Special Sub-Topic: Word Origins from Literature Click Here To Play: Word Origins from Literature

The term 'gargantuan' finds its origin in the fictional character of the same name. Who was the author?

Rabelais. Rabelais - who gives rise to the term 'Rabelaisian' for one who is somewhat coarse.

The idea of 'Shangri-la' has been accepted into the vocabulary. Who wrote the novel that popularized this fictional place?

James Hilton. 'Lost Horizon' was the novel.

'Babbitt' refers to someone who is middle class - in a stuffy, unoriginal way. Who wrote the novel of the same name?

Sinclair Lewis. Lewis also wrote 'Arrowsmith' and 'Main Street' and picked up a Nobel Prize.

The term 'Shylock ' has come to have an everyday usage. In which of Shakespeare's plays does this character appear?

Merchant of Venice. One of the bard's most famous characters.

'Lilliputian' refers to something quite small. What author wrote about Lilliput?

Jonathan Swift. 'Gulliver's Travels'.

A 'misanthrope' is a sour type of person. Who wrote the work of the same name?

Moliere.

The term 'Micawber' is often used to describe a person with a certain type of attitude. In which book by Charles Dickens does the character appear?

David Copperfield.

We commonly speak about Faust; who wrote the tragedy of 'Doctor Faustus'?

Christopher Marlowe. One of his best known plays.

In psychology, one theorist has described what he calls an 'Icarus complex', based on the mythological character, Icarus. Who was the father of this mythological figure?

Daedalus. He flew too high and crashed into the sea after the sun melted his wax wings - careless!

We often speak of people who are 'quixotic' or 'tilt at windmills'. Who is the author involved?

Cervantes. Don Quixote, of course.