Stop, Look and Listen Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stop

The word 'halt' is hidden in the phrase, using the final letter of 'with' and the beginning of 'altos'. The word is from the sixteenth century, originally used in the phrase 'make halt', and it comes from the German 'halten' which means 'to hold'. 'Halt' can be used as a verb, meaning 'to come to an abrupt stop', or as a noun meaning 'a suspension of movement or activity'.

The word 'Halt' is used every evening as the Tower of London is locked up for the night. The sentry on duty will challenge the party who have been locking the gates, "Halt! Who comes there?". The Chief warder will reply, "The keys". Further conversation establishes that they are the keys of the reigning monarch, which are being taken to a safe place for the night.

Answer: Look

The word 'watch' is hidden in the phrase, using the end of 'pew', all of 'at', and the start of 'church'. The word comes from the Old English 'waecce' meaning 'watchfulness' or 'waeccende' which means 'remain awake'. When used as a verb, 'watch' can mean 'to keep under careful observation' or 'to look at attentively'.

The word 'watch' is used in many different ways. 'Watch out', 'watch it', or 'watch your step' are used as ways to warn people to take care somewhere. A period on duty aboard a naval vessel is referred to as a watch; traditionally the day was divided into six four-hour watches, and sailors would take one watch on, and one watch off duty; to prevent them always having the same periods of duty, one watch was split into two two-hour periods, which were called the dogwatches.

Answer: Listen

The word 'eavesdrop' is hidden in the phrase, using the end of 'leaves' and all of 'drop'. The word is used to mean 'secretly listen to a conversation'. It is derived from the area where water drops from the eaves of a building, because people would hang on to, or stand under, the eaves to listen to what was being said inside.

With the advent of twenty-first century technology, eavesdropping is no longer confined to listeners outside the walls or door of a room. There are many and varied devices which can listen to and record conversations from some distance away. It has been said that be best place to hold a conversation, if you don't want eavesdroppers, is in the middle of a big open space.

Answer: Stop

The word 'cease' is hidden in the phrase, using the last letters of 'dance', all of 'as', and the first letter of 'energetically'. It means 'to come or bring to an end'. It comes through Middle English from the Old French 'cesser' which is derived from the Latin 'cedere' meaning 'to yield'.

The word 'cease' is very often used to imply stopping an activity in the middle, and not wait to complete it. One example of this is a ceasefire in a battle or other conflict. It is also used in the phrase 'wonders will never cease' to express surprise at an unlikely event.

Answer: Look

The word 'stare' is hidden in the phrase, using the end of 'rest' and all of 'are'. It is defined as to 'look fixedly at something with the eyes wide open'. It is derived from the Old English 'starian' from a Germanic root meaning 'be rigid'.

The word appears several times in the poem "Leisure" by the Welsh poet, W.H. Davies (1871-1940).

"What is this life if, full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs / And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass, / Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see, in broad daylight, / Streams full of stars, like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance, / And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can / Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare."

Answer: Listen

The word 'hear' is hidden in the phrase, inside the word 'disheartened'. It means 'to perceive a sound with the ear'. It comes from the Old English 'hieran'.

Two sayings with the word 'hear' are used in contrasting situations. If you can hear a pin drop it is extremely quiet. On the other hand, if there is an extraordinary amount of loud noise, you might say that you can't hear yourself think.

Answer: Stop

The word 'desist' is hidden in the phrase, and uses the final letters of 'Fylde' and the start of 'sisters'. It means to 'cease' or 'abstain'. It comes through Middle English and Old French from the Latin 'desistere' meaning to 'stand aside'.

Fylde is an area of the Lancashire coast, which includes the seaside towns of Lytham St. Annes and Blackpool, as well as the fishing port of Fleetwood.

Answer: Look

The word 'gaze' is hidden in the phrase, using the final letter of 'drawing', 'a' and the first two letters of 'zebra'. The word is used as a verb to mean to 'look steadily and intently'. It comes from Middle English, and may be related to the word 'gawk'.

Despite the definition, the word 'gaze' is often used in a more indeterminate sense, such as in the expressions to 'gaze around', and to 'gaze into space'. Fortune tellers who use a crystal ball often gaze into it.

Answer: Listen

The word 'catch' is hidden in the phrase using 'cat' and the beginning of 'chews'. It is defined as to 'intercept and hold something'; using it as a synonym for 'listen' refers to the idea of identifying and interpreting the sounds heard. The word 'catch' comes through Middle English, Anglo-Norman French, and Old French from the Latin 'captare' which means 'to seize or capture'.

The word might be used informally when something is being explained, and the speaker might say "Do you catch my drift?"

Answer: Stop

The word 'finish' is hidden in the phrase using the last half of 'tiffin', 'I', and the start of 'shall'. It is defined as 'to bring or come to an end'. Its origins come through Middle English from the Old French 'feniss', which is derived from the Latin 'finire' meaning 'to end'.

Whereas one might stop an undertaking at any point in the proceedings, to finish a project or task implies that it has been completed. So the end of a race is defined as the finish line, and a photo finish is one that is so close, it takes a photograph to determine the outcome. The word is also used when the finishing touches are applied to an artistic creation.

Answer: Look

The word 'glance' is hidden in the phrase using the end of 'Raglan', and the first two letters of 'centre'. It means to 'take a brief or hurried look'. With an alternative meaning of 'to strike an object obliquely', the word is derived from the Old French 'glacier' meaning 'to slip'.

Raglan is a small village in southern Wales. The centre has an old church and a village pub.

Answer: Listen

The word 'hark' is hidden in the phrase using most of 'shark'. It is often used in a poetic or literary form to mean to 'listen'. It comes from the Middle English 'herken' and is derived from the Old High German 'hōrechen' meaning to 'listen'.

Maybe the best known use of the word 'hark' is in the Christmas carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing". It was written in the eighteenth century and attributed to Charles Wesley and Felix Mendelssohn.