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Quiz about Strictly Speaking
Quiz about Strictly Speaking

Strictly Speaking Trivia Quiz


I have an uncanny ability for finding the wrong word. Do you? Try this quiz and see. Words that might need attention will be placed in ALL CAPS.

A multiple-choice quiz by uglybird. Estimated time: 7 mins.
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Author
uglybird
Time
7 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
215,043
Updated
Dec 19 23
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
3570
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 157 (3/10), patrickk (10/10), Guest 142 (3/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. I think the English language should come with a warning label - something along the lines of: "You are hereby APPRAISED that the change, addition or subtraction OF a single letter of a word may expose your woeful ignorance of the language." BESIDES, I'm LIABLE to errors even without the pitfalls seemingly built into my native tongue.

Which of the above words has been misused?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Sometimes the incorrect word is so similar to the proper one! Perhaps that's why when I try to create a particular AFFECT, the search for that perfect word leaves me CONTINUOUSLY FOUNDERING. Which word(s) is/are not quite right? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. With REGARD to my little problem, I simply refuse to believe that I'm more UNIQUE than other people just because the right word so easily ELUDES me. ALL RIGHT, which is the problematic word or phrase this time? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Should I be wishing for FULSOME praise for this quiz? A "strict usage" purist would say an emphatic, "No!" What did the Middle English word "fulsom" from which "fulsome" derived mean? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Strictly speaking, it would be incorrect to characterize this quiz as being on MALAPROPISMS. Which of the following phrases might a purist feel is *LEAST* appropriately termed a "malapropism"? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Being a DISCRETE man allowed John to serve as Arnold's CONFIDANTE and COUNCILOR, although doing so became more difficult after John moved FARTHER away. In this case, only one of the four words in caps has been used properly. For which of the four is the usage always appropriate? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. It's time to graduate to an even more obscure usage issue. John, Lois and Mary just graduated. Which of the following is correct usage? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. I never realized until writing this quiz how LIABLE I was to misuse the word "liable", how APT I was to properly use the word "apt" and how LIKELY I am to misunderstand word usage. Which word was misused in the preceding sentence? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. If I RACK my brain and change an answer, it REEKS havoc on my score and leads to WRACK and ruin for me in the standings, and I end up feeling like a WRECK. Can you sniff out the inappropriately used word here? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Now it's time to see if you have truly entered into the spirit of this quiz. The phrase "LITERALLY died laughing" contains a misused word. If you literally died laughing, what would literally be true? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Today : Guest 157: 3/10
Mar 15 2024 : patrickk: 10/10
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quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. I think the English language should come with a warning label - something along the lines of: "You are hereby APPRAISED that the change, addition or subtraction OF a single letter of a word may expose your woeful ignorance of the language." BESIDES, I'm LIABLE to errors even without the pitfalls seemingly built into my native tongue. Which of the above words has been misused?

Answer: Appraised

The addition of an "a" converts "apprise", a word meaning "notify" to "appraise", a word meaning "evaluate". "Liable" is fine and need not be changed to "libel". Removing the "s" from the end of "besides" would transform its meaning from "in addition to" to "alongside".

The word "appraise" derives from the Latin word "pretium", which refers to "price" rather than "praise". The Latin word "apprehendere" meaning "know" is the root from which "apprise" developed.
2. Sometimes the incorrect word is so similar to the proper one! Perhaps that's why when I try to create a particular AFFECT, the search for that perfect word leaves me CONTINUOUSLY FOUNDERING. Which word(s) is/are not quite right?

Answer: All three words

I find affect/effect to be a particularly vexing pair of words. "Affect" is used as a noun only when describing a person's apparent mood. As a verb, "affect" means "to influence". "Effect" as a noun refers to the results of an action; and used as a verb, "effect" means "to accomplish".

Strictly speaking, "continuous" means the action is unceasing whereas continual allows for breaks in the action being performed. A stream of water can be continuous; a drip may be continual.

"Founder" means "to sink" whereas "floundering" refers to the ineffectual thrashing about in the water of a person who may or may not, ultimately, sink. "Floundering" is the appropriate metaphor for a desperate and generally unproductive struggle to achieve some goal.
3. With REGARD to my little problem, I simply refuse to believe that I'm more UNIQUE than other people just because the right word so easily ELUDES me. ALL RIGHT, which is the problematic word or phrase this time?

