Question 1

Each of these terms begins with the letter A: a. A coral-reef island of circular shape surrounding a lagoon   b. Any of the thousands of small planets between Mars and Jupiter?  c. A rectangularly shaped open patio around which a house or building is buil

Accepted Answer

a. ATOLL b. ASTEROID c. ATRIUM

Question 2

The words nadir and zenith: do they have the same or opposite meaning?

Accepted Answer

OPPOSITE  zenith is high point, nadir is low point.

Question 3

Can you name a common four letter word which reads the same upside down as right-side up?

Accepted Answer

NOON

Question 4

When visiting an ancient city in Greece or Egypt, if you visited a necropolis, what did you visit?

Accepted Answer

CEMETERY

Question 5

This word can refer to the wife, mother, daughter, sister, or mistress of a Moslem ruler; it can also refer to a small yellow raisin. What's the word?

Accepted Answer

SULTANA

Question 6

See if you can arrange these seven letters into a seven-letter word using all these letters exactly one time: A, E, O, P, R, S, T?

Accepted Answer

SEAPORT

Question 7

What verb has been defined in this manner: "To suddenly and repeatedly change from a natural voice to a falsetto and back again."

Accepted Answer

TO YODEL

Question 8

What word describing a highly cultured person is named for a part of the head?

Accepted Answer

HIGHBROW

Question 9

The name for which European food specialty comes from the French word meaning "melted"?

Accepted Answer

FONDUE

Question 10

What word is this? It is the name of a small kind of songbird and also the last name of the architect of many of the churches of London, including St. Paul's Cathedral.

Accepted Answer

WREN

Question 11

When this six-letter word is capitalized, it refers to a European country and language. When not capitalized, it means to make smooth or shiny. What is the word?

Accepted Answer

POLISH

Question 12

During the Middle Ages, stonemasons would carve grotesquely decorative rain spouts along the ends of the roofs, in the form of animals or faces. What are these things called?

Accepted Answer

GARGOYLES

Question 13

Words beginning with H: a. Operated by the force of moving water: b. New Zealand mountain climber who, in 1953, became the first man to reach the top of Mt. Everest c. Arabic standing water pipe

Accepted Answer

a. HYDRAULIC   b. EDMUND HILLARY   c. HOOKAH

Question 14

What three words, the motto of France, are found on most French coins?

Accepted Answer

LIBERTÉ / EGALITÉ / FRATERNITÉ

Question 15

The word "joke" entered the English language in what year? 1670, 1770, or 1870?

Accepted Answer

-1670

Question 16

The name of this music and dance style, a blend of jazz and samba, comes from the Portuguese language, and means "new trend." What is it?

Accepted Answer

BOSSA NOVA

Question 17

What is the national motto of the United States?

Accepted Answer

IN GOD WE TRUST

Question 18

Spelling: a. ECSTASY b. ACCOMMODATE c. THRESHOLD

Accepted Answer

a. ECSTASY b. ACCOMMODATE c. THRESHOLD

Question 19

In English it is called a horse. a. What is it in Latin?   b. In Greek?

Accepted Answer

a. EQUUS   b. HIPPOS

Question 20

What seven-letter adjective is most commonly used to describe the exuberant and freewheeling decade of the 1920's?

Accepted Answer

"ROARING"

Question 21

Find a common nine letter word with one syllable.

Accepted Answer

STRENGTHS / SCREECHED / may be others

Question 22

In the Middle Ages it was said they led to eternal punishment: These negative qualities are today known as the "seven deadly sins." Some of them are: pride, greed, gluttony, envy. Can you name three others - very important ones!

Accepted Answer

ANGER / LUST / SLOTH laziness

Question 23

Translate this Japanese phrase into English: Meri Kurisumasu

Accepted Answer

MERRY CHRISTMAS

Question 24

In musical terms, what is a concerto?

Accepted Answer

A musical composition for a solo instrument accompanied by an orchestra, typically in three movements

Question 25

In what part of speech does a verb end in "ing" to operate as a noun, such as "eating breakfast" or "answering the phone" or "walking on the moon"?

