Eponyms (Words from Names) Trivia

1. Veal Oscar is a dish of medallions of veal, dressed with sauce Béarnaise, topped with white asparagus and crabmeat. After whom was it named?

From Quiz Eat (and Drink) Your Words

Answer: King Oscar II, King of Norway and Sweden (1829-1907)

The original Veal Oscar (which differs from the more modern dish in that its sauce was red and it was served with black truffles) was conceived by Paul Edmond Malaise at the Restaurant Operakällaren in Stockholm for the 25th anniversary of King Oscar's ascension to the throne.

From Quiz It Was Named After Whom?

Answer: Elliot Handler and Harold Matson

The company was named after Harold MATson and ELliot Handler. Mattel products include Hot Wheels, Matchbox Cars and "Barbie" Dolls, which were named after Ruth and Elliot Handler's daughter.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 14

Answer: A line indicating the limit to which a ship can be loaded

Samuel Plimsoll was a British merchant and parliamentarian of the 19th century, who played a major role in shipping reforms in Britain. The plimsoll line is a mark on the hull of a ship that indicates the legal limit to which it may be loaded. The word is derived from the name of Samuel Plimsoll.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 13

Answer: It is named after Mary Magdalene

The word maudlin is derived from Magdalene. The reference here is to Mary Magdalene who is believed to have wept at the tomb of Jesus. The word maudlin is used to describe excessive sentimentality or tearfulness.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 12

Answer: After a Trojan prince

Hector was a Trojan prince, who was one of the main warriors in the famous Trojan War. He was the leader of the Trojans and was known for his skill in warfare. The word 'hector' which means intimidate or push around or bully is named after the Trojan warrior.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 11

Answer: An English executioner

Thomas Derrick was an English hangman, whose job was to carry out executions. Derrick originally referred to the gallows that were used to hang criminals and was named after Thomas Derrick. Initially, when the weightlifting device was used, it resembled the old gallows, and that's how it got its name. Derricks are used at oil rigs, at docks and on ships to hoist pipes and other such heavy items.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 7

Answer: Bowdler brought out a censored version of Shakespeare's works

Thomas Bowdler is known for bringing out a censored edition of the works of William Shakespeare. This edition was titled "The Family Shakespeare, in Ten Volumes; in which nothing is added to the original text; but those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family". This form of censorship, where certain original work is edited to remove that which is considered offensive is referred to as 'bowdlerizing'.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 6

Answer: The Merchant of Venice

Shakespeare's play 'The Merchant of Venice' features a moneylender named Shylock. When a merchant, Antonio, wants a loan from Shylock, he puts a condition that if Antonio fails to repay the loan, then Antonio has to give him a pound of his flesh. Thus, Shylock is a word which refers to a ruthless moneylender or a loan shark who charges exorbitant interest for lending money. Also the phrase 'pound of flesh', (which means a debt which is ruthlessly extracted), has its origins from this play.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 5

Answer: A King of Denmark

Bluetooth is a communication protocol used mainly in cellular/mobile phones. This technology helps to connect devices like mobiles, computers, PDA's, etc and transfer data. This technology surprisingly is named after Harald Bluetooth (also known as Harald Blaatand), a tenth century ruler of Denmark. King Bluetooth was known for his role in unifying various Danish tribes; similarly the bluetooth technology unifies various devices. Also, the technology was invented in the same part of the world from where Harald ruled. Thus, his name was used for the technology.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 4

Answer: Cadbury

John Cadbury was from a Quaker family in Birmingham, UK. Being a Quaker, he could not pursue a University education and hence took to business. Starting off with a small grocery store he later built a chocolate business that became one of the most famous chocolate manufacturers in the world. The word Cadbury is synonymous with chocolate and the word originated from John Cadbury's name. Henri Nestle was the founder of the company Nestle, Frank Mars founder of Mars and Milton Hershey founded Hershey.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 3

Answer: He was a holy man

Valentine's Day is celebrated every year on the 14th of February as a celebration of love. The day is reportedly named after Saint Valentine. Who exactly Saint Valentine was is still a mystery, but it is universally acknowledged that he was a holy man, probably a priest and was martyred on the 14th of February. So, this day is celebrated as Valentine's Day. Legend has it that he used to help Christian couples get married and this aroused the anger of the Gothic King Claudius II who ordered his execution.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 1

Answer: Sandwich

Legend has it that the Fourth Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), John Montagu, was so obsessed with gambling that he would not even get up from the gambling table for lunch. So a servant devised a snack, placing meat and cheese between two slices of bread. The Earl reportedly liked the dish so much that he had it daily and the word sandwich was added to the dictionary. As a noun, it refers to a food placed between two slices and as a verb it refers to getting placed or pressed between two objects. The word pizza is said to have originated from a Latin word pinsa (flattened bread) and burger is said to have been named after the town of Hamburg. The word cake is said to have originated from a Viking word kaka.

From Quiz Eat (and Drink) Your Words

Answer: Richard Foster, a friend of the owner of Brennan's restaurant in New Orleans

Bananas Foster was created in 1951 by Chef Paul Blangé at Brennan's to honour Richard Foster, a New Orleans businessman and crime fighter, at the request of the restaurant's owner Owen Edward Brennan. The recipe appeared in "Holiday" magazine in an article about Brennan's famous French Quarter restaurant. Variations call for the addition of cinnamon, allspice or nutmeg.

From Quiz It Was Named After Whom?

