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Quiz about What Did Shakespeare Mean By That
Quiz about What Did Shakespeare Mean By That

What Did Shakespeare Mean By That? Quiz


Some words used in Shakespeare's time are still with us - but mean something *very* different today than when Shakespeare was using them. You might be surprised at how different the meanings of these common words are when used by the Bard of Avon!

A multiple-choice quiz by merylfederman. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
355,839
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
906
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 31 (6/10), LauraMcC (8/10), Andyboy2021 (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Today's Meaning: expensive indulgence that provides pleasure and quality

Shakespeare's Meaning: lust and lechery!

Which word has undergone such a transition?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Today's Meaning: anything from "polite" to "well done" to "acceptable" to "agreeable".

Shakespeare's Meaning: trivial or overly particular

Which word is this?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Today's Meaning: to disturb or irritate

Shakespeare's Meaning: to molest, harm or hurt, cause grief

Which word has undergone this toning-down?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Today's (dominant) Meaning: servile dependent or subordinate (often evil)

Shakespeare's Meaning: favorite, darling (often contemptuous)

Which word now means something a bit more sinister?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Today's (dominant) Meaning: characterized by well-being and contentment

Shakespeare's (dominant) Meaning: fortunate, lucky

Which word is less about luck these days?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Today's (dominant) Meanings: exceedingly bad, or an intensifier

Shakespeare's Meaning: powerful, inspiring reverence

Which word is a lot more about being bad today?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Today's Meaning: waste matter from the body.

Shakespeare's (dominant) Meaning: things that grow out of the body, like hair and nails.

Which word is this that is a lot more, well, disgusting these days?
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Today's (dominant) Meaning: highly talented child

Shakespeare's Meaning: ominous apparition or portent

Which word has a much better connotation today than in Shakespeare's time?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Today's (dominant) Meaning: rapid, with speed

Shakespeare's (dominant) Meaning: alive, lively
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Today's Meaning: of the material world, having a material existence

Shakespeare's Meaning: medicinal, healthful
Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 04 2024 : Guest 31: 6/10
Mar 01 2024 : LauraMcC: 8/10
Feb 25 2024 : Andyboy2021: 10/10
Feb 23 2024 : Guest 49: 6/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Today's Meaning: expensive indulgence that provides pleasure and quality Shakespeare's Meaning: lust and lechery! Which word has undergone such a transition?

Answer: Luxury

Luxury indeed used to mean "lechery" - one example is in "Hamlet", where the ghost pleads with his son to "not let the royal bed of Denmark be a couch for luxury and damned incest." In "Titus Andronicus", news that the empress Tamora bore her lover a son was met with "O most insatiate and luxurious woman," both of which are references to lust and not "luxury" as we know it today.
2. Today's Meaning: anything from "polite" to "well done" to "acceptable" to "agreeable". Shakespeare's Meaning: trivial or overly particular Which word is this?

Answer: Nice

"Nice" isn't so nice in Shakespeare - one example of the archaic usage is in "Julius Caesar", where Cassius complains to Brutus that "in such times as these it is not meet that every nice offense should bear his comment," meaning that any little, trivial infraction shouldn't be harshly punished. It is not a "nice" offense in the way we use the word today.
3. Today's Meaning: to disturb or irritate Shakespeare's Meaning: to molest, harm or hurt, cause grief Which word has undergone this toning-down?

Answer: Annoy

The word "annoy" has a much harsher connotation in Shakespeare's writings, including one example from Julius Caesar where someone mentioned that a lion walked past "without annoying me," and Cassius refers to Antony's abilities as being sufficient to "annoy us all." This means that the lion did not *harm* the first speaker and that Cassius feels threatened, not what we'd consider "annoyed". by Antony.
4. Today's (dominant) Meaning: servile dependent or subordinate (often evil) Shakespeare's Meaning: favorite, darling (often contemptuous) Which word now means something a bit more sinister?

Answer: Minion

"Minion" is used very often in Shakespeare and contemporary writings, and it doesn't quite conjure up an evil henchman so much as a favored lover. The context is still possibly negative but not strictly "evil" as much as it is today. In "Henry IV Part I", Shakespeare has the king refer to a rebellious soldier as "sweet Fortune's minion," meaning that Fortune has loved and favored him.
5. Today's (dominant) Meaning: characterized by well-being and contentment Shakespeare's (dominant) Meaning: fortunate, lucky Which word is less about luck these days?

Answer: Happy

"Happy" used to be a lot more about luck, although today's meaning does pop up in Shakespeare occasionally as well. When Rosencrantz and Guildenstern talk with Hamlet on their arrival in Act 2 of "Hamlet", they say that they are "happy in that they are not over-happy, on Fortune's cap [they] are not the very button".

This refers to their somewhat *fortunate* state, but does not speak to their own sense of well-being, simply their circumstances.
6. Today's (dominant) Meanings: exceedingly bad, or an intensifier Shakespeare's Meaning: powerful, inspiring reverence Which word is a lot more about being bad today?

Answer: Awful

"Awful" comes from "awe", and if something is awful, it inspires awe and reverent fear. It can also mean "full of awe", so both the person inspiring the awe and the one feeling it can be described as "awful". In "Richard II", the king, upon seeing a man refusing to kneel, says, "how dare thy joints forget/To pay their awful duty to our presence?"
7. Today's Meaning: waste matter from the body. Shakespeare's (dominant) Meaning: things that grow out of the body, like hair and nails. Which word is this that is a lot more, well, disgusting these days?

Answer: Excrement

"Excrement" still means things that come out of the body, but in Shakespeare's time it meant things like hair and nails - decidedly more sanitary. When Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, notices that her son's hair is standing up, she says, "Your bedded hair, like life in excrements/Starts up, and stands on end."
8. Today's (dominant) Meaning: highly talented child Shakespeare's Meaning: ominous apparition or portent Which word has a much better connotation today than in Shakespeare's time?

Answer: Prodigy

"Prodigies" are scary, not positively impressive, in Shakespeare. In "Titus Andronicus," the title character claims that his dead sons' ghosts require him to sacrifice one of the prisoners. He says that by doing so, his family will be spared "prodigies on earth."
9. Today's (dominant) Meaning: rapid, with speed Shakespeare's (dominant) Meaning: alive, lively

Answer: Quick

"Quick" usually means "alive" in Shakespeare, though it does have many other meanings (including "pregnant" and the more recognizable "fast" meaning from today). One instance of the "alive" meaning is from "Hamlet," when Hamlet begs "be buried quick with her, and so will I" at Ophelia's funeral.
10. Today's Meaning: of the material world, having a material existence Shakespeare's Meaning: medicinal, healthful

Answer: Physical

"Physic" and "Physical" mean "medicine" and "medicinal/healthful" - as found in "Julius Caesar," where Portia asks Brutus if it is "physical" to walk out and about in the cold air.
Source: Author merylfederman

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