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The Easy Way or the Hard Way Trivia Quiz

Straight Clues or Cryptic Clues

Newspapers sometimes publish a crossword with both easy, or "straight" clues and harder cryptic ones. This quiz does the same, so you have two chances to solve each question. The answers all relate somehow to the words "easy" or "hard".

A multiple-choice quiz by spanishliz. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
spanishliz

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
414,498

Updated
Nov 17 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
139

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

Last 3 plays: _juno_o (6/10), Kwicky (4/10), Guest 73 (0/10).

Author's Note: Use either the "easy way" or the "hard way", or both, to solve the clues.

Question 1 of 10

1. The Easy Way: Aptitude
The Hard Way: Initially, find a cold, inky lake, I tell you! Easy!

Answer: (One word (8 letters))

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. The Easy Way: An easy task (informal; British)
The Hard Way: UK handout embraces short sober party companion, and gets the job done.

Answer: (One word (6 letters))

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. The Easy Way: Part of a Western saddle; something easy
The Hard Way: One hundred leads a twelfth of a foot. Simple!

Answer: (One word (5 letters))

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. The Easy Way: Birthday treat, or an easy task (Br.)
The Hard Way: Easy as I cap Coke fee? Stir it and see.

Answer: (Three words (5,2,4))

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. The Easy Way: Simple as apple, pecan or lemon meringue
The Hard Way: Simple as 3.14, we hear.

Answer: (Three words (4,2,3))

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. The Easy Way: Hard
The Hard Way: In the end, could I riff off Bambi, Eric? You will not. It's hard.

Answer: (One word (9 letters))

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. The Easy Way: Unachievable
The Hard Way: SS Impi Bole was shaken by the difficult waves.

Answer: (One word (10 letters))

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. The Easy Way: Potentially dangerous (slang); twisted
The Hard Way: Look at Ragnar, Lynn, on that scary big wave.

Answer: (One word (6 letters))

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. The Easy Way: Burdensome
The Hard Way: Alternately, you need room ups...oh, that's not possible!

Answer: (One word (7 letters))

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. The Easy Way: Hard to chew
The Hard Way: Crazy! Oh, tug hard!

Answer: (One word (5 letters))

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Most Recent Scores

Nov 07 2024 : _juno_o: 6/10
Oct 15 2024 : Kwicky: 4/10
Oct 10 2024 : Guest 73: 0/10
Sep 23 2024 : piet: 0/10

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The Easy Way: Aptitude The Hard Way: Initially, find a cold, inky lake, I tell you! Easy!

Answer: Facility

Easy: If one has a facility for learning something, they have an aptitude for that thing, and find it easy to pick up.

Hard: Initially is the indicator that the first letters of the following words should be used to find the answer, while "easy" points to a word related to ease: Find A Cold Inky Lake I Tell You = Facility

2. The Easy Way: An easy task (informal; British) The Hard Way: UK handout embraces short sober party companion, and gets the job done.

Answer: Doddle

Easy: If something is a doddle you can do it with your eyes closed. It's extremely easy.

Hard: UK handout (i.e. money) = Dole. Sober party companion = Designated driver, but they're short, so DD. When the first embraces the second, we have Do(DD)le while "gets the job done" alludes to the task. UK does double duty, also indicating that the answer is a British term.

3. The Easy Way: Part of a Western saddle; something easy The Hard Way: One hundred leads a twelfth of a foot. Simple!

Answer: cinch

Easy: The cinch of a saddle holds it on the horse. The word is also an informal term meaning something easy to do.

Hard: One hundred = the Roman numeral C. A twelfth of a foot is an inch. C+inch = cinch. Simple is the indicator that we want an answer related to "easy".

4. The Easy Way: Birthday treat, or an easy task (Br.) The Hard Way: Easy as I cap Coke fee? Stir it and see.

Answer: Piece of cake

Easy: Most birthday parties include a cake with candles, and giving a piece of cake to the attendees. The term "a piece of cake", meaning a task that's very easy to do, originated in the 1930s in the Royal Air Force.

Hard: "Stir it" indicates an anagram, which will allow you to see the answer. "Easy as" tells us that the answer has that connotation, leaving us "I cap Coke fee" to anagram and arrive at "piece of cake".

5. The Easy Way: Simple as apple, pecan or lemon meringue The Hard Way: Simple as 3.14, we hear.

Answer: easy as pie

Easy: The clue gives a list of types of pie after the statement "simple as".

Hard: "We hear" indicates a homophone, so "simple as 3.14 (pi)" becomes "easy as pie".

6. The Easy Way: Hard The Hard Way: In the end, could I riff off Bambi, Eric? You will not. It's hard.

Answer: Difficult

Easy: Hard is a synonym of difficult.

Hard: In the end indicates you need to use the last letters of the following words, so:
coulD I rifF ofF bambI eriC yoU wilL noT gives us "difficult". I don't know who Bambi and Eric are, really, but they're probably musicians and I'm talking about "riffing" or improvising off something they've played.

7. The Easy Way: Unachievable The Hard Way: SS Impi Bole was shaken by the difficult waves.

Answer: Impossible

Easy: If something is unachievable, it is impossible to achieve.

Hard: Shaken indicates an anagram of ten letters (see hint) and difficult tells one that we aren't looking for an easy option. SS Impi Bole (steamship Zulu regiment tree trunk?) anagrams to "impossible".

8. The Easy Way: Potentially dangerous (slang); twisted The Hard Way: Look at Ragnar, Lynn, on that scary big wave.

Answer: gnarly

Easy: Gnarly, meaning twisted like an old tree's trunk or branches, was adopted by surfers as a slang term to mean difficult or dangerous, coming into more general use in the USA.

Hard: "Look at" indicates a hidden word: raGNAR LYnn. Ragnar and Lynn are likely surfers, looking for a gnarly wave to ride.

9. The Easy Way: Burdensome The Hard Way: Alternately, you need room ups...oh, that's not possible!

Answer: onerous

Easy: A burdensome or difficult task can be described as onerous.

Hard: Alternately indicates that you should use every other letter in the following words: yOuNeEdRoOmUpS... with that word upstairs cut off to express the difficulty of providing that (and to make the clue work!)

10. The Easy Way: Hard to chew The Hard Way: Crazy! Oh, tug hard!

Answer: Tough

Easy: Meat that is hard to chew is described as tough.

Hard: The word "crazy" indicates an anagram. "Oh tug" switches around to give us "tough", which can be a synonym for "hard" (like a quiz, perhaps).

Source: Author spanishliz

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Fifiona81 before going online.
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