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Quiz about Shift Your Words Around
Quiz about Shift Your Words Around

Shift Your Words Around Trivia Quiz


A secret package is being delivered to Quizzyland and we need your help! Nine sentences describe a pair of words that differ by a constant 'shift' in each letter. Every shift is part of a code you must use to decode the secret package's contents.

A multiple-choice quiz by Lutrine. Estimated time: 8 mins.
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Author
Lutrine
Time
8 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
285,102
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
1418
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Question 1 of 10
1. Each question contains two definitions in brackets. Your answers must be placed in the same order of the word's definition. A worked example follows:

The [overweight] man has broken [the pointed end of a pen]. (Two three-letter words)

A three-letter synonym for 'overweight' is FAT. The pointed end of a pen is the NIB. The answer to the question is FAT NIB . These words, and all other word pairs in this quiz, are related by shifting all the letters in the first word the same number of times to get to the second word.

One shift moves every letter in the first word one letter FORWARD (never backward) in the alphabet; HAL shifted once makes IBM. If we take the first letters of both words, we can see it takes eight shifts to go from F to N. Recite the alphabet and count how many letters are after the first: FGHIJKLMN. N is eight letters after F. Shift A eight times and you get I (ABCDEFGHI). If we are on the letter Z, we simply move to A on the next shift. For T, this means we go TUVWXYZAB. Remember the number of shifts you need, as you will need it for the final clue! If you are stuck on one definition, try shifting through the 25 different possibilities on the word you do have - if that word was correct, you will find its pair purely by shifting. If all we had was FAT, we could keep shifting - gbu, hcv, idw, jex, kfy, lgz, mha, NIB - eight shifts required.

The questions will now start. Good luck - the people of Quizzyland need to know what dangers lurk within the secret package!


Somebody who has [an occupation] in the delivery business may drive a [vehicle for transporting goods]. Don't forget to write down the shift value - the number of times you shift the first word to get the second - for this and the next eight questions.

Answer: (Two three-letter words)
Question 2 of 10
2. Two things you might see in your garden are the [grass] and a tree that bears a tasty [fruit].

Answer: (Two four-letter words)
Question 3 of 10
3. After a bad spell of weather, be careful driving on the [street] as it will be [wet].

Answer: (Two four-letter words)
Question 4 of 10
4. Your friend tells you to [keep quiet] - he can hear something ticking. He is worried it is an [explosive].

Answer: (Two four-letter words)
Question 5 of 10
5. You should ask your [father] about an [extinct bird].

Answer: (Two four-letter words)
Question 6 of 10
6. On the other side of [the flowing body of water] from where I live is a large sports [stadium].

Answer: (Two five-letter words)
Question 7 of 10
7. I asked the jeweller if he could make [a linked piece of jewellery] to go around my wife's neck. "I can only do that if you bring me a small [gold bar]", he said.

Answer: (Two five-letter words)
Question 8 of 10
8. Never offer [a certain type of nut] to this [wild big cat] - they would rather eat your hand!

Answer: (Two five-letter words)
Question 9 of 10
9. I visited a wonderful restaurant with a [combination] of Indian and Oriental food. The only thing that let it down was [the way in which it is set out].

Answer: (Two six-letter words)
Question 10 of 10
10. Make sure you have every shift value (the number of times you have to shift the FIRST word of each answer to get the SECOND word). This will give you nine shift values corresponding to the nine previous questions; don't worry if you have missed some, you may still be able to decode the secret message.

Shift the first letter of the secret message by the first shift value. The second letter is shifted by the second shift value, and so on until the ninth and final letter which is shifted by the last shift value.

The secret message written on the smuggled parcel is QDCIACUPY so what are its diabolical contents?

Answer: (9 letters)

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Each question contains two definitions in brackets. Your answers must be placed in the same order of the word's definition. A worked example follows: The [overweight] man has broken [the pointed end of a pen]. (Two three-letter words) A three-letter synonym for 'overweight' is FAT. The pointed end of a pen is the NIB. The answer to the question is FAT NIB . These words, and all other word pairs in this quiz, are related by shifting all the letters in the first word the same number of times to get to the second word. One shift moves every letter in the first word one letter FORWARD (never backward) in the alphabet; HAL shifted once makes IBM. If we take the first letters of both words, we can see it takes eight shifts to go from F to N. Recite the alphabet and count how many letters are after the first: FGHIJKLMN. N is eight letters after F. Shift A eight times and you get I (ABCDEFGHI). If we are on the letter Z, we simply move to A on the next shift. For T, this means we go TUVWXYZAB. Remember the number of shifts you need, as you will need it for the final clue! If you are stuck on one definition, try shifting through the 25 different possibilities on the word you do have - if that word was correct, you will find its pair purely by shifting. If all we had was FAT, we could keep shifting - gbu, hcv, idw, jex, kfy, lgz, mha, NIB - eight shifts required. The questions will now start. Good luck - the people of Quizzyland need to know what dangers lurk within the secret package! Somebody who has [an occupation] in the delivery business may drive a [vehicle for transporting goods]. Don't forget to write down the shift value - the number of times you shift the first word to get the second - for this and the next eight questions.

Answer: job van

JOB (first word), KPC, LQD, MRE, NSF, OTG, PUH, QVI, RWJ, SXK, TYL, UZM, VAN (second word). Shift value: 12.
2. Two things you might see in your garden are the [grass] and a tree that bears a tasty [fruit].

Answer: lawn pear

LAWN (first word), MBXO, NCYP, ODZQ, PEAR (second word). Shift value: 4.
3. After a bad spell of weather, be careful driving on the [street] as it will be [wet].

Answer: road damp

Shift value: 12.
4. Your friend tells you to [keep quiet] - he can hear something ticking. He is worried it is an [explosive].

Answer: hush bomb

Shift value: 20.
5. You should ask your [father] about an [extinct bird].

Answer: papa dodo

Shift value: 14.
6. On the other side of [the flowing body of water] from where I live is a large sports [stadium].

Answer: river arena

Shift value: 9.
7. I asked the jeweller if he could make [a linked piece of jewellery] to go around my wife's neck. "I can only do that if you bring me a small [gold bar]", he said.

Answer: chain ingot

Shift value: 6.
8. Never offer [a certain type of nut] to this [wild big cat] - they would rather eat your hand!

Answer: pecan tiger

Shift value: 4.
9. I visited a wonderful restaurant with a [combination] of Indian and Oriental food. The only thing that let it down was [the way in which it is set out].

Answer: fusion layout

Shift value: 6. This is a tough one; congratulations if you got it right.
10. Make sure you have every shift value (the number of times you have to shift the FIRST word of each answer to get the SECOND word). This will give you nine shift values corresponding to the nine previous questions; don't worry if you have missed some, you may still be able to decode the secret message. Shift the first letter of the secret message by the first shift value. The second letter is shifted by the second shift value, and so on until the ninth and final letter which is shifted by the last shift value. The secret message written on the smuggled parcel is QDCIACUPY so what are its diabolical contents?

Answer: chocolate

The package was merely a harmless delivery of Belgian chocolates! Disappointingly, you didn't save the day, but Quizzyland will never forget you in case there is a real problem.

The shift values are as follows:

12 : Q RSTUVWXYZAB C
4 : D EFG H
12 : C DEFGHIJKLMN O
20 : I JKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZAB C
14 : A BCDEFGHIJKLMN O
9 : C DEFGHIJK L
6 : U VWXYZ A
4 : P QRS T
6 : Y ZABCD E
Source: Author Lutrine

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