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Quiz about Huckleberry Finn the Word Wizard
Quiz about Huckleberry Finn the Word Wizard

Huckleberry Finn the Word Wizard Quiz


There are many words and phrases used in the text of Mark Twain's "Huckleberry Finn", that are either local slang, colloquial, or generally unused in the 21st century. Grab your 'sweeps' and mount your raft as we sail past a few of my favourites.

A multiple-choice quiz by maggotbrain. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
maggotbrain
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
311,700
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
7 / 10
Plays
736
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. When Huck's father appears for the first time in the novel, he states he will "make him pungle" when talking about Judge Thatcher. What is he claiming he will do? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Having convinced the new judge that he was going to be a reformed man, Huck's father slipped out in the night to trade his coat for "forty-rod". What was the inevitable outcome of this? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. During his stay on Jackson's Island, Huck gets the "fan-tods". What was he experiencing? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Straight after leaving the wrecked steamboat, Huck looks for somebody to go and rescue the men left behind (Jim, Jake and Bill). He finds the watchman, who talks about "spondulicks" amongst other things. What is he talking about? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. After getting lost in the fog, Huck lets Jim believe it was all a "staving dream". What type of dream is he saying it was? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. While he is staying at the Grangerford's, Huck is asked to come and see some "water moccasins" by one of the slaves. What is the slave purportedly wanting to show him? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Soon after leaving the Grangerford's, life is relaxed for a while, leaving time to watch the odd "galoot". What on earth is he watching? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Huck and Jim have the dubious pleasure of the Duke and King for some time. There is a small disagreement over who should have the "corn-shuck tick". What were they fighting over? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. On the same night as the argument about the "corn-shuck tick", there is a storm in which Huck witnesses a "sockdolager". What is he describing? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. When the Duke and Huck go looking for the King they find him busy in a "little low doggery". What is this "doggery"? Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. When Huck's father appears for the first time in the novel, he states he will "make him pungle" when talking about Judge Thatcher. What is he claiming he will do?

Answer: make him pay

Pungle seems to come from the Spanish 'pongale' meaning to put it down. Used as a transitive verb, it is usually accompanied by the word 'up'. Huck's father uses it when he talks about trying to get Huck's money from the judge, who is looking after it.
2. Having convinced the new judge that he was going to be a reformed man, Huck's father slipped out in the night to trade his coat for "forty-rod". What was the inevitable outcome of this?

Answer: He got drunk

Forty-rod is described as whisky, powerful enough to throw a man forty rods. Never one to refuse a drink, it doesn't take Huck's father long to get back to his old ways. The evening's drink is so intoxicating that he rolls off the porch, breaks his arm in two places, and makes such a mess of his room they have to "take soundings before they could navigate it."
3. During his stay on Jackson's Island, Huck gets the "fan-tods". What was he experiencing?

Answer: Fear and anxiety

The first known record of the word 'fantods' is from the book 'Adventures of Harry Franco' by Charles Biggs. Roughly speaking, it means a state of extreme anxiety, tension or nervousness. Huck experiences the fantods when he finds the camp fire which confirms that he is not alone on the island.
4. Straight after leaving the wrecked steamboat, Huck looks for somebody to go and rescue the men left behind (Jim, Jake and Bill). He finds the watchman, who talks about "spondulicks" amongst other things. What is he talking about?

Answer: Money

Spondulicks is possibly derived from the Greek spondylikos(from Spondylos, a sea shell used as currency). It is also considered to relate to a 'stack of discs' as in vertebra which could be seen as a comparison to coin piles.
Although a slang term apparently originating in 1850s USA, it only seems to be in current use in Britain (having used a variant of it myself many times over the years - 'spondoolies', I can categorically confirm that it is still alive and well as a word).
5. After getting lost in the fog, Huck lets Jim believe it was all a "staving dream". What type of dream is he saying it was?

Answer: Wonderful

The note in my text refers to staving as meaning 'wonderful, marvellous etc.' There are many ways the word could be used, but in this instance, Huck uses the word trying to get Jim to tell him about the dream which has been so 'unbelievable'.
6. While he is staying at the Grangerford's, Huck is asked to come and see some "water moccasins" by one of the slaves. What is the slave purportedly wanting to show him?

Answer: Venomous snakes

The water moccasin is the only semi-aquatic viper in the world, known by a variety of names, 'cottonmouth' being the most common. The promise of water moccasins is hardly an appealing one, and Huck only goes along as he is curious why the slave is so keen to show him.
7. Soon after leaving the Grangerford's, life is relaxed for a while, leaving time to watch the odd "galoot". What on earth is he watching?

Answer: A young sailor

A galoot in general terms is an awkward or strange individual. In nautical terms it refers to a green, unfledged sailor. Huck mentions a galoot specifically when he sees them chopping wood on rafts.
As an interesting aside, Frank Zappa creates a 'galoot colognum' in his 1984 album 'Thing Fish', in which an evil prince creates this substance to get rid of selected 'highly rhythmic individuals'(blacks) and 'sissy boys'(gays) - "So, heah dey come wit de (galoot cologne) dump 'nit all in de mash potatoes".
8. Huck and Jim have the dubious pleasure of the Duke and King for some time. There is a small disagreement over who should have the "corn-shuck tick". What were they fighting over?

Answer: A mattress

The king ensures he does not sleep on this mattress by stating is not fit for him to sleep on. It is a mattress made from the outer husks of maize, which is noisy and uncomfortable.
9. On the same night as the argument about the "corn-shuck tick", there is a storm in which Huck witnesses a "sockdolager". What is he describing?

Answer: Knock-out thunder claps

A sockdolager can be described as a knock-out blow. In the book, Huck refers to a flash of lightning, then a sockdolager, emphasising the power of the thunder-clap. Sockdologising is reputed to have been one of the last words heard by Abraham Lincoln as he attended a performance of 'Our American Cousin'.

It was following the line "Well I guess I know enough to turn you inside out, you sockdologising old man-trap" that John Wilkes Booth fired the fatal shot.
10. When the Duke and Huck go looking for the King they find him busy in a "little low doggery". What is this "doggery"?

Answer: A drinking saloon

In general, doggery can mean bad behaviour. However, in the context of the book it refers to a saloon bar where the King is found to be very drunk.
Source: Author maggotbrain

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