Answer: Robert Jarvik

Dr. Barney Clark was the first person implanted with the Jarvik-7 artificial heart in 1982. William DeVries was the surgeon who performed the operation. Dr. Clark, a Seattle dentist, survived 112 days.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 14

Answer: Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gave it to mankind

Prometheus was a Greek demigod. According to legend, Prometheus stole fire from heaven and gave it to humans for their use. For his act, he was punished by Zeus, the King of Gods, who chained him to a rock, where a vulture would come to feed on his liver. The word promethean is thus named after Prometheus. The word is used to refer to being 'daringly original', 'inspiring' or 'defiantly creative'. An element promethium is also named after Prometheus.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 12

Answer: Iris

Iris was the Greek Goddess of the rainbow. She was depicted as having a rainbow in her gown. The word iridescence, which means 'exhibiting rainbow-like luminous colours' is named after the goddess Iris.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 11

Answer: A type of gun

A derringer is a small gun or pistol, often referred to as a pocket pistol. It was invented by a gun maker named Henry Deringer in the 1800s. Due to its popularity all small pistols were referred to as 'derringers'. Incidentally, this was the weapon chosen by John Wilkes Booth to assassinate US President Abraham Lincoln.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 10

Answer: It is named after Bacchus, the Roman god of wine

The Bacchanalia were secret rites (festivals) based on the older Greek festival of Dionysia, which honored the Greek god of wine, Dionysos. The mystery rites were organised by priestesses known as Bacchantes (2nd century BC). This group, initially restricted to women, was later on expanded to include men. The drunken orgies of this sect were thus named Bacchanalia after Bacchus. The Roman rulers suspected the group of conspiring against the state and tried to ban it, but were not successful.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 7

Answer: Alexander Graham Bell

The unit of measurement 'bel' was devised to measure the reduction in audio levels over a length of telephone cable. This word was derived from the name of Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone. The unit incidentally was named by the scientists working at Bell Telephone Labs. The unit was later renamed as decibel, since bel was too large a unit to measure.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 6

Answer: Romeo Montague

Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet were the two famous lovers from William Shakespeare's play 'Romeo and Juliet'. The character of Romeo has become so famous that the term is used in the English language to refer to a lover.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 5

Answer: An Egyptian God

Ammonia is named after the Egyptian God Amun. The Romans were among the first to find deposits of Ammonium chloride. They called it 'sal ammonicus' as it was found near the temple of the God Amun in ancient Libya.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 4

Answer: Sakichi Toyoda

The Toyota group is a Japanese multinational company well-know throughout the world. The founder of this company was Sakichi Toyoda, the son of a humble carpenter. Sakichi is called as the father of the Japanese Industrial revolution. Initially his company was called as Toyeda Industries, was later on renamed as Toyota.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 3

Answer: Thor

Thursday is named after the Norse God Thor. The God Thor is supposed to be the lord of thunder. Thor is the son of Odin. In some religions, Thursday is also commemorated as the day of Jupiter.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 2

Answer: A French finance minister

Etienne de Silhouette was the finance minister of King Louis XV in 1759, who imposed such harsh economic demands on the people of France that people started equating his name with anything done very cheaply. A silhouette was an inexpensive portrait that had only the person's profile in black.

From Quiz People Who Became Words - 1

Answer: Fahrenheit

A German Physicist named Gabriel Daniel Fahrenheit invented a thermometer that used mercury in it. The temperature scale that he discovered was named after him. Even after the introduction of the Celsius scale, Fahrenheit continues to be used worldwide especially to measure body temperature. Interestingly, normal body temperature on the original scale made by Fahrenheit was 96 degrees. Later the scale was redefined to make it as 98.6 degrees. The Kelvin and Celsius scales are also temperatures, named after Lord Kelvin and Anders Celsius; however, they did not invent the thermometer that used mercury.

From Quiz Eponymous Literary Characters

Answer: lothario

Rowe (1674-1718) was a poet laureate of England (he succeeded Nahum Tate in 1715) and the leading tragic dramatist of his era (his one comedy, "The Biter", was a failure). His 6 volume edition of "The Works of Mr. William Shakespear; Revis'd and Corrected" (1709) was the first critical edition of Shakespeare's works; it was expanded to 9 volumes in 1714 to include the poems. Rowe's tragedies include "Tamurlane", "Lady Jane Grey", and "The Ambitious Stepmother", as well as "The Fair Penitent". The plot of "The Fair Penitent" is motivated by the seduction of the heroine, Calista, by her lover Lothario. Calista, the daughter of a Genoese nobleman, was in love with Lothario; after surrendering her virtue to him, she begs him to marry her, to no avail. Her father, meanwhile, has arranged for her marriage to the noble Altamont. Altamont is presented with evidence of his wife's infidelity, but refuses to believe the truth until he catches the lovers together. He kills Lothario in a fit of passion, which touches off a vendetta by the latter's faction in which Calista's father is killed. Distraught over the deaths of her father and lover, Calista commits suicide. The name "Lothario" has entered the lexicon, along with Don Juan, as the prototype of a heartless and uncaring seducer.

From Quiz Eponymous Locales

Answer: sybarite

Sybaris was a city on the Gulf of Tarentum; the land was once known for its extraordinary fertility and the city became proverbial in Greece for the lavishness and sumptuousness of its quality of life. Alas, it was destroyed and razed during a war with the nearby rival city of Crotona, after which the conquering Crotoniats diverted the waters of the nearby river Crathis to flow over the ruins of the once glorious city.

From Quiz Webster's Dictionary & Other Eponymous Terms

Answer: Amelia Jenks Bloomer

Mrs. Amelia Bloomer was an American social reformer who advocated the shortened pantaloons worn under a woman's skirt.--from TexasChapBookPress.com

From Quiz Eat (and Drink) Your Words

Answer: an Arnold Palmer

Also called a "half and half," this drink was a favourite of Arnold Palmer in the 1960s. It now appears in bartenders guides under his name. A company in Florida licenses bottlers to sell it under the great golfer's name.

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Last Updated Apr 22 2024 11:03 AM

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