Golden ... Fifty Quiz | Word Play

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Here's how it works. Starting from 'golden' remove a letter to get a word used to describe something from times gone by. Now remove another letter to get a Japanese dish. The answer is 'olden oden'. If you get stuck you can always go on to another question and work back up again. Now take 'oden' and change a letter to get a type of melon. Then take that word and rearrange the letters to get a word which describes something which is absent.

Answer: ogen gone

The Ogen melon is named after the Israeli Kibbutz where it was first grown. It has both a green skin and green flesh.

'Gone' is the past participle of the verb 'to go'. It can also be used in expressions such as 'gone half past eleven' meaning it's later than the time specified.

2. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to get a word meaning 'solitary'. Then take that word and change a letter to get a mineral deposit.

Answer: lone lode

'Lone' is called an eye rhyme of 'gone'. That is because they have the same spelling at the end of the word, but sound completely different from each other.

'Lode' comes from the Old English 'lad', meaning 'way' or 'course'; it is a variation of its homophone 'load'.

3. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change another letter to get the point on a plant stem where the leaf is attached. Then take that word and change a letter to get a brief letter.

Answer: node note

'Node' comes from the Latin 'nodus' which means 'knot'. It is also used to refer to a branching point in a network, and to describe a point where a curve intersects itself.

'Note' is another word with several different meanings. It is commonly used to describe paper money, as in a banknote. It also describes a single sound of a particular pitch; several notes in sequence make a tune.

4. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to find a word meaning 'to show fondness'. Then take that word and change another letter to find a former ruler of Venice.

Answer: dote doge

An archaic use of the word 'dote' is to describe someone who is being feeble-minded or silly, particularly due to old age. This leads to the word 'dotage', which is still in current use.

Although 'doge' is a Venetian word from the Latin 'dux' meaning 'leader', it was used as the title for the ruler of many of the states in what is now Italy.

5. Taking the last word from the previous answer, remove a letter to find man's best friend. Then take that word and change a letter to find a female rabbit.

Answer: dog doe

An alternative definition of dog is as a verb. To dog someone is to harass them.

A doe is also a female fallow deer.

6. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to find a word meaning 'to expire'. Then take that word and add a letter to find an eating regime.

Answer: die diet

Die is also the singular of 'dice', which are used in many board games.

'Diet' is also used as a verb, meaning to lose weight.

7. Taking the last word from the previous answer, rearrange the letters to find a word describing a sporting fixture where both sides had the same score. Then take that word and change a letter to find a word meaning 'told an untruth'.

Answer: tied lied

'Tied' can also mean fastened with a bow or a knot.

'I lie' is the same as 'I fib', or it could mean that I'm neither sitting nor standing. In the former case, the past tense is 'I lied'; in the latter, the past tense is 'I lay'.

8. Taking the last word from the previous answer, add a letter to find a word describing a garment with an inner layer. Then take that word and remove a letter to get a railway track.

Answer: lined line

'Lined' is also used to describe a sheet of paper which has lines ruled to make it easier to write in a straight line.

A 'line' is also a nautical term for a rope.

9. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to get a word meaning to have an evening meal. Then take that word and remove a letter for a noise.

Answer: dine din

In the UK 'dine' is often used in the phrase 'wine and dine' or in 'fine dining'; both expressions imply a degree of elegance to the occasion. I believe that a 'diner' in the USA is a rather more casual establishment.

To din something into someone is to teach them by continual repetition; if they aren't keen to learn, they might feel that the instructor is making a din.

10. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter for a word meaning excavate. Then take that word and change another letter for a fruit.

Answer: dig fig

'Dig' is also used as a noun, particularly when referring to an archaeological site.

If you don't give a fig for something, you regard it as worthless.

11. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter for a thick mist. Then take that word and add a letter for a slang word meaning 'sell'.

Answer: fog flog

A really thick fog in England is described as a pea-souper.

Flog also means 'whip' or 'beat' as in chastisement.

12. Taking the last word from the previous answer, rearrange the letters for a sport played on links. Then take that word and change a letter for a precious metal.

Answer: golf gold

Golf is the only sport to have been played on the moon.

From the Latin word 'aurum', the chemical symbol for gold is Au.

13. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to get a word meaning to cover something with that precious metal. Then take that word and change a letter to find a young female pig.

Answer: gild gilt

'Gild' is also an alternative spelling of 'guild', which was a medieval association of craftsmen.

Gilt-edged securities are bonds issued by a government, and supposed to be less risky than others.

14. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to find a present. Then take that word and change a letter to get a word meaning to raise something up higher.

Answer: gift lift

Watch out if you're in a German speaking country - 'Gift' in German means 'poison'!

