A CL-Ever quiz

Answer: Claim

I aim to write at least two quizzes in every category so that I can claim all twenty of the Author Rainbow badges at FunTrivia.

Claim comes through Middle English and Old French from the Latin 'clamare' meaning to call out. As a verb, it means to assert that something is true, or to call for someone's attention, or to demand as one's own. As a noun it can refer to an assertion of the truth, or a request for insurance compensation. It is also used to refer to a piece of land allotted or appropriated for mining purposes.

As a verb, to aim means to point something at a target, or try to achieve a specific goal, leading to the word being used as a noun meaning a purpose or intention. The word comes through Middle English and Old French from the Latin, 'aestimare' meaning to estimate or assess.

Answer: Clamber

If you clamber among the rocks along the coast you may be lucky enough to find a piece of amber.

Amber is a fossilized tree resin. It can be found in many different parts of the world, and is frequently used for making jewellery. It is usually a dark yellow or orange colour, but can be anything from very pale yellow to a dark brown. The word is sometimes used to refer to an orangey yellow colour. In particular, the colour shown between red and green in British traffic lights is usually described as amber. This has led to the word being used as a warning, since the amber light precedes the red light, which signals 'stop'.

The word 'clamber' comes from Middle English, and is derived from an obsolete form of the past tense of the verb 'to climb'. It is similar in meaning to the verb 'to scramble'.

Answer: Clanger

If you drop a clanger, you may arouse anger in those around you.

The word 'anger' comes through Middle English from the Old Norse 'angr' meaning grief. It can be used as a noun, when it is synonymous with wrath, ire, or fury. It is also used as a verb, meaning to provoke anger in someone.

When used to mean a mistake, the word clanger is an informal term, which is mainly found in British English. Some synonyms are blunder, gaffe, or faux pas. The word is also used in some parts of England to refer to a dumpling, usually made from a suet crust and filled with meat and / or vegetables. In the plural, the Clangers (capitalised) are a family of small creatures who live on a planet and communicate by whistling. They were created by Oliver Postgate and first appeared as a children's series on BBC television.

Answer: Clash

I frequently had a clash with my brother over whose turn it was to clear out the ash from the fireplace.

Coming from the Old English 'aesce', the word ash is used for the powdery remains of a fire which has burnt out. In the plural, ashes can be used for the remains of a deceased person after cremation. The Ashes, when capitalised, is used as a designation for the honour of winning a series of cricket matches between England and Australia. The Old English 'aesc' leads to the word ash as a species of tree, or the symbol where A and E are juxtaposed.

Clash can be used for incompatibility or conflict between two groups of people. It is also used for colours which do not sit well together, or discordant music. If two or more events are scheduled for the same time, the dates are said to clash.

Answer: Class

The children in the class took turns to have rides on the ass at the seaside.

Class is defined as 'a set or category of things having some property in common, differentiated from others by kind or quality' (Concise Oxford English Dictionary 1999). In biology it is the taxonomic group between phylum and order. In education, it may refer to a group of students or pupils who are taught together, or to a whole year group. The word is also used to describe a group of people who are of similar social or economic status. 'Class' comes from the Latin 'classis' meaning a division of people, or a grade.

As well as being used to refer to a donkey, ass is also used as a word for a foolish person. So the pupil who faced the wrong way on the donkey might be described as an ass riding an ass.

Answer: Clear

If each ear is clear of wax I can hear sounds easily.

As well as its obvious use for hearing, the ear is also used to aid balance in many mammals including humans. The word is also used to describe an ability to appreciate sounds, especially music, or to be willing to listen sympathetically to someone. It comes from the Old English 'eare'. When it comes from the Old English 'ear', it is used for the seed-bearing spike of a cereal plant, such as an ear of wheat or corn.

Clear has many different meanings. As an adjective, it could be easy to understand, transparent, free of obstructions, not touching a nearby object, or free from disease. As a verb, it can be used to clarify, get past something, free from guilt, or give approval for. The word comes through Middle English and Old French from the Latin 'clarus' (clear).

Answer: Cleft

You might be able to see an eft in a cleft.

If it's been raining, when you go for a walk in the hills there may be water lying around in some of the nooks and crannies amongst the rocks. Adult newts prefer a watery environment, especially during the breeding season, when eggs are laid in a pond. After the tadpole stage, the youngsters often live on dry land. Eft is often used as a crossword solution for a newt. The word comes from the Old English word 'efeta'. In zoological terms it is used for a juvenile newt.

Cleft is also the past participle of the verb 'to cleave', which can mean 'to split'. (It shouldn't be confused with an alternative meaning of 'to cleave', which means 'to stick firmly to something'.) This leads, through the Middle English word 'clift', to the sense of a crack in a rock.

Answer: Cleric

A cleric probably officiated at Eric's wedding.

The Eric referred to here is John Eric Bartholomew (1926-1984). His stage name of Eric Morecambe came from his middle name and his home town in Lancashire. In 1999 Queen Elizabeth II unveiled a statue of the comedian, which had been erected on the seafront looking out over Morecambe Bay. Eric Morecambe was well-known for appearing as one half of a double act with Ernie Wise (Ernest Wiseman), especially on television in 'The Morecambe and Wise Show'.

