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The Science of a Chameleon Trivia Quiz

You'll get 9 word pairs in which the last letter of the first word is also the first letter of the last word. Replace this common letter by another letter having the same effect. The correct solution will give you (9 for 10) a word top to bottom.

A multiple-choice quiz by JanIQ. Estimated time: 8 mins.

Author
JanIQ

Time
8 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
414,482

Updated
Nov 17 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
8 / 10

Plays
60

Author's Note: I've also added a running example how to turn the word CHAMELEON by this technique into ELEPHANTS. The correct solution to question 10 of course is another word than ELEPHANTS.

Question 1 of 10

1. Let's start with a simple example. I'll give you the following word pairs:
b o O - O u t
p a N - N e t
d u E - E l d
The capital letters spell out "ONE". If you correctly replace these capital letters, you get "TWO":
b o T - T u t
p a W - W e t
d u O - O l d
Likewise you could replace the C in "a r C - C a t" by an E to get the first letter of the word "ELEPHANTS".
Of course the question asks for another letter. To offer a better readability, all the letters in the words to be replaced, have been capitalized. Note: all words obtained by substituting the correct letters, are valid words according to the Scrabble dictionary.
Now the question: replace the C in "A R C - C O B" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.
Hint: one of the resulting words is a means of transport.

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

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Question 2 of 10

2. Another example shows how I could go from SEA to AIR. Look at the following word pairs:
y e S - S i t
l e E - E l l
b a A - A i m
and replace by
y e A - A i t
l e I - I l l
b a R - R i m
In the example of the CHAMELEON hiding ELEPHANTS, the task would consist of "p a H - H a y" to be replaced by "p a L - L a y".
Now the question: replace the H in "B A H - H A Y" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.
One of the resulting words is a verb meaning "to say no", the other is a word meaning "no".

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. You might need one more elaborate example. Let's turn "HE" into "IS".
I'd give you the following word pairs:
r a H - H o n
h a E - E o n
and you'd have to come up with
r a I - I o n
h a S - S o n.
Likewise, the A of "CHAMELEON" would become an E using the word pair "s e A - A r e".
Now your question: which letter would replace the A in "A V A - A R E" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one?
Let's give a very cryptic hint: an inhabitant of Macao needs some of one resulting word to produce something indicated by the other resulting word.
By the way: ava is the Scottish for all (probably related to the English every).

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

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Question 4 of 10

4. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the M by a P in the word pairing "t o M - M a n". You'd have to come up with the solution "t o P - P a n".
Your question is something else:
replace the M in the word pair "R A M - M A R" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.
Clue: I don't like the situation described by the resulting noun - I'm rather a pacifist.

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

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Question 5 of 10

5. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the E by an H in the word pairing "i c E - E a t".
You would need the word pair "i c H - H a t".
Now the real question:
replace the (first) E in both words "A L E - E Y E" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.
Don't burn yourself on one of the resulting words.

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the L by a H in the word pairing " b a L - L a p". This leads to the word pair "b a H - H a p".
Your question is as follows:
replace the L by another letter in the word pair "A W L - L E K" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.

Hint: one of the resulting words would leave you admiring.

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the E by an N in the word pairing "p i E - E t h". The result would be "p i N - N t h", where NTH means position number N in a mathematical series.
And here is your question:
replace the E by another letter in the word pair "F I E - E E L" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.
Clue: both resulting words are special jargon. One is a mathematical operator, the other is a bar to support a mast.

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the O by a T in the word pairing " n o O - O a r". The result is "n o T - T a r".
And now your question:
replace the O by another letter in the word pair "B I O - O U T" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.
Clue: one of the resulting words is an internal organ.

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the N by an S in the word pairing "b u N - N o w". The replacing pair would then be "b u S - S o w".
Your question is to replace the letter N by another letter in the following word pair:
"T I N - N A V E" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one.
Clue: one of the resulting words is an overhanging edge on a building.

Answer: (ONE LETTER)

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. I'll reiterate the different word pairs form the previous questions here:
A R C - C O B
B A H - H A Y
A V A - A R E
R A M - M A R
A L E - E Y E
A W L - L E K
F I E - E E L
B I O - O U T
T I N - N A V E
You can clearly read out the original nine letter word "CHAMELEON". Replacing the common letters as indicated in the previous questions, also gives a nine letter word from top to bottom. Which is this word we're looking for?

Answer: (one word (nine letters). The title of this quiz may help you.)

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Let's start with a simple example. I'll give you the following word pairs: b o O - O u t p a N - N e t d u E - E l d The capital letters spell out "ONE". If you correctly replace these capital letters, you get "TWO": b o T - T u t p a W - W e t d u O - O l d Likewise you could replace the C in "a r C - C a t" by an E to get the first letter of the word "ELEPHANTS". Of course the question asks for another letter. To offer a better readability, all the letters in the words to be replaced, have been capitalized. Note: all words obtained by substituting the correct letters, are valid words according to the Scrabble dictionary. Now the question: replace the C in "A R C - C O B" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. Hint: one of the resulting words is a means of transport.

