Pro, Con, Pro, Con II Trivia Quiz

Answer: Proton

A ton is a unit of weight equal to 2000 pounds, or 907 kilograms. In Commonwealth countries, this is usually spelled "tonne" and refers to a weight of 1000 kilograms -- but that spelling won't get you a proton, a positively charged particle found in the nuclei of atoms.

The discovery of the proton in the late 1910s was a huge advance in physics and in chemistry; later on, it was discovered that protons are themselves made of particles called quarks.

Answer: Conquest

Old legends and modern fantasy stories are commonly built around a quest, a mission that takes the protagonist through travelogues, perils, and of course unlikely friendships and character growth. A conquest, by contrast, is very much a group effort: one person alone can hardly be expected to subjugate an entire region under his or her boot, no matter how tough the leather.

Answer: Prostate

A state is a sovereign country; this is why you'll often see presidents and monarchs referred to as "heads of state." Somewhat confusingly, a state can also be a region within a country, as long as it has some degree of autonomy. The USA is thus one state (in the former sense) made up of fifty states (in the latter sense). Now I'm in a state of confusion!

A prostate, meanwhile, is a male organ that has no autonomy of any kind. Sitting near the bladder, it secretes a fluid that helps sperm survive. Unfortunately, in older men it can develop cancer, so prostate checks become an important (if unpleasant) part of medical exams.

Answer: Confine

Not all laws carry the same punishment when broken; many are enforced with fines, or monetary penalties, rather than with jail time. The size of the fine will vary, of course, depending on where you are and on the severity of the infraction. It's a different matter to confine someone, i.e. to restrict their movements -- maybe by putting them in a jail cell, or maybe just by giving them some tight clothing.

Answer: Propane

A pane is a flat piece of glass designed to sit in a section of window frame. In recent years, it's also picked up a metaphorical, technological meaning, as a section of a window in a computer display. Neither type of pane has much to do with propane, a hot-burning fossil fuel derived as a byproduct from the processing of petroleum or natural gas.

Answer: Content

A tent is a structure of poles and fabric that collapses down to a small size, and can be erected relatively easily to give some protection against the elements. Of course, there are many variations on this basic design, some of which are much more portable than others. Any tent shopper should choose the tent that will make him or her most content -- that is, pleased and satisfied, in sort of a quiet way.

Answer: Profit

A fit is a situation in which an individual loses control of themself -- perhaps due to some neurological problem (e.g. a seizure) or perhaps due to a bad temper. In the latter case, the person -- often a small child -- is said to be "throwing a fit." Sometimes, a fit is thrown for profit, as a strategy for getting some benefit like that toy in the window, but other profit-making schemes are typically both more dignified and more effective.

Answer: Constrict

To be strict is to be unyielding, in your interpretation of the rules and in your insistence that others adhere to them. It's not unrelated to the concept of constricting something, or forcing it into a narrower space. This might be figurative, as in constricted choices, or tragically literal -- as in a boa constrictor, which strictly enforces its place in the food chain!

Answer: Propose

To strike a pose is to take on a posture that will convey some message to an audience, perhaps "I am feeling sad," or "Please buy the expensive outfit I am modeling," or "I am not at all bothered by these scurrilous accusations." To propose something is to suggest it as a course of action -- and "I proposed," with no object, typically means "I proposed marriage." Let us hope that few such proposals are really just poses...

Answer: Convex

To vex someone is to annoy or agitate them, usually about something relatively minor. A car crash is too serious to be a vexation -- but a habit of, say, constantly cracking one's knuckles would easily fit the bill. Convex shapes aren't generally particularly obnoxious, although they do annoy beginning geometry students.

A convex curve is one that bends out; a concave one is one that curves in. The adjectives get a bit more vexing when you consider shapes without curves. In general, a convex shape is like a square or a pentagon or another shape where no straight line connecting a pair of corners extends outside the shape.

A concave shape, though, has a bite taken out of it, rather like Pac-Man.