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Quiz about Words with the prefix Para
Quiz about Words with the prefix Para

Words with the prefix 'Para' Trivia Quiz


A quiz on words beginning with Para... some easy, some not-so-easy. Either way, enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by heatherlois. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
heatherlois
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
338,124
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
564
Last 3 plays: AliTob (7/10), Guest 31 (7/10), gus-lopez (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. I'm part of a rock band and I'm doing some paradiddling. What exactly am I doing? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Leaving the rockband (because I've decided I'm not that good at paradiddling), I decide to see a bit of the world. I arrive in Spain, and realise I really need a parador, because I'm feeling exhausted. What is it I need to find? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Next on my world trip is Malaysia, where someone approaches me waving a 'parang'. What's my reaction to this? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. A bit dubious about Malaysia now, I rush into a travel agent and ask the lovely lady behind the desk to get me out of the country - asap. To finish my booking, she passes a form to me, and as I pass the form back, she comments on my nice 'paraph'. What is she commenting on? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The only way I can get out of Malaysia is by boat. While on the deck I see an unusual sight: a ship towing a torpedo-shaped device with serrated teeth. As I'm watching, an old mine bobs up to the surface of the sea. I ask a fellow passenger what the torpedo-shaped device is; what does he reply? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. So, by a very circuitous route, we arrive in Greece (and incidentally do a bit of time travel back a few hundred years). A man suddenly bumps into me on the pavement. He seems to be in a bit of a hurry and garbles an apology that he's a 'paranymph' at a wedding. What's his job? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Well, I'm really criss-crossing the world now and I'm in South America. I go on a river cruise and the guide looks down and tells me red-bellied piranhas live in the water. He then tells me the red-bellied piranha has the reputation of being one of the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. As I step smartly away from the railing of the boat and ask which river we are on, how does he answer? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. A bit sick of travelling extensively, I stay in South America, and head for the chief port of Suriname. I glance over the rail and see a sign that says we have landed where? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. My last action while in South America is to go parachuting. Can you name the person who sketched the first design for a parachute? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. OK, so lastly, we should look at the prefix 'para' itself. What does it actually mean? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 28 2024 : AliTob: 7/10
Mar 10 2024 : Guest 31: 7/10
Mar 09 2024 : gus-lopez: 5/10
Mar 07 2024 : mendozak: 6/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. I'm part of a rock band and I'm doing some paradiddling. What exactly am I doing?

Answer: I'm executing a drumroll

I'm executing a drumroll in a quick succession and doing it in an alternate pattern - e.g. L R L L, R L R R.
2. Leaving the rockband (because I've decided I'm not that good at paradiddling), I decide to see a bit of the world. I arrive in Spain, and realise I really need a parador, because I'm feeling exhausted. What is it I need to find?

Answer: A hostelry

A parador is a government-operated hostelry in Spain. The word comes from the Spanish word 'parar', meaning to stop.
3. Next on my world trip is Malaysia, where someone approaches me waving a 'parang'. What's my reaction to this?

Answer: I run as fast as my little legs will carry me

Yep, since a parang is a short sword or machete common in Malaysia, I'm definitely going to run away from anyone brandishing one!
4. A bit dubious about Malaysia now, I rush into a travel agent and ask the lovely lady behind the desk to get me out of the country - asap. To finish my booking, she passes a form to me, and as I pass the form back, she comments on my nice 'paraph'. What is she commenting on?

Answer: The flourish at the end of my signature

A paraph is the flourish at the end of your signature. Whilst I don't have one, I'm always envious of people who do! The word is derived from French and comes from paragraph. It was first used in 1584.
5. The only way I can get out of Malaysia is by boat. While on the deck I see an unusual sight: a ship towing a torpedo-shaped device with serrated teeth. As I'm watching, an old mine bobs up to the surface of the sea. I ask a fellow passenger what the torpedo-shaped device is; what does he reply?

Answer: Oh, that's a paravane

A paravane is a device used for severing the moorings of mines. It was initially developed to destroy naval mines and essentially works by being dragged from the bow of the towing ship until it snags a cable attached to a mine. The serrated teeth cut the cable anchoring the mine, allowing the mine to float harmlessly to the surface where it can then be destroyed by gunfire.
6. So, by a very circuitous route, we arrive in Greece (and incidentally do a bit of time travel back a few hundred years). A man suddenly bumps into me on the pavement. He seems to be in a bit of a hurry and garbles an apology that he's a 'paranymph' at a wedding. What's his job?

Answer: A friend of the groom, he's going with the groom to fetch home the new bride

Yes, a paranymph was a friend of the groom, responsible for going with the groom to fetch the wife home. It can also mean a bridesmaid conducting the bride to the bridegroom. Its first known use was in 1600. (Oh, and 'nymph' incidentally means 'bride' in Greek).
7. Well, I'm really criss-crossing the world now and I'm in South America. I go on a river cruise and the guide looks down and tells me red-bellied piranhas live in the water. He then tells me the red-bellied piranha has the reputation of being one of the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. As I step smartly away from the railing of the boat and ask which river we are on, how does he answer?

Answer: Parana

This amuses me - that piranhas are found in the River Parana. (Small things and all that!) Anyway, back to red-bellied piranhas - they have a set of razor sharp teeth which are capable of stripping flesh from prey and dead animals. They have a reddish brown tinge to their tummy and are not very big at a maximum length of 13 inches.
8. A bit sick of travelling extensively, I stay in South America, and head for the chief port of Suriname. I glance over the rail and see a sign that says we have landed where?

Answer: Paramaribo

And the correct answer, of course, was Paramaribo. It was originally an Indian village that became a French settlement in 1640. It lies on the Suriname River and is 15 km from the Atlantic Ocean. Access from the ocean is limited, though, by a sandbar which allows a depth of only 6 metres.
9. My last action while in South America is to go parachuting. Can you name the person who sketched the first design for a parachute?

Answer: Leonardo Da Vinci

Yes, it was Da Vinci and way back in 1485. Just over five hundred years later - on June 26, 2000 - a man named Adrian Nicholas jumped an exact replica of it...and, unbelievably, it worked! The chute was made of wood, canvas and rope. It was jumped from a balloon at 10,000 feet, but just to be on the safe side, Nicholas rode it to 7,000 feet where he cut away from it and used a traditional parachute for landing. Sensible man.
10. OK, so lastly, we should look at the prefix 'para' itself. What does it actually mean?

Answer: Belong, alongside, position

'Para' comes from Greece (circa 1000) and means belong, alongside, position. (It becomes slightly more obvious when you think about more common words, such as parallel, paradromic (meaning running parallel), paragogue, etc). The prefix more recently has been used in the naming of occupational roles which are considered to be ancillary to roles requiring more training, i.e. paraprofessional, paralegal, paralibrarian; parapolice etc.
Source: Author heatherlois

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