Very Long Words Trivia

1. In Lawrence Durrell's novel "Justine" (1957), he observes, "One could not expect more from an intruder of gifts who almost by mistake pierced the hard banausic shell of Alexandria and discovered himself." What does "banausic" mean in this context?

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' B Words

Answer: ordinary, unrefined

The adjective "banausic" carries several denotations: ordinary, usual, unrefined, common, materialistic, uncultured. It derives from the Ancient Greek "banausos", meaning someone with a mechanical (as opposed to intellectual) occupation. This term derives from "banausikos" meaning manual labour, as contrasted to the (superior) life of the mind.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Mouthfuls

Answer: something when you have nothing to say

"Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" has 34 letters and is pronounced "soo-per-kal-uh-fraj-uh-lis-tik-ek-spee-al-i-doh-shuhs". Many dictionaries list its meaning as exciting and wonderful. The word was made popular by the the song writers The Sherman brothers and Disney's "Mary Poppins", who described it as a nonsense made up word that meant "something wonderful when you have nothing to say". According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the word was around 30 years before Mary Poppins sang "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" and was invented by a columnist named Helen Herman in 1931. Helen Herman engineered the word with multiple words that meant exciting. She tried to sue the Sherman brothers for copyright infringement, but the Sherman brothers won in the end.

From Quiz Sesquipedalian Logodaedaly!

Answer: About 46 centimetres

Sesquipedalian literally means "a foot and a half long" - or about 46 cm. "Sesqui-", meaning "one and a half", is a much-underused prefix, I think!

From Quiz Lexicological Grandiloquence

Answer: Zimmer frame

Translation: What's the proprietary name of the contraption made of tubes which is used by, among others, frail elderly people to help them walk? "Design" is used in the sense of "intent". To "perambulate" in the broad sense is to move around the room, the universe, or anything between. A proprietary name is one over which a party has some legal rights, especially as a trade mark. If you don't believe me, check out the Oxford English Dictionary, whence all the definitions of loooooooooooong words in this quiz come.

From Quiz "Spizzerinctum", A to Z

Answer: sandy

Our word "arena" comes from the same root as "arenose". Sand was found on every forerunner of today's arenas in ancient Rome (and of course, in Spain's bullrings!).

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' B Words

Answer: to be suitable, appropriate

The verb "behoove" means to be necessary, to be appropriate, to be suitable, to be befitting, to be in one's own best interest. An alternative British spelling is "behove". The Modern English term derives from the Old English "behofian", meaning to need, and the Old English "behoof" which means suitable or fit for a purpose. Compare the Proto-Germanic "bi-hof", the Frisian "bihof", the Dutch "behoef", and the Swedish "behöva".

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' A Words

Answer: herbalist/pharmacist/physician

In differing times and places, an apothecary functioned as an herbalist, a pharmacist, a prescribing physician, a surgeon, and a midwife. Medieval apothecaries either grew or collected herbs believed to be useful in healing. A modern apothecary has a degree (or two) in pharmacology and is skilled in the arts of compounding and dispensing all manner of drugs. The mortar and pestle are common apothecary symbols used by pharmacies in the US, Scotland, Germany and Scandinavia.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Mouthfuls

Answer: It is the action or habit of estimating something as worthless.

"Floccinaucinihilipilification" has 29 letters and is pronounced "floc·ci·nau·ci·ni·hil·i·pil·i·fi·ca·tion". According to Alpha Dictionary and Dr. Goodword, it was first used in 1741 by the English poet William Shenstone, in a letter accusing a friend for his worthless love of money. It is an extra long compound word made up of four smaller Latin words: "flocci", "nauci", nihili", and "pili". Each of these words mean of little value or "trifle".

From Quiz Sesquipedalian Logodaedaly Redux!

Answer: Pencil in next evening in your daytimer

A "nychthemeron" is literally "a night and a day", or a 24-hour period. Oh, and for those who haven't done Part 1 yet, a "gynotikolobomassophile" is someone who loves ("-phile") to nibble ("-masso-") on the lobe ("-lobo-") of the ear ("-otiko-") of a woman ("gyn-"). (There, now you've got a free answer when you do that quiz!)

