Tied at Half Time Trivia Quiz

Answer: Untidier

TIED + RUIN anagrams to UNTIDIER.

It could be said that my house, like my bedroom when I was a child, is untidier than my sister's. Whilst she is quite organised, I tend to have piles of stuff. I know what's in them but others see an untidy room.

Answer: Untilled

TIED + NULL gives us UNTILLED.

If something, a contract for example, is "null and void" it means its terms no longer apply. It has become invalid for some reason.

Before planting crops, a farmer tills the land, or breaks it up, often with a plough or other implement.

Answer: Tiredest

TIED + REST gives TIREDEST.

Perhaps the worker who does the most will be the tiredest at the end of the day, and most deserving of taking a break, and in need of a rest.

Answer: Retained

TIED + NEAR works out to RETAINED.

Something that is close by is near to one, perhaps the corner store is close by your house, or near your house. If you have kept your job for many years, you could also say you had retained it.

Answer: Decimate

TIED + MACE can be rearranged to form DECIMATE.

Mace has many meanings, as besides being an old-fashioned weapon with spikes and a spice, it can also be a type of spray used to deter muggers or a ceremonial staff seen in parliaments.

Decimate originally meant the destruction or removal of one in ten of something, possibly soldiers in an army, but has come to mean great destruction or devastation.

Answer: Entitled

TIED + LENT switches around to form ENTITLED.

Lent is a period in the Christian calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday (the day after Mardi Gras) and ends six and a half weeks later, just before Easter. It is meant to be a period of fasting and people often "give up" something for Lent, like smoking, drinking beer or eating some particularly favourite treat.

To be entitled to something means to have a legal right to that thing, though the word is often used to describe a selfish person who "feels entitled" to special treatment.

Answer: Reunited

TIED + RUNE gives us REUNITED without too much effort.

Runes were both letters and symbols in various ancient languages of northern Europe. Some are believed to have magical properties.

Sometimes rock bands are reunited, maybe for one last album or tour. Graduating classes are reunited periodically, and sometimes twins separated at birth are reunited as adults.

Answer: Detained

TIED + DEAN can be twisted into DETAINED.

The educational term dean varies in meaning from country to country, but one of those is as head of a particular faculty, as in Dean of Medicine or Dean of History. Some churches also have deans, and again the meaning can vary. Dean is also a masculine forename, as in the singer Dean Martin or author Dean Koontz.

A person could be detained by the police for a number of reasons, including for questioning or on suspicion of having committed a crime. Detained can also simply mean being stopped from doing something by another person.

Answer: Detailed

TIED + DEAL are the words needed to form DETAILED.

When playing a game of cards, the deal will often pass from one player to the next as each becomes dealer for a round.

In the armed forces soldiers can be detailed to scout an enemy position, unload a truck or peel potatoes. Detailed can also mean a description that mentions every single thing about the object described, or having a vehicle thoroughly cleaned by an expert.

Answer: Retailed

TIED + REAL mesh to give us RETAILED.

Real can mean true, as well as actual, and has the connotation of something solid and to be counted upon (the real deal) though it can also have negative connotations (a real mess).

Goods are retailed to the consumer through stores or online retailers. Retail prices are generally greater than wholesale prices, which apply when the manufacturer supplies the distributor.

So, just one more thing, and that is to say something about the word that appears in each question, TIED. As used in sports, tied means having an equal score to one's opponent, possibly "at half time", or "going into the ninth" or in some cases as a final score. It depends on the sport. Tied can also apply to shoelaces, neck ties or ropes, with the meaning of having been secured by means of a knot or bow. A gift can be tied with a ribbon, or a parcel with string. I could probably go on...