the answers beginning with ‘A’.
This twelve-letter noun means ‘a political candidate who seeks election in an area where they have no local connections’. What is this word?
Answer: Carpetbagger.
carpetbagger ▸ noun informal, derogatory a political candidate who seeks election in an area where they have no local connections. — ORIGIN mid 19th century: originally applied to people from the northern states of the US who went to the South after the Civil War to profit from the Reconstruction. Oxford English Dictionary
Two
This six-letter noun means ‘the period of a person’s or thing’s greatest success, popularity, activity, or vigour’. What is this noun?
Answer: Heyday.
heyday /ˈheɪdeɪ / ▸ (one’s heyday) noun the period of a person’s or thing’s greatest success, popularity, activity, or vigour: the paper has lost millions of readers since its heyday in 1964.
– ORIGIN late 16th century (denoting good spirits or passion): from archaic heyday!, an exclamation of joy, surprise, etc. Oxford English Dictionary
Three
This four-letter verb means ‘move along slowly and carefully’. What is it?
Answer: Inch.
inch verb [no object, with adverbial of direction] move along slowly and carefully. — ORIGIN late Old English ynce, from Latin uncia ‘twelfth part’, from unus ‘one’ (probably denoting a unit). Compare with ounce. Oxford English Dictionary
Four
This seven-letter verb means ‘criticise (someone or something) harshly’. What is this verb?
Answer: Lambast.
lambast /lamˈbast / (lambaste /lamˈbeɪst /) ▸ verb [with object] criticize (someone or something) harshly: they lambasted the report as a gross distortion of the truth.
– ORIGIN mid 17th century (in the sense ‘beat, thrash’): from lam1 + baste3. The current sense dates from the late 19th century. Oxford English Dictionary
Five
This five-letter verb means ‘inspire or permeate with (a feeling or quality)‘. What is the word?
Answer: Imbue.
imbue /ɪmˈbjuː / ▸ (be imbued with) verb ( imbues, imbuing, imbued) [with object] inspire or permeate with (a feeling or quality): his works are invariably imbued with a sense of calm and serenity.
– ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense ‘saturate’): from French imbu ‘moistened’, from Latin imbutus, past participle of imbuere ‘moisten’. Oxford English Dictionary
Word Spice
The post title was a bit of a clue But not as straightforward as yesterday. The first letter of each answer spells ‘chili’ when taken in order — chili being a spice.
This nine-letter noun means ‘a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling’. What is the word?
Answer: Scintilla.
scintilla | sɪnˈtɪlə | noun [in singular] a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling: a scintilla of doubt. — ORIGIN late 17th century: from Latin. Oxford English Dictionary
Two
A twelve-letter noun used in law, mainly in Scotland, meaning ‘the preliminary examination of witnesses, especially to decide whether there is ground for a trial’. What is the word?
Answer: Precognition.
See usage 2 below.
precognition | ˌpriːkɒɡˈnɪʃn | noun 1 [mass noun] foreknowledge of an event, especially as a form of extrasensory perception. 2 Law, mainly Scottish English the preliminary examination of witnesses, especially to decide whether there is ground for a trial. — ORIGIN late Middle English: from late Latin praecognitio(n-), based on Latin cognoscere ‘know’. Oxford English Dictionary
Three
This four-letter noun, the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, means ‘an extremely small amount’. Can you guess what it is?
Answer: Iota.
iota | ʌɪˈəʊtə | noun 1 the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (Ι, ι), transliterated as ‘i’. •[followed by Latin genitive] Astronomy (Iota) the ninth star in a constellation: Iota Piscium. 2 [in singular, usually with negative] an extremely small amount: nothing she said seemed to make an iota of difference. — ORIGIN from Greek iōta. iota (sense 2 of the noun) arose because iota is the smallest letter of the Greek alphabet: compare with jot. Oxford English Dictionary
Four
This is a fourteen-letter noun meaning ‘a person who enjoys or is skilled at solving crosswords’. Can you identify the word?
Answer: Cruciverbalist.
cruciverbalist | ˌkruːsɪˈvəːbəlɪst | noun a person who enjoys or is skilled at solving crosswords. — ORIGIN 1970s: from Latin crux, cruci– ‘cross’ and verbalist. Oxford English Dictionary
Five
This ten-letter noun means ‘the formal art and practice of horsemanship and horse riding’. What is the word?
Answer: Equitation.
equitation | ˌɛkwɪˈteɪʃn | noun [mass noun] formal the art and practice of horsemanship and horse riding. — ORIGIN mid 16th century: from French équitation or Latin equitatio(n-), from equitare ‘ride a horse’, from eques, equit– ‘horseman’ (from equus ‘horse’). Oxford English Dictionary
Word Spice
The post title was a bit of a clue. The first letter of each answer spells ‘spice’ when taken in order.
This nine-letter noun means ‘a tiny trace or spark of a specified quality or feeling’. What is the word?
Two
A twelve-letter noun used in law, mainly in Scotland, meaning ‘the preliminary examination of witnesses, especially to decide whether there is ground for a trial’. What is this noun?
Three
This four-letter noun, the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, means ‘an extremely small amount’. Can you guess what it is?
Four
This is a fourteen-letter noun meaning ‘a person who enjoys or is skilled at solving crosswords’. Can you identify the word?
Five
This ten-letter noun means ‘the formal art and practice of horsemanship and horse riding’. What is the word?
What were the first names of Mason and Dixon, after whom the Mason-Dixon Line is named?
Three
What eight letter word means ‘the study of Chinese language, history, customs, and politics’, and from what does the first three letters of the word ultimately derive?
Four
In the northern hemisphere, what astronomical season ends at the vernal equinox and what three months form the equivalent meteorological season?
Five
Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.
The opening words of which English novel, first published in Florence Italy in 1928, are quoted above. What is the novel’s title and who is the author?