Answer: K

The common letters from the first nine questions will spell out "CHAMELEON" top to bottom. Each and every letter in the word "CHAMELEON" will have to be replaced by another letter. I'll mention in the question (as a running example) how the C can be replaced by an E, the H by an L, the A by an E, the M by a P, the first E by an H, the L by an A, the second E by an N, the O by a T and the N by an S - so that one CHAMELEON hides multiple ELEPHANTS. Yes we can!
When you don't take into account the last sentence of the question, there would be the following solutions: B, F, K, M
So the resulting words could be ARB - BOB, ARF - FOB, ARK - KOB or ARM - MOB.
ARB is informal for a broker who buys commodities (stocks, bonds, valuta...) and resells them immediately, making a living on the price difference.
BOB, other than a first name, could be a noun (for instance a hairstyle) or could be a verb as in "bobbing for apples".
ARF is one of the many onomatopoeias for the sound a dog might make.
FOB could be a deception. But it could also refer to a pocket in a waistcoat.
ARM can be one of the human limbs, a lever on a tool, or a weapon.
MOB is a group of people, mostly pejorative.
An ARK is a boat, and a KOB is a species of antelope - so the KOB should embark into Noah's ARK.
So the only solution is the K.

2. Another example shows how I could go from SEA to AIR. Look at the following word pairs: y e S - S i t l e E - E l l b a A - A i m and replace by y e A - A i t l e I - I l l b a R - R i m In the example of the CHAMELEON hiding ELEPHANTS, the task would consist of "p a H - H a y" to be replaced by "p a L - L a y". Now the question: replace the H in "B A H - H A Y" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. One of the resulting words is a verb meaning "to say no", the other is a word meaning "no".

Answer: N

What could be the solution (if you don't use the clue in the last sentence)? Let's list them alphabetically:
D - G - M - N - P - R - S - T - Y
Resulting word pairs could thus BAD - DAY, BAG - GAY, BAM - MAY, BAN - NAY, BAP - PAY, BAR - RAY, BAT - TAY or BAY - YAY.
Most of the resulting words are quite well known: BAD , DAY, BAG, GAY, MAY, PAY, BAR, RAY, SAY, BAT, BAY.
BAM can be an onomatopoeia for a hit (consult the Batman comics: BAM ! POW !).
BAN is to prohibit or to declare illegal and can thus also be interpret as "to say no". Wedding banns (sometimes written as wedding bans) are the announcement of a marriage, to inform every one who possibly could have a reason to ban the wedding.
NAY is archaic for NO.
BAP is a breakfast bread roll.
TAY is tea in the Irish dialect.
YAY is an exclamation of joy.
So the correct answer is N.

3. You might need one more elaborate example. Let's turn "HE" into "IS". I'd give you the following word pairs: r a H - H o n h a E - E o n and you'd have to come up with r a I - I o n h a S - S o n. Likewise, the A of "CHAMELEON" would become an E using the word pair "s e A - A r e". Now your question: which letter would replace the A in "A V A - A R E" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one? Let's give a very cryptic hint: an inhabitant of Macao needs some of one resulting word to produce something indicated by the other resulting word. By the way: ava is the Scottish for all (probably related to the English every).

Answer: O

Without heeding the clue, we could come up with following letters: E - O
Resulting word pairs could thus be AVE - ERE or AVO - ORE
And now for the clue: an AVO is a small coin in the former currency in Macao, so one needs some ORE to make an AVO.
AVE is a salutation. ERE is before.

4. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the M by a P in the word pairing "t o M - M a n". You'd have to come up with the solution "t o P - P a n". Your question is something else: replace the M in the word pair "R A M - M A R" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. Clue: I don't like the situation described by the resulting noun - I'm rather a pacifist.

Answer: W

First of all here are the possible solutions when discarding the clue: G - J - P - T - W - Y
This leads up to the following word pairs: RAG - GAR, RAJ - JAR, RAP - PAR, RAT - TAR, RAW - WAR, RAY - YAR.
Of these words, I suppose RAG, JAR, RAP, PAR, RAT, TAR, RAW, WAR and RAY need no explanation.
GAR is a kind of fish, with a long slender body and a sharp sucking mouth.
RAJ is the shorter form for RAJAH, a former title for a ruler in India.
YAR is an adjective used in sailing: a yar boat is a boat easy to manoeuvre.
So the pacifist hint clearly indicated the W is the correct solution.

5. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the E by an H in the word pairing "i c E - E a t". You would need the word pair "i c H - H a t". Now the real question: replace the (first) E in both words "A L E - E Y E" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. Don't burn yourself on one of the resulting words.

