Funniest Words Ever Trivia Quiz

Answer: Butterflies in the stomach

Collywobbles (literally) is a state of intestinal disorder, usually accompanied by a rumbling stomach, however it's more commonly used to mean butterflies in the tummy. Though the origin isn't certain, Colly is an English word meaning coal dust, and in fact, blackbirds were once known as colly birds.

Interestingly, the song the "Twelve days of Christmas" is usually sung as 'four calling birds'... but the actual line is 'four colly birds'. It's therefore believed that the collywobbles could have derived from indisposition caused by breathing in coal dust.

Another explanation is that it simply came from Colic and Wobbles. Either way, the first citation known was in 1823 from Pierce Egan's edition of "Grose's Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue".

Answer: Discomfort from eating and drinking too much

Crapulence is discomfort from eating and drinking too much. It originated way back in 1650-60 and comes from the Latin 'crapulent' meaning 'drunk'.

Answer: He's confused

This is one of my favourite words in the whole English language. Discombobulate - meaning confused or disconcerted. I use this term rather more often that I would like (lol). It originated in 1825-35, is an Americanism, and is a fanciful version of discomfort or discompose.

Answer: An athletic training regime

Fartlek is actually a Swedish word, meaning 'speed play'. The definition of the word is 'a training technique, especially amongst runners, consisting of bursts of intense effort loosely alternating with less strenuous activity'. (Dictionary.com) It is thought to have originated in 1950-55.

Answer: I'm seeing a fortune teller who specialises in telling fortunes from the rumbling of the stomach

Well, if this isn't one of the silliest things I've ever heard, I don't know what is! Gastromancy, however, is alive and kicking, and the correct definition (thanks to Dictionary.com) is 'A kind of divination by words seemingly uttered from the stomach'. Hmmm, just when you thought you'd heard of everything...

Answer: Falling behind

Yes, once again, lollygagging is an actual word. It means to dawdle or dally and was originally 'lallygag'. It originated in 1862 and may have come from the American dialect word lolly (tongue) and gag (deceive, trick). Anyway, enough of that - stop lollygagging and see if you got the next one right... :)

Answer: Excessively fault-finding and pessimistic

Again, as ridiculous as it might sound - this is an actual word. It can be spelled 'Smelfungus' or 'Smellfungus' and originated in 1768 when Smelfungus was used as a character in an 18th century novel by Laurence Sterne: "A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy".

Answer: A clever but unprincipled person

And the silly words just keep on coming! This one, snollygoster, means a clever but unprincipled person. The origin is unknown, though it may be linked to 'snallygoster', which some suppose derived from the German schnelle Geister, literally a fast-moving ghost and mythical monster of vast size - half reptile, half bird - supposedly found in Maryland. What is known is that it is American in origin, came about in approximately 1845 and often referred to a politician.

Answer: Making allegations

An allegator, though sounding like a blunt-snouted reptile 'alligator' has one slight difference - the 'e'! So in this case, an allegator is, as the word suggests, a person who alleges - (making allegations or claims something is true - not necessarily with any proof). Origin: allegation + -or. (I know it's a rather obscure word, but check Merriam-Webster for it!)

Answer: It's raining heavily

Though it sounds like it should be some sort of weapon, a bumbershoot is actually an umbrella. The first known use of bumbershoot was in 1896. The word is thought to derive from 'bumber' (alteration of 'umbr' in umbrella) and 'chute' (alteration of chute in 'parachute').