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Lemony's Definitions Trivia Quiz

This is a quiz on the funny way Lemony Snicket defines words. They are straight from "Book the First: The Bad Beginning". Have fun!

A multiple-choice quiz by perfectangel13. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
perfectangel13

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
216,412

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
898

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. "...their parents gave them permission to take a rickety trolley--the word 'rickety' you probably know, here means_______--alone to the seashore, where they would spend the day as a sort of vacation as long as they were home for dinner." Hint

cheerful or causing happiness

unsteady or likely to collapse

dirty or very grimy

dreary or causing sorrow

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. "The smell of cooking food is often a calming one, and the kitchen grew cozy as the sauce simmered, a culinary term which here means_______." Hint

fried in hot oil

cooled down

cooked over low heat

boiled

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. "The word 'standoffish' is a wonderful one, but it does not describe Count Olaf's behavior toward the children. It means_______" Hint

cheerful and out-going

intelligent and caring

moody and criticizing

reluctant to associate with others

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. "Klaus sighed, and relinquished--a word which here means_______" Hint

finished off the food

thought over his next plan

gave to Count Olaf even though he didn't want to

reflected over the past few weeks

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. "But thanks to her adroit inventing skills--the word 'adroit' here means_______--everything worked the way it was supposed to work, and suddenly Violet found herself feeling a piece of metal instead of a cloth rope."

Answer: (One Word, starts with S)

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. "Afraid to untie or untape her sister for fear of incurring--a word which here means_______--Count Olaf's wrath, Violet stroked Sunny's hair and murmured that everything was all right." Hint

bringing about

soothing

commanding

mellowing

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. "Violet found their situation lamentably deplorable, a phrase which here means_______." Hint

it was not at all enjoyable

it was very boring

it was very enjoyable

it was not at all boring

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. "The backstage area was in complete pandemonium--a word which here means_______." Hint

order, much to the dismay of the Baudelaires

actors and stagehands running around attending to last-minute details

peace, giving the Baudelaires time to think

disorder, making the children very happy

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. "It will be of no interest to you if I describe the action of this insipid--the word 'insipid' here means_______--play..." Hint

comical and enjoyable

dull and foolish

moving and full of emotion

romantic and intriguing

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. "...it seemed to the children that they were moving in an aberrant-the word 'aberrant' here means_______--direction." Hint

reflecting and rebuilding

happy and cheerful

peaceful and relaxing

very, very, wrong, and causing much grief

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: unsteady or likely to collapse

Some synonyms for rickety are shaky, wobbly, and unstable. It comes from the word rickets, or rachitis, a disease caused by lack of Vitamin D.

2. "The smell of cooking food is often a calming one, and the kitchen grew cozy as the sauce simmered, a culinary term which here means_______."

Answer: cooked over low heat

The word simmered is a modification of a Middle English word, simpire.
From the food glossary at hungrymonster.com: "To cook food gently in liquid at a temperature (about 185 degrees F) low enough so that tiny bubbles just begin to break the surface".

3. "The word 'standoffish' is a wonderful one, but it does not describe Count Olaf's behavior toward the children. It means_______"

Answer: reluctant to associate with others

Some synonyms for standoffish are aloof, reserved, distant, and shy.

4. "Klaus sighed, and relinquished--a word which here means_______"

Answer: gave to Count Olaf even though he didn't want to

Klaus relinquished the book about nuptial law after Count Olaf showed him and Violet that Sunny was dangling from the tower.

Answer: skillful

This happens when Violet makes a grappling hook, and climbs up the tower to save Sunny. When she gets to the top, she realizes that the hook had caught onto one of the hook-handed man's hooks.

6. "Afraid to untie or untape her sister for fear of incurring--a word which here means_______--Count Olaf's wrath, Violet stroked Sunny's hair and murmured that everything was all right."

Answer: bringing about

Incur comes from the Middle English word 'incurren', which is from the Old French 'encorir' which is from the Latin word 'incurrere' which means 'to run upon'.

7. "Violet found their situation lamentably deplorable, a phrase which here means_______."

Answer: it was not at all enjoyable

This happens after Violet was caught by the hook-handed man in the tower. She had tried to save Sunny, but had failed. Klaus was brought up to the tower, too. They were locked up there until the time of the play ("The Marvelous Marriage") in the evening.

8. "The backstage area was in complete pandemonium--a word which here means_______."

Answer: actors and stagehands running around attending to last-minute details

Pandemonium came from the epic poem "Paradise Lost" by John Milton. It was the capital of Hell. It has come to be a regular word, just like if someone is called 'a scrooge', it means he/she is a miser (from 'A Christmas Carol').

9. "It will be of no interest to you if I describe the action of this insipid--the word 'insipid' here means_______--play..."

Answer: dull and foolish

The word insipid came from the French 'insipid' which originally came from the Latin for 'not savory'. So insipid has two meanings, one for food, and one for other nouns (in this case, 'The Marvelous Marriage').

Some synonyms for 'insipid' are bland, flavorless, flat, jejune, and vapid.

10. "...it seemed to the children that they were moving in an aberrant-the word 'aberrant' here means_______--direction."

Answer: very, very, wrong, and causing much grief

Aberrant in general means abnormal. It comes from the Latin word aberrare, which means 'to go astray'.

All of the word origins and synonyms are from www.answers.com.
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Source: Author perfectangel13

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