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Quiz about Say What Do How Some Killer Vocabulary AJ
Quiz about Say What Do How Some Killer Vocabulary AJ

Say What? Do How? Some Killer Vocabulary! (A-J) Quiz


Listen up, logophiles. I'll give you ten sentences; you decipher the meaning of the CAPITALIZED word in each sentence. Oh, did I mention that each question and mystery word will feature a certain letter of the alphabet? Dig in. Deliberate. Decode.

A multiple-choice quiz by snediger. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
snediger
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
337,003
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
823
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. Let's start with our first featured letter: "A". Ali, from Anatolia, announced, "attend well, acolytes. Bring me my ALMANDINE, for I wish to appreciate it."
What would one do with "ALMANDINE," anyway?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. On to "B". Bobby the bachelor would not be bound by bonds. Every Saturday night, Bob and his buds would bring themselves to the bar, where they would behave like BACCHANTS. The bartender, belatedly, would bounce them.
What is a "BACCHANT?"
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Now to "C". Carl was a cadet who called cadence for his company. He was also a constituent of a CABAL which would crush Constitutional canons. Contemptible, Carl!
What would a "CABAL" be?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Now, on to "D". "The devil is in the details," Daniel declared. "Designing a durable DRAY is downright difficult!"
Durn those drays. What is a "DRAY" anyway?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Now, "E". Edward the educator made every effort to EDUCE eloquence and erudition from his charges through enlightened techniques.
What does "EDUCE" mean?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Let's do "F". Fred FEIGNED felicity toward felines so that his friendship with Felicia might flourish. Frankly, Fred was frightened of them. He wasn't very forthcoming!
What was Fred doing? What is "FEIGNING"?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Now "G". Grandstanding goalie Gunther Gottrocks - of the Gloucester Goldfish - was grilled about his godawful showing in the game. Gunther then made sure to GAINSAY his goofs. What guile!
What does "to GAINSAY" mean?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Now "H". Haggai was happy because he lived in a HAGIOCRACY. In fact, Haggai was the Chief Hierophant, who, his whole life, had never had to hawk handicrafts in the town hall.
What is a "HAGIOCRACY?"
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Next, "I". Isadore was irked because he was now involved in an intense IMBROGLIO not of his own making. Lacking imagination or intuition, Izzy felt inadequate.
What is an "IMBROGLIO?"
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Lastly, "J". Jolly Jimmy Jones jumped at the chance to don his jaunty JODHPURS to joust with Joseph, one-on-one in a single race. No joke!
What are "JODHPURS" anyway?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Let's start with our first featured letter: "A". Ali, from Anatolia, announced, "attend well, acolytes. Bring me my ALMANDINE, for I wish to appreciate it." What would one do with "ALMANDINE," anyway?

Answer: Look at it

"Almandine" is a reddish-purplish garnet, quite attractive when polished. It was found in Caria, a mining region in Anatolia in the ancient world; today it is found in Sri Lanka.
2. On to "B". Bobby the bachelor would not be bound by bonds. Every Saturday night, Bob and his buds would bring themselves to the bar, where they would behave like BACCHANTS. The bartender, belatedly, would bounce them. What is a "BACCHANT?"

Answer: a drunken carouser

Bacchant, meaning "drunken carouser", derives from Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and revelry. You don't have to be drunk to blither and/or bore, but it helps. Backstabbers are worse than blitherers or bores, but you don't have to be a bacchant to be one.
3. Now to "C". Carl was a cadet who called cadence for his company. He was also a constituent of a CABAL which would crush Constitutional canons. Contemptible, Carl! What would a "CABAL" be?

Answer: a secret group of persons who are joined in political intrigue

A popular etymology has the word "cabal" being derived from an acronym of five conspiratorial ministers of British King Charles II (Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington, and Lauderdale). Another theory has the word deriving from the cabala (or Kabbalah), which is a set of mystical and esoteric Jewish teachings outside traditional Torah or mainstream Judaism. Just because Carl's cabal wants to overthrow the constitution, not every "cabal" wants to.

A cachou is the equivalent of a Tamil breath mint. Kabul? Please!
4. Now, on to "D". "The devil is in the details," Daniel declared. "Designing a durable DRAY is downright difficult!" Durn those drays. What is a "DRAY" anyway?

Answer: a cart with detachable sides

Picture every single Robin Hood flick you've ever seen. You know that scene where you see the "peasants" wheeling that cart full of hay? That cart is a dray. Similarly, the word can also be used as a verb: "To dray" something is to carry it in a cart.
5. Now, "E". Edward the educator made every effort to EDUCE eloquence and erudition from his charges through enlightened techniques. What does "EDUCE" mean?

Answer: to draw out

Educe: e (out of, from) + duce (lead or draw). It's not what you're able to "put in" to your students but what you're able to "get out". "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire." -William Butler Yeats
6. Let's do "F". Fred FEIGNED felicity toward felines so that his friendship with Felicia might flourish. Frankly, Fred was frightened of them. He wasn't very forthcoming! What was Fred doing? What is "FEIGNING"?

Answer: Pretending

Originally, this word meant to shape, as with the fingers. Now it means to shape with the mind, or to pretend, or mislead. To impress Felicia, Frank was being misleading, pretending to like cats. To abscond means to get out of Dodge in a hurry, or "take it on the lam". Often, panic IS the result of exposing a cat-fearer to cats, but that is not the meaning of feign.
7. Now "G". Grandstanding goalie Gunther Gottrocks - of the Gloucester Goldfish - was grilled about his godawful showing in the game. Gunther then made sure to GAINSAY his goofs. What guile! What does "to GAINSAY" mean?

Answer: To deny; contradict

This word is a new one on me! It seems to SAY the very opposite of what it MEANS; gainsay sounds like a positive thing. However, it is derived from the Old English "gegn" (German: gegen) which means "against". If Gunther "gainsays" his goofs, he's denying them, not praising them.
8. Now "H". Haggai was happy because he lived in a HAGIOCRACY. In fact, Haggai was the Chief Hierophant, who, his whole life, had never had to hawk handicrafts in the town hall. What is a "HAGIOCRACY?"

Answer: Rule by priests

The words "Hagiocracy" and "Hierophant" are derived from two different words (hagios, Greek; hieros, Greek,) which mean the same thing: "holy" or "sacred". Stands to reason, nobody is happier in a hagiocracy than the Chief Hierophant.
9. Next, "I". Isadore was irked because he was now involved in an intense IMBROGLIO not of his own making. Lacking imagination or intuition, Izzy felt inadequate. What is an "IMBROGLIO?"

Answer: state of confusion

Imbroglio: When your boss gets orders from the "higher-ups" that seem to contradict every sensible workplace procedure you've ever heard of, and then attempts to implement them in your section first. It is definitely NOT euphoric, and quite possibly could lead to your impoverishment.
10. Lastly, "J". Jolly Jimmy Jones jumped at the chance to don his jaunty JODHPURS to joust with Joseph, one-on-one in a single race. No joke! What are "JODHPURS" anyway?

Answer: pants

Jodhpurs are riding breeches "made full and loose above the knees and tight from the knees to the ankle." (Webster's New World Dictionary) The exotic-sounding name derives from a former state of NW India, and entered into English usage during India's British rule.
Source: Author snediger

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