Answer: L

Valid solutions (without heeding the last sentence of the question) could be the following letters:
A - B - L - T.
The resulting word pairs could thus be ALA - AYE, ALB - BYE, ALL - LYE, or ALT - TYE.
AYE (archaic for yes), BYE, ALL and ALT (especially in music: a higher octave) are quite well known words.
ALA (in one word) is a wing or winglike structure, mostly used in zoology or botany.
ALB is a liturgical vestment in the Roman Catholic church: the long white robe with sleeves.
LYE is a chemical substance that is highly caustic. It is used to produce soap. Accidental contact with the skin or the eyes can cause intense burns.
TYE is a mining term: to tye is to separate valuable ore from waste products.
So paying attention to the hint gives you the L as the correct solution.

6. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the L by a H in the word pairing " b a L - L a p". This leads to the word pair "b a H - H a p". Your question is as follows: replace the L by another letter in the word pair "A W L - L E K" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. Hint: one of the resulting words would leave you admiring.

Answer: E

For those who are not familiar with the word LEK: it is the Bulgarian currency. The AWL is a shoemaker's instrument.

AWE needs no definition.
AWN is the sharp tip of some grasses.
EEK is an exclamation of surprise (mixed with fear and/or disgust).
NEK is a South-African word for a mountain pass.

So the correct solution is the letter E.

7. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the E by an N in the word pairing "p i E - E t h". The result would be "p i N - N t h", where NTH means position number N in a mathematical series. And here is your question: replace the E by another letter in the word pair "F I E - E E L" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. Clue: both resulting words are special jargon. One is a mathematical operator, the other is a bar to support a mast.

Answer: D

What letters would fit the description? B - D - G
Resulting words could thus be FIB - BEL, FID - DEL or FIG - GEL.
FIG and GEL are of course well-known words.
FIB is evident for those who speak English as a first language. For quizzers who don't speak English as their mother tongue, I should explain that a FIB is a lie, with the connotation of being an unimportant one, such as a child might tell.
BEL is the unit for sound level. The decibel is more commonly used.
FID is the nautical term. It could also indicate a wedge to open the fibres of a rope.
DEL is the divisional operator in mathematics - derived from the Greek letter delta. In the mathematical operations where DEL is used, it is styled as a small Greek letter delta.
So the correct solution is the letter D.

8. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the O by a T in the word pairing " n o O - O a r". The result is "n o T - T a r". And now your question: replace the O by another letter in the word pair "B I O - O U T" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. Clue: one of the resulting words is an internal organ.

Answer: G

If you don't pay attention to the clue, your solutions could include B - G - N - T
So we have BIB - BUT; BIG - GUT; BIN - NUT and BIT - TUT.
BUT, BIG, GUT, BIN, NUT, BIT don't need any explanation.
A BIB is a sort of napkin, usually for small children. TUT and the similar TUT-TUT are expressions use to calmly reprimand someone.
So the correct answer is the letter G.

9. In the running example of a "CHAMELEON" hiding "ELEPHANTS", we would now have the task of replacing the N by an S in the word pairing "b u N - N o w". The replacing pair would then be "b u S - S o w". Your question is to replace the letter N by another letter in the following word pair: "T I N - N A V E" so that you get two new valid words of which the first one ends with the initial of the last one. Clue: one of the resulting words is an overhanging edge on a building.

Answer: E

Correct solutions (when ignoring the clue) could be the C - E - L - P - S.
This means you could come up with the pairings TIC - CAVE, TIE - EAVE, TIL - LAVE, TIP - PAVE and TIS - SAVE
Some of these words need no explanation: TIC, CAVE, TIE, TIL, TIP, SAVE
LAVE is an obsolete synonym for WASH.
PAVE means to cover with tiles. The British will certainly recognize this word from the word PAVEMENT, which to Americans is a sidewalk.
TIS in Scrabble is the plural of TI, a flowering plant from South-East Asia and the Polynesian islands.
The EAVE is indeed the overhanging edge of a building. Eavesdropping is perhaps etymologically derived from the word eave: an eavesdropper would hide under the eave of a building in order to overhear conversations that were not for his of her ears.
So the last letter you need is an E.

10. I'll reiterate the different word pairs form the previous questions here: A R C - C O B B A H - H A Y A V A - A R E R A M - M A R A L E - E Y E A W L - L E K F I E - E E L B I O - O U T T I N - N A V E You can clearly read out the original nine letter word "CHAMELEON". Replacing the common letters as indicated in the previous questions, also gives a nine letter word from top to bottom. Which is this word we're looking for?

Answer: KNOWLEDGE

The science of a chameleon? Science has of course as main goal to gain knowledge on different themes, such as for instance a chameleon.

Source: Author JanIQ

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
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