LY to Me Trivia Quiz

Answer: EARLY

The aural organ would definitely refer to the ear since the prefix 'aur-' has referred to that body part for hundreds of years. Interestingly, 'Aur-', as a prefix, also refers to gold, the periodic notation for which is Au.

Combining this with LY gives the word 'Early' which doesn't really refer back to the ear thing at all. Instead, it refers to the timing of something, usually before an event. This word finds its origin more with the Old English word 'ere', referring to a time before.

Answer: APPLY

App is almost always taken as an abbreviation for a larger word. In the computing world it's short for 'application', which is a program designed for a specific task. On a phone, for instance, you download apps for specialized purposes. In the restaurant business, an 'app' is an 'appetizer'.

Adding LY gives another word entirely as 'apply' is a verb with more than one meaning. Someone who applies could be making themselves pertinent to a cause or they could be submitting their qualifications (for a job, for instance).

Answer: GODLY

While the word 'God' could refer to the monotheistic view of a singular God (like in the Christian faith), it could also refer to multiple Gods as seen in other religions and pantheons. Simply put, a God is a deity of higher power in religion whose actions often affect humankind on a grander scale.

The word 'godly' is a fairly straightforward adverb. Someone who is godly is devout, but referring to someone as godly indicates that said person is to be worshipped for some reason.

Answer: LOLLY

The acronym LOL has somewhat normalized itself over the years by becoming typical chatspeak. Standing for 'Laughing Out Loud', it's a product of an online age that started in chatrooms and online gaming and made its way into the lexicon. "LOL" is also the acronym for "League of Legends", an online video game created by Riot Gaming that has been played by over a hundred million online gamers each month.

Combining LOL with LY gives us 'Lolly', a popular children's treat made with sugar and placed on a stick.

Answer: AMPLY

An amp, or an ampere, is a unit of measurement meant to quantify electrical current that was named after electrodynamics pioneer André-Marie Ampère. The unit also links to the electrical charge of an object since the amperes per second of something, also known as a coulomb, is the SI unit for charge.

'Amply', however, is an adverb meant to indicate an action done to a reasonable (or just slightly more than reasonable) amount. The origin of the word is French, specifically the word 'amplus', which refers to a large amount.

Answer: CURLY

Referring to a mongrel working dog as a 'cur' dates back to the Middle Ages when the word, shortened from 'curdogge', referred to a growling dog. Curs were then considered rough, working mutts, often hounds, with little to no domestic purpose. Today, they refer, informally, to a few specific hound bloodlines.

With LY, the word becomes 'curly', an adjective describing something with rounded, inward bends like hair or a spring. Most 'cur' dogs do not have curly hair, unfortunately.

Answer: REPLY

When referring to social standing, your 'rep' refers to your reputation, a construct developed to stand in for your social sway in any given group. If you have a strong reputation (good or bad), then your reputation may precede you. On the other side of the clue, an associate acting on behalf of a company would be a representative.

Adding LY gives the word 'reply', which is a word used to indicate the 'forth' of a 'back and forth'; the reply is given in response to a previous message. The word comes from the Latin replicare, meaning 'to fold back'.

Answer: IMPLY

Small mythical creatures, imps are often demonic in nature, known to make situations worse by interfering or pestering those they choose. Of Germanic origin, imps were originally natural creatures associated with witchcraft.

Adding in LY, 'imply' is a verb that refers to something which does not need to be stated. If you imply that something is getting done, you don't need to outright say it. This is another word that comes from Latin, specifically the word 'implicare', which was taken on by the French as 'emplier'.

Answer: MOLLY

'Mol', the abbreviation of 'mole', is a unit used to indicate the amount of an element or substance that contains a specific quantity of particles. Named as such by Wilhelm Ostwald in the late 1890s, but known as a unit before that, it's a standard with which we maintain consistency using the properties of chemicals and substances across all languages. It does, of course, relate to the word 'molecule'.

Adding MOL to LY gives the word Molly, which refers to a type of fish, a feminine name, or a female mule (amongst other things).

Answer: BURLY

A bur is a spiky seed that can pull away from a plant in order to spread itself. In addition to being a useful defence mechanism for plants that would otherwise get eaten by animals, burs have the ability to latch onto things like clothing or animal fur to transport themselves and proliferate. It's unsurprising that this natural ability was the inspiration for modern day Velcro because of the way it latches together with other materials.

When you add LY to BUR, you get 'burly', an adjective used to describe something with a large amount of heft or muscle.