From Quiz "Spizzerinctum", A to Z

Answer: stuttering or stammering

Blesiloquence is stuttering or stammering. Porky made his fortune with his speech impediment. Melville's young sailor, however, as readers will recall, met his end partly through his stammer!

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' B Words

Answer: kindness, gentleness

In medical terms, benignity means generally harmless and specifically non-cancerous. To be told that a tumor suspected of being malignant is, in fact, benign is a cause for relief. The original meaning of benignity is the quality of being gentle, kind, gracious, and of good will. The Modern English noun "benignity" relates to the adjective "benign". Late Middle English borrowed "benignité" from the Old French, which borrowed it from the Latin "benignus" meaning kindly, generous, and friendly.

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' A Words

Answer: an indirect reference

An alternative to the Merriam-Webster book is "The Oxford Dictionary of Reference and Allusion" published in 2010. Both attempt to catalogue, in alphabetical order, numerous allusions which may appear in speech or literature. An allusion is a reference to or indirect mention of something outside the scope of the present subject matter. The reference may be to a person, place or thing, an event, a work of literature, a myth or fable, scripture, or work of art. Some works are so filled with allusions that they are published in annotated versions with the referents identified in footnotes. One of the more challenging forms of allusion occurs when a writer or speaker adopts a few words, a phrase or clause from literature without placing the reference within quotation marks. English novels are notorious for such allusions to the King James (Authorized) Bible and the Book of Common Prayer.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Mouthfuls

Answer: the state of being able to achieve honours

"Honorificabilitudinitatibusis" is pronounced "hon·ori·fi·ca·bil·i·tu·dini·tat·i·bus". Honorificabilitudinitatibus is the longest English word with alternating consonants and vowels. Shakespeare invented the word for his play "Love's Labour's Lost", and used it in a scene with Costard the clown: "I marvel thy master hath not eaten thee for a word; for thou art not so long by the head as honorificabilitudinitatibus: thou art easier swallowed than a flap-dragon." (Act V, Scene I)

From Quiz Sesquipedalian Logodaedaly!

Answer: Groucho Marx

Groucho started his career wearing a greasepaint moustache, and later grew a real one, hiding the two little ridges on his upper lip - his philtrum!

From Quiz Lexicological Grandiloquence

Answer: An innate desire to attain its opposite margin

Translation: Why did the chicken cross the road? A: To get to the other side. Hoary old joke, but I hope you enjoyed its new garb. If you're into hair-splitting, the OED describes a "capon" as a castrated cock (as well as a kind of fish).

From Quiz "Spizzerinctum", A to Z

Answer: growing

"Crescive" and "increase" have the same root "to grow". The crescent moon got its name because its lighted area would soon grow larger with time. The popular croissant got its shape from the crescent moon on the Islamic flag; Viennese bakers showed their city's defiance and pride by making them in the shape of their enemy's symbol. (Croissants, of course, aren't in the habit of growing!)

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' B Words

Answer: a second-hand bookstore

A bibliopole is a seller of old books, especially rare books. Bibiopolist is a synonym. The term(s) derive from the Latin "bibliopola" which derived from the Greek "bibliopoles" meaning a seller of books. Contrast the French "bouquiniste" which means a peddler of books of little monetary value. The Anglican Bibliopole sold second-hand books on Anglican theology, liturgy, history, biography, devotion, and music. Sadly, their store closed in 2011.

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' A Words

Answer: a verb tense

Because the aorist tense does not exist in Latin, Romance languages nor Germanic languages, it can be difficult for students of Ancient Greek to master. It also occurs in a few other languages (e.g. Sanskrit). It is very similar to the simple past tense in English and appears often in narrative. The aorist can be described as simple in that it indicates an action but says nothing about that action's continuation or completion.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Mouthfuls

Answer: the fear of long words

"Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia" has 39 letters and is pronounced "hi·puh·paa·tuh·muhn·strow·suh·skwipt·a·lee·ow·fow·bee·uh". Sesquipedalophobia is another shorter term for the phobia. This fear is considered a social phobia, where a person may be afraid of having a conversation or be under intense stress around around people. The American Psychiatric Association doesn't officially recognize this fear. However it may be a legit fear on a spelling test.

