Anagrammed Crazy Definitions Trivia Quiz

Answer: ALLOY

ALLOY = Loyal

A loyal person is one who demonstrates constant support, steadfastness and/or allegiance to a person, group or institution.

In our workplace we gave a special morning tea to a quiet unassuming man who had worked for the organisation for 23 years. We bought a plaque, engraved it, and thanked him for his service. His response was concise. "Thank you", he said "But I only stayed because I could not find another job somewhere else". End of speech. He sat down and had another piece of cake. He did leave his mark - he inspired this question in this quiz.

Answer: RELY

RELY = Lyre

There are not too many four letter anagrams of RELY, lyre being the only acceptable English word. As it is not possible for an inanimate object to be ascribed anthropomorphic characteristics, word play must be involved. Harps and lyres are similar stringed instruments but they originate from Asia/Africa and Ancient Greece respectively. LYRE and LIAR are homophones, each fitting one of the words in the clue.

Answer: HI AGES

HI AGES = Geisha

The phrase 'made in Japan' became popular in the 50s and 60s when Japan recovered after WWII and had a massive increase in the manufacturing sector commensurate with a thriving export economy. However the phrase uses 'maid' which is a homophone of MADE. A Geisha is a hostess rather than a maid, but for the purposes of the definition it is fitting.

Answer: TEN RIM TREE

TEN RIM TREE = Retirement

Retirement is something to look forward to after literally a lifetime at work. A sad fact is that for most people, retirement means living on a lot