Answer: Unique

"Regard" is not in need of an "s" at the end. "Bartleby.com" explains that whereas "as regards" is standard usage, "with regards" is not. "All right" is certainly all right, although alright has become another accepted usage. "Eludes" is appropriately used.

However, there cannot be, strictly speaking, degrees of uniqueness - there being only one of that which is literally unique. Not surprisingly, "unique" derives from the Latin "unicus" meaning "sole, single".
4. Should I be wishing for FULSOME praise for this quiz? A "strict usage" purist would say an emphatic, "No!" What did the Middle English word "fulsom" from which "fulsome" derived mean?

Answer: Both

"Fulsome" is one of a number of words having what "Yourdictionary.com" terms a "usage problem". Other examples include "enormity" and "decimate". Purists would limit "enormity" to its traditional literary meaning of "monstrously wicked". "Decimate" literally means "reduction by a tenth", but is commonly used to mean "extremely large reduction" or "extensive killing".

In the case of "fulsome", the medieval word from which it derived carried both of the meanings the word still carries today. With time, the actual usage of words tends to become "standard" and that's "alright" with me.
5. Strictly speaking, it would be incorrect to characterize this quiz as being on MALAPROPISMS. Which of the following phrases might a purist feel is *LEAST* appropriately termed a "malapropism"?

Answer: I'm an amicable sort of fellow.

"Malapropism" is a term originally used to describe the utterances of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 18th century fictional character, Mrs. Malaprop. The three examples of suitably ludicrous malapropisms given above were those of Mrs. Malaprop from Brinsley's works. Properly speaking, a malapropism should be humorous. "Amicable" should be "amiable", by the way.
6. Being a DISCRETE man allowed John to serve as Arnold's CONFIDANTE and COUNCILOR, although doing so became more difficult after John moved FARTHER away. In this case, only one of the four words in caps has been used properly. For which of the four is the usage always appropriate?

Answer: Farther

Farther is always appropriate when referring to physical distance as it was in this case. However, there are situations where "further" is preferred over "farther". Sixty-four percent of an American Heritage Dictionary panel preferred the use of "further" over "farther" when referring to "nonphysical, metaphorical advancement".

It should be "discreet" rather than "discrete" and "counselor" rather than "councilor". A correction notice from "Braunda" made me aware that "confidante" was considered to be a female confidant and always proper when applied to females but not when applied to males.

This correction notice ultimately inspired this quiz.
7. It's time to graduate to an even more obscure usage issue. John, Lois and Mary just graduated. Which of the following is correct usage?

Answer: Mary and Lois are alumnae.

"Al" is an Indo-European root meaning "to nourish". Therefore, an alumnus is a "nourished" male and alumna "a nourished" female. The Latin endings have been retained and thus the plurals are "alumni" and "alumnae", respectively. And of course, we all matriculated from our "alma-mater", our "nourishing mother". Eat your hearts out, dads!

"Dictionary.com" points out that not even colleges uniformly adopt the strictly correct Latin endings, preferring instead to apply "alumni" to both genders.
8. I never realized until writing this quiz how LIABLE I was to misuse the word "liable", how APT I was to properly use the word "apt" and how LIKELY I am to misunderstand word usage. Which word was misused in the preceding sentence?

Answer: None was misused.

These three words are often used interchangeably. But if one is inclined to be fussy, one would likely maintain that "liable" should be reserved for adverse outcomes (like misuse of the word "liable"), that "apt" should imply that some intrinsic property of the subject is responsible for the outcome (and that outcome may be either favorable or unfavorable), and that "likely" is generally appropriate in all situations. That is why they were allocated their positions in the question.
9. If I RACK my brain and change an answer, it REEKS havoc on my score and leads to WRACK and ruin for me in the standings, and I end up feeling like a WRECK. Can you sniff out the inappropriately used word here?

Answer: It's reek.

To "wreak" is to avenge oneself or inflict punishment. The use of "rack" as a word for pain or brain stretching does seem to have derived from use of the rack as a torture device in the Middle Ages. "Wrack" is wreckage or destruction. I should be able to keep these words straight for at least thirty seconds after finishing this question.
10. Now it's time to see if you have truly entered into the spirit of this quiz. The phrase "LITERALLY died laughing" contains a misused word. If you literally died laughing, what would literally be true?

Answer: All of these

One could say that in the phrase "literally died laughing" that "literally" is used "figuratively" for "literally". But I would not want to speak so strictly. And strictly speaking, the author hopes you do not take this quiz too seriously.
Source: Author uglybird

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