The name, Eric, or Erik, comes from the Norse, and means a forever ruler. The word cleric, meaning a priest or religious leader comes through the ecclesiastical Latin clericus (a clergyman) from the Greek klerikos which means 'belonging to the Christian clergy'. The adjective, clerical, can refer to the work of an office clerk as well as being used to describe something related to the clergy.

Answer: Clinch

Finishing an inch ahead of his nearest rival was enough to clinch the gold medal for the sprinter.

Clinch describes a conclusive settlement to a contest, or the finalisation of a contract; it can be used when two people grapple or embrace at close quarters. Clinch is also used for firm fixing of rivets or nails by bending the point sideways, or for a knot which is used by anglers to attach a hook or lure to a line.

Historic lengths were often based on body parts, such as a cubit from elbow to fingertip. A foot was an obvious choice for a measurement, and it was divided into either sixteen digits or twelve inches. The word inch comes through the Old English 'ynce' from the Latin 'uncia' meaning a twelfth part. The word is used in Scotland for a small island, but it comes from the Scottish Gaelic 'innis'.

Answer: Clink

The judge's pen ran out of ink just after he signed the order which required the defendant to spend several years in clink for a crime.

When I first learnt to write in ink rather than pencil I had a dip pen. My desk had a special circular hole which held a small container of blue ink, and I would dip the pen into the ink every few letters. Later, I progressed to a fountain pen, which had an internal reservoir, and a special lever on the outside which enabled me to fill that reservoir so that I could write whole pages without needing to refill the pen. Alas, both pens resulted in me getting my fingers covered in that blue ink.

As well as being one of many slang words for a prison, clink is also used for the sound made when glasses are touched together for a toast.

Answer: Cloak

The leaves of an oak tree in Boscobel Wood in Shropshire provided a cloak for the future King Charles II as he was escaping from the Roundheads after the Battle of Worcester in 1651.

A cloak is a loose outer garment which covers the whole body from the shoulders to the knees or even the ankles. The word comes through Middle English from the Old French 'cloke', which is a variation of 'cloche' meaning bell, possibly referring to the shape of the garment. A cloakroom is a place where outer garments and bags may be left for a while. In British English, it also refers to a room which contains a lavatory and washbasin.

The acorn is an egg-shaped seed of an oak tree, so it is regarded as the fruit of the tree. Perhaps confusingly, the oak apple is a gall formed by wasp larvae, and not a fruit.

Answer: Clone

One famous clone was Dolly, the sheep, who was created by a research team at the Roslin Institute near Edinburgh.

A clone is an asexually reproduced organism from a single ancestor, so it is genetically identical. It can also be used to refer to a person who is regarded as the double of another. Another meaning is an illegal copy of the security information for an electronic device.

One refers to a single item. The Roman numeral is I, and the Arabic numeral looks very similar - 1. One has the unique property of being a multiplicative identity. That means that any number, a, multiplied by 1 is still a, i.e. ax1 = a. This also results in the fact that 1 raised to any power, n, is still 1, i.e. 1^n = 1. It also happens that any number, b, divided by 1 is still b, i.e. b/1 = b.

Answer: Clout

I risked a clout round the ear if I did not go out to do my chores when told.

Archaically a clout was a piece of cloth or clothing, and the word was used as a verb to mean mending with a patch. The word has acquired informal usage as a heavy blow, or as power or influence. "Ne'er cast a clout till May is out" is an old English saying advising against casting off warm winter clothing too early in the year; there is, however, some uncertainty as to whether the saying refers to the month of May, or to the blooming of the hawthorn plant.

Out can mean to be away from home, or that something is no longer concealed, or to refer to a light that has been extinguished. Out is also used as a prefix to indicate something that is external, or exceeding the usual range.

Answer: Clown

Many people own a copy of Stephen King's book "It", which features a dancing clown called whose name was Pennywise.

The word 'own', meaning to possess, comes through Old English from the past participle of 'agan' meaning to owe.

The word 'clown' is used as a verb to mean acting playfully or comically. As a noun it is used for an extrovert or playful person, or for a comic entertainer. In the latter sense it is especially associated with some circus performers, who often wear exaggeratedly large clothes, false noses and extreme coloured wigs. They perform stunts which can verge on the ridiculous, but they usually keep the audience laughing throughout. They are sometimes accompanied by a 'whiteface' clown, who wears distinctive red and white make-up, and often a pointed hat, a ruffle and a white suit. Some people are terrified by these, and are said to suffer from coulrophobia.

Answer: Clutter

My mother would frequently utter harsh words about the clutter in my bedroom when I was young, but I am still an untidy person.

Clutter means things that are lying around untidily, or an untidy state. It can also be used as a verb meaning to fill a space with an assortment of untidy objects. The word comes from Middle English, and is a variant of a dialect word 'clotter' meaning to clot.

When utter is used as a verb, it can mean to make a sound or say something. It can also be used, in a legal sense, for putting forged money into circulation. It comes through Middle English from the Middle Dutch word 'uteren' which means to make known, or speak, or give currency to coins. As an adjective the word is used to mean absolute or complete. It comes from the Old English 'utera, uttra' meaning outer.