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Quiz about Some interesting or offbeat words

Some interesting or offbeat words Quiz

Here are 15 words which I find intriguing. I will give the definition and you pick out the word being defined. You can figure out many of these by paying attention to the roots.

A multiple-choice quiz by chessart. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
chessart

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
49,944

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
7 / 15

Plays
821

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. The use of gentle speech or humble submission to calm someone who is angry is called: Hint

risibility

suaviation

pedality

philophronesis

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Question 2 of 15

2. The amount by which a container falls short of being full: Hint

chantage

letch

fossick

ullage

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Question 3 of 15

3. Delusions of exceptional intelligence: Hint

iatramelia

sophomania

euthymia

matanza

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Question 4 of 15

4. A neurotic preoccupation with one's youth: Hint

galeanthropy

engouement

enosiophobia

horapthia

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Question 5 of 15

5. Determining someone's character or future by the way he or she laughs: Hint

lethologica

prothalamion

geloscopy

epiplexis

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Question 6 of 15

6. Depression following a nightmare: Hint

chirospasm

molybdomancy

latromisia

malneirophrenia

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Question 7 of 15

7. Something produced by worry is said to be: Hint

kedogenous

lucripetous

leggiadrous

merdivorous

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Question 8 of 15

8. The science of habit breaking: Hint

hamartiology

xerophagy

semasiology

tropoclastics

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Question 9 of 15

9. Judging people favorably from their looks: Hint

crithomancy

gulosity

oxyesthesia

prosopolepsy

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Question 10 of 15

10. Items thrown into the sea and marked by a buoy for future retrieval: Hint

lagan

agunah

quakebuttock

bonnyclabber

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Question 11 of 15

11. The craving for weird food: Hint

progeria

allotriophagy

apophasis

obdormition

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Question 12 of 15

12. The neurotic assumption of guilt by an innocent party: Hint

pseudomania

rhytiphobia

grapholagnia

recrement

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Question 13 of 15

13. Easily hurt emotionally: Hint

agnogenic

orgulous

rectopathic

erinaceous

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Question 14 of 15

14. The theory that the world is mostly bad: Hint

oikonisus

hygeiolatry

malism

acyrology

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Question 15 of 15

15. Reading everything: Hint

omnilegent

excerebrose

tautoousious

concubitant

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The use of gentle speech or humble submission to calm someone who is angry is called:

Answer: philophronesis

Justice Clarence Thomas recently spoke out against philophronesis, stating: 'In the effort to be civil in conduct, many who know better actually dilute firmly held views to avoid appearing 'judgmental'. They curb their tongues not only in form but in substance.

The insistence on civility in the form of our debates has the perverse effect of cannibalizing our principles, the very essence of a free society.'

2. The amount by which a container falls short of being full:

Answer: ullage

This term is frequently used in connection with wine bottles, to refer to the air space between the top of the wine and the base of the cork. Over time the ullage will increase as evaporation occurs, especially when the bottle has been kept in an environment which is too dry.

3. Delusions of exceptional intelligence:

Answer: sophomania

The root 'soph' refers to wisdom.

4. A neurotic preoccupation with one's youth:

Answer: horapthia

5. Determining someone's character or future by the way he or she laughs:

Answer: geloscopy

From the Greek 'gelos', laughter, and 'skopein', to view.

6. Depression following a nightmare:

Answer: malneirophrenia

7. Something produced by worry is said to be:

Answer: kedogenous

8. The science of habit breaking:

Answer: tropoclastics

The Greek root 'trope' means a turn. An example is 'tropism', mneaning the tendency of a plant or animal to turn in response to an external stimulus, as a flower turning toward light. When one engages in tropoclastics, one is turning away from bad habits of the past.

9. Judging people favorably from their looks:

Answer: prosopolepsy

From the Greek 'prosopon', a face, and 'lepsis', receiving or taking.

10. Items thrown into the sea and marked by a buoy for future retrieval:

Answer: lagan

Goods may be cast overboard during a storm. The buoy not only allows the owner to come back later and find his property, but it also is marked so as to identify the owner; hence lagan is an important concept in maritime law as a way of showing that property has not been abandoned.

11. The craving for weird food:

Answer: allotriophagy

Mulder explained the phenomen of allotriophagy to Scully during an X-Files episode, telling her that 'people throughout history have coughed up all kinds of things from cue balls to butcher's knives without any explanation of how they got there'. I think I just lost my appetite.

12. The neurotic assumption of guilt by an innocent party:

Answer: pseudomania

The Greek 'pseudo' means false. The pseudomaniac may confess to many crimes he has not committed.

13. Easily hurt emotionally:

Answer: rectopathic

14. The theory that the world is mostly bad:

Answer: malism

15. Reading everything:

Answer: omnilegent

Perhaps you would need to be omnilegent to know all these words. You certainly would need to be a logolept (a word lover)!

Source: Author chessart

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