Making Lead From Gold Trivia Quiz

Answer: Gild

Gilding in reality can give real brilliance to something (admittedly subjective). However, it may be for this very reason that to gild may be to bring false brilliance to something. After all, whatever is under the gold plating still remains, whether it be good or bad...

Answer: gill

Gills increase the surface area as much as possible to facilitate the transfer of carbon dioxide and oxygen. An average freshwater sample has about 1/50 the amount of oxygen compared with normal air, which helps explain why gills are often multiple in number and comprised of folding slits. Gills can also be used to excrete salts, necessary for fishes that drink copious amounts of seawater and cannot process all the salt.

Answer: mill

A mill can more generally be used to break any solid material into smaller constituents. However, the grain to flour example is one I thought many would be familiar with. The ball mill grinds down solids by impacting them with stone or metal balls that grind the solid down as it rotates, and is a common form of mill. Mills have a high energy requirement, and can be powered by many forms. Windmills and watermills are powered by wind and water respectively, for example.

Answer: moll

Moll Flanders was the literary character alluded to here, as written in a book called "The Fortunes and Misfortunes of the Famous Moll Flanders" (1721). In said book, she was a criminal (particularly a thief) and "Moll" was a nickname, as she was careful not to reveal her real name.

The coincidence with the definition of the word moll is probably just a coincidence in this case, as that word is said to derive from the Yiddish for 'thief' and was coined in the early 1900s.

Answer: mold

Molds have been used for many years, as, for example, primitive molds were used in the Bronze Age to forge weapons. Molds can be used to set plastic, glass, metal, and food, amongst other materials. Examples of items set in a mold can include jellies, cases and emblems.

Answer: meld

In canasta, a meld is a set of at least three cards that consist of the same rank (except 3s, which follow special rules). However, since 2s and Jokers are wild cards, they can also be incorporated into these melds, as long as they are a minority constituent (for example 6, 6 & 2 would work). In classic canasta, players are dealt 11 cards, and a canasta is a meld of 7 or more cards. Creating a canasta in a partnership game is necessary before one can legally drop out of the game, by discarding their last card.

A meld can also be to blend or combine, as stated in the question. An example of this term used in popular culture was the Vulcan mind meld, used in the television series "Star Trek". This technique could be used to combine thoughts and experiences between two people, and was a skill the Vulcan race possessed.

Answer: held

Held is a word with many meanings. In addition to the above, it can be to have embraced someone in a hug, to have carried an object, to have kept someone imprisoned, to have retained a secure position, and to rule or decide something in court, amongst other definitions. This word has therefore held much significance in the English language and communication.

Answer: heed

In this case, transmuting gold to lead, I probably did not heed the warnings my head told me when I had the notion of doing so. Most often, then, heed is used in the context of either paying attention to a certain piece of advice, sensation or information.

As a random aside, Heed was also the name of a Swedish power metal band formed in 2004, and a munchkin cat, which has tiny legs because of a genetic mutation (aww).

Answer: reed

Reeds are often tall and often prefer to grow in temperate or tropical environments. Their quality of often growing in close proximity to other reeds frequently leads to the formation of reed beds, which have a distinctive visual identity. Reed can also be the name given to the thin canes or rods that exist inside musical instruments, and, when vibrated by blowing air such as in a clarinet, emits the tuneful sound people enjoy when playing and listening to clarinets and such other similar instruments.

Answer: read

Reading seems like such a natural thing, but it's not often I have personally thought about how it is defined. In this case, when we try to comprehend the meaning of text we examine the collection of symbols (or letters, in this case) and mentally interpret their meaning.

However, even though we have certain accepted meanings for a particular word, placing them together can lead to difficult-to-interpret scenarios. For example, a mobile phone text can often be easily misinterpreted, which can sometimes be humorous or rage-inducing. To read is not just to interpret words, but also facial expressions and events, as suggested by the definition I used here.