In the UK a lift is a means of transport from one level to another in a building.

15. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to find the opposite of death. Then take that word and rearrange the letters for a folder for keeping documents in.

Answer: life file

The Phoenix Mars Mission at the University of Arizona has identified six properties which must be present in something which has life. They are:-
1. Order
2. Reproduction
3. Growth and Development
4. Energy Utilization
5. Response to Stimuli
6. Evolutionary Adaptation

This meaning of 'file' comes through the French 'fil' from the Latin 'filum' meaning 'a thread'. It can also be used to refer to a single line of people. The word 'file' can also be used to refer to an abrasive tool; in this case the root is Germanic and has to do with making a mark by an incision.

16. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to get a description of something that is in very good condition. Then take that word and remove a letter for part of a fish.

Answer: fine fin

'Fine' can also be used to refer to something that is very delicate, such as lace, or a thin hair or thread. The word comes from the Latin 'finire' meaning 'to finish'.

A fin on a fish is a flat appendage which aids balance or helps the fish to swim in a particular direction. By extension, a fin on an aeroplane or car is designed to give aerodynamic stability.

17. Taking the last word from the previous answer, add a letter to locate something. Then take that word and add a letter to get a word which means 'given a financial penalty'.

Answer: find fined

'Find' comes from the Old English word 'findan'. It is also used as a noun to refer to something which has been discovered.

'Fined' is a homophone of 'find' because it sounds the same although it is spelled differently.

18. Taking the last word from the previous answer, rearrange the letters to get a devil. Then take that word and remove a letter to get a word which means 'to look after oneself'.

Answer: fiend fend

The Old English word 'feond' gives us the current word 'fiend'. It can also be used to describe an ardent fan e.g. a jazz fiend.

'Fend' is a contraction of the word 'defend' and comes from Middle English.

19. Taking the last word from the previous answer, remove a letter to find a terminus. Then take that word and add a letter for a word meaning 'loan'.

Answer: end lend

'End' can also be a verb meaning to finish something. It comes from the word 'endian' which is Germanic in origin.

The well known proverb tells us "neither a borrower nor a lender be". But it can be useful, sometimes, if somebody can loan you an item which you lack and need temporarily. It's always a good idea to remember to return it, though!

20. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter for the period before Easter. Then take that word and change a letter for the opposite of 'right'.

Answer: Lent left

Lent is observed in the Christian church as a period of fasting from Ash Wednesday until Easter Sunday.

Left is also the past tense of the verb 'to leave'.

21. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to get a word which describes somebody who is adept at doing something. Then take that word and remove a letter for a newt.

Answer: deft eft

From Middle English, 'deft' is a variation of 'daft' which has an obsolete meaning of 'meek'.

'Eft' comes from the Old English word 'efeta'.

22. Taking the last word from the previous answer, change a letter to get a poetic word for frequently. Then take that word and change a letter for the opposite of on.

Answer: oft off

In current English 'oft' is short for 'often', although that word is derived from the Middle English word 'oft'.

'Off' can also be used to refer to the start of a race or to describe an item of food that is past its best.

23. Taking the last word from the previous answer, add a letter to get a slang term for a gentleman. Then take that word and change a letter for a petty quarrel.

Answer: toff tiff

'Toff' is thought to come from the word 'tuft' referring to the gold tassel on the cap of a titled undergraduate at Cambridge or Oxford.

'Tiff' probably originates from a dialect word and dates back to the eighteenth century.

24. Taking the last word from the previous answer, remove a letter for a mathematical abbreviation meaning 'if and only if'. Then take that word and add a letter to get a word describing something that might be dubious.

Answer: iff iffy

Taking the end of the city's name, Cardiff Buses used the name 'iff' for their smart card which they introduced in 2010. When capitalised, IFF can be an acronym - for example the Irish Fencing Federation or interchangeable file format.

'Iffy' is an informal term, derived from the word 'if'.

25. Taking the last word from the previous answer, add a letter to get a word which describes something foul smelling. Finally take that word and change a letter for a word meaning convenient and useful. The second answer is one letter removed from 'fifty'.

Answer: niffy nifty

'Niffy' is derived from 'niff', a twentieth century word, which is thought to come from the word 'sniff'.

'Nifty' is a word from the nineteenth century, but the Oxford English Dictionary has been unable to find an origin for it.

Source: Author Lottie1001

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Tizzabelle before going online.
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Golden ... Fifty Trivia Quiz

For my golden jubilee of quiz writing I need fifty answers. Going from 'golden' to 'fifty' you need to either add, remove or change a letter, or rearrange the letters to get the next word. All the words can be made from the letters in 'golden fifty'.

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