Accepted Answer

GERUND

Question 26

What short word can refer to a cooking utensil, a bad movie review, or a search for gold?

Accepted Answer

PAN

Question 27

Movie reviewers have referred to the film, Basic Instinct, as being misogynistic. What does that word mean?

Accepted Answer

HAVING A HATRED AND DISTRUST OF WOMEN

Question 28

What was the name of the John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York before it was called JFK?

Accepted Answer

IDLEWILD AIRPORT

Question 29

The Scottish folk song, “You'll take the high road, and I'll take the low road, and I'll be in Scotland before you" is titled after what body of water?

Accepted Answer

LOCH LOMOND  ..."But me and my true love will never meet again, On the bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond."

Question 30

What is the Spanish word for a person of mixed racial ancestry, especially of mixed European and Native American ancestry?

Accepted Answer

MESTIZO

Question 31

Mark Twain once said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you are uninformed; if you do read the newspaper, you are ... " what?

Accepted Answer

"MISINFORMED"

Question 32

In the lingo of the American West, by what name is a motherless calf known?

Accepted Answer

DOGIE

Question 33

If, in a French restaurant, you asked for a "serviette", what, in English, would you be requesting?

Accepted Answer

NAPKIN

Question 34

What word can refer to a donkey or a vain stupid person?

Accepted Answer

ASS

Question 35

Each of these begins with the letter B: a. Mountain range where Mt. Rushmore is located. b. Style of art, music, and architecture in the 17th century marked by extravagance and elaborateness.

Accepted Answer

A. BLACK HILLS B. BAROQUE

Question 36

In this card game played with a special deck of 48 cards, the combination of the queen of spades and jack of diamonds is very important. The name of the game might have come from the Latin, meaning two eyes. What game is this?

Accepted Answer

Pinochle (but the special 48-card deck and queen of spades/jack of diamonds description fits pinochle, though the name origin is disputed; however pinochle is correct)

Question 37

The mazurka is a Polish... what?

Accepted Answer

DANCE

Question 38

Each of these words begins with the letter "G".  a. An Italian boatman: b. A member of a college fraternity or sorority: c. The ridiculous name for the number: 10 to the 100th power:

Accepted Answer

a. GONDOLIER  b. GREEK  c.GOOGOL

Question 39

Found on most French coins are three words, the motto of France. What are they?

Accepted Answer

LIBERTÉ / EGALITÉ / FRATERNITÉ

Question 40

If someone suffers from "myopia", what can they not do well?

Accepted Answer

SEE DISTANT OBJECTS CLEARLY

Question 41

Every able-bodied Muslim who can afford it is required to participate in the holy pilgrimage to Mecca, called in Arabic … what?

Accepted Answer

HAJJ

Question 42

Which illegal drug has been called lady ?

Accepted Answer

COCAINE

Question 43

What is the one-word title for an official appointed by the legislature to investigate complaints by citizens against government officials or agencies?

Accepted Answer

OMBUDSMAN

Question 44

Where is the human body do you find the hammer, anvil, and stirrup?

Accepted Answer

EAR

Question 45

During the great depression of the 1930's, encampments of poor and homeless people were often named after the President in office when the depression started. What were these homeless encampments called?

Accepted Answer

HOOVERVILLES

Question 46

Escape artist Harry Houdini died of what causes?

Accepted Answer

Peritonitis from a ruptured appendix (or complications from appendicitis)

Question 47

The only English word with five consecutive vowels is something the British do while waiting for a bus. What is it?

Accepted Answer

QUEUEING

Question 48

What is the French phrase for the overthrow of an existing government by a small group of people?

Accepted Answer

COUP D'ETAT... pronounced kooh day TAH

Question 49

In California they are called "freeways." What are they called in each of these countries? a. Great Britain?  b. Germany?

Accepted Answer

a.MOTORWAYS   b. AUTOBAHNS

Question 50

In December, 1987, Russian leader Mikhail Gorbachev met with President Reagan, and proposed a new style of "openness" within the USSR. The Russian word for "openness" became a well-known word even in the west. What was that word?

Accepted Answer

GLASNOST

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