The Snows of Yesterday Trivia Quiz

Answer: slows

There are three possibilities here. Firstly the initial 's' of snows could change to 'k' to make knows. Secondly the 'n' could change to 'l' to make slows. Thirdly the final 's' could change to 'y' making snowy. Looking at the next question leads to the correct answer - slows, since there are no words that are one letter different from either knows or snowy.

In the singular, "The Snow of Yesterday" is part of Karl Jenkins' "Requiem" from 2005.

Answer: glows

The three choices here are slews, glows and slogs, formed by changing the third, first or fourth letter of slows. Looking at the next question leads to the correct answer - glows.

In this case, slew is used to mean making a sudden sharp turn. In North America, the word can also mean a large quantity.

Answer: Gloss

Grows, flows and gloss all have one letter changed from the last word - glows. Looking forward to the next question leads to two possibilities - grows and gloss. However looking further ahead makes it clear that grows cannot be right and that the correct answer is gloss.

As well as referring to something shiny, gloss can also mean to provide a translation of a difficult phrase or word.

Answer: glost

Changing one letter of gloss, the three choices here are gross, glass and glost. Looking forward to the next question leads to the correct answer - glost.

Glost is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as "the second firing of ceramic ware, in which the glaze is fused". It's not a word I use every day, but it's very useful for this puzzle.

Answer: gloat

Changing one letter of glost gives Glest, ghost or gloat. From looking at the next question it becomes apparent that the correct answer is gloat.

Glest is a computer game from 2004, and it makes a very useful red herring for this quiz.

Answer: float

The three possibilities here after changing one letter in gloat are groat, float and gloam. From the next question it can be seen that the correct answer is float.

Gloam refers to twilight or dusk. A groat was an old English coin worth 4d (four pennies); they are still produced as Maundy money for the Sovereign in the UK to hand out on Maundy Thursday.

Answer: flout

Changing one letter of float gives the possibilities flout and bloat, with a very obscure extra - Floak. Looking ahead to the next question gives the correct answer - flout.

Floak is the name of a quarry near Glasgow in Scotland.

Answer: flour

There are two possibilities here - both clout and flour can be formed by changing one letter in flout. The five letters 'floun' in floundering don't make a word in English. From the next question, it can be seen that the correct answer is flour.

Apart from meaning power, influence or a blow, clout can also refer to clothing, when it is used in the British saying "Ne'er cast a clout till May is out"; May could be either the month following April or a hawthorn plant.

Answer: floor

There are three possibilities again; they are Fleur, glour and floor. Looking ahead to the next question leads to the correct answer - floor.

Fleur is a girl's name from the French word for a flower. Glour is an alternative spelling of glower.

Answer: flood

There is only one possibility here, after changing one letter in floor. The correct answer is flood.

As well as referring to a large quantity of water, flood can also be used for an overwhelming quantity of almost anything, for example a flood of emotions for an outbreak of tears, or a flood of people arriving to describe a large crowd.

To recap - we have gone from snows through slows, glows, gloss, glost, gloat, float, flout, flour and floor to flood. Were you snowed under with a flood of clues? I hope you didn't get lost along the way.