From Quiz Lexicological Grandiloquence

Answer: pps

Translation: I write and sign a letter. I then discover that I've missed something, so I put it as a ps [i.e. postscript] after my signature. I then discover that I've forgotten something else again, and add it after the first postscript. What do I call the second postscript? pps means, of course, "post-postscript" - i.e. "after-after writing". "Codicil", like many other words, has a specific meaning (in this case, an addition to a will), but can also be used in a more general sense of a written or spoken addition to anything. I could, for example, give a codicil to this paragraph. ps Like this. pps "Lacuna" means "a hiatus, blank, missing portion". Use it in conversation. People will adore you and fall fainting at your feet. They will fight for possession of your spent cigarette butts. They will quite literally kill each other from sheer jealousy of one of your glances. (Well, it works for me!)

From Quiz Some Really Long Words

Answer: Big Bird (from "Sesame Street")

Big Bird, that big, yellow creature on "Sesame Street", stumbles upon the English alphabet (abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz) and has absolutely no idea what it means. Thinking it's a really long word, with the accompaniment of a band, he breaks into a song! He starts singing "Abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz", pronouncing it as "(ab-cud-ef-gï)(jek'l-m'nâp-kwûr)(stööv-wik-ziz)"! He is under the notion that after ascertaining the meaning of "abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz", his "brilliance" as a bird will be known the world over.

From Quiz "Spizzerinctum", A to Z

Answer: skin

The root of "deric" is similar to that of "dermal".

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' B Words

Answer: light-hearted, happy, without care

The adjective "blithe" had been used in English for several hundred years before it was compounded with the suffix "-some" in the 6th century. If "blithe" meant gay, cheerful, eupeptic, and upbeat, so did blithesome. The same thing happened to gladsome, lightsome, winsome, and lonesome.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Mouthfuls

Answer: volcanoes

"Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis" has 45 letters and is pronounced "noo·muh·now·uhl·truh·mai·kruh·skaa·puhk·si·luh·kow·vaal·kei·now·kow·nee·ow·suhs". It is a fictitious disease caused by inhaling microscopic silicate particles originating from eruption of a volcano. The word was created by a puzzle-smith named Everett M Smith, President of the National Puzzler's League and a writer for the Christian Science Monitor magazine. He created the word by combining a series of medical and science terms during a puzzlers conference as an example of the increasing length of science terminology. The word was reported to The New York Herald-Tribune in February 1935 and subsequently added to the 1939 Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

From Quiz Lexicological Grandiloquence

Answer: One two three four five six seven eight nine ten

Translation: Count in order the fingers and thumbs of a humanoid's hands. My brachial appendages are the things on the end of my arms - i.e. my hands. My digits are my fingers. My eyes are green. My hair is obsolescent. My secrets are my own.

From Quiz "Spizzerinctum", A to Z

Answer: investigating

"Expiscate" literally means "to fish out"; it's used as another word for investigate, as to "fish" for the truth.

From Quiz Sesquipedalius' A Words

Answer: arete

The Ancient Greek noun "arete" cannot be translated precisely into Modern English. It means excellence. It can also mean virtue. The poet Homer used it, as did the philosophers Plato and Aristotle, and the apostle Paul of Tarsus. It carries the sense of a thing which fulfills its purpose. It can mean living up to one's full potential or being the best one can be. In English it means the sum or aggregate of those qualities which make up an exemplary character. It carries the sense of fulfilling one's whole potential.

From Quiz Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious Mouthfuls

Answer: the underlying skin beneath the fingertips

"Subdermatoglyphic" has 17 letters and is pronounced "sub-dermato-glyph-ic". This is the longest word in the English language that doesn't use any of its letters twice. This refers to the underlying skin beneath the fingertips that determines the pattern formed by the whorls, arches, and ridges in a fingerprint. Each individual has their own unique pattern, that will reform in many cases, even if the outer skin is cut or damaged.

From Quiz Sesquipedalian Logodaedaly Redux!

Answer: "I see London, I see France, I see somebody's calzoons!"

It's an obsolete word for "underpants", related to Italian "calzone". (And please don't mail me with ways to make "underpants" work in the other sentences. I really don't want to know.)

From Quiz Sesquipedalian Logodaedaly!

Answer: Pentapopemptic

"Herpetofauna" (reptile life) are generally "squamaceous" (scaly) and "poikilothermal" (cold-blooded), but not usually "pentapopemptic" (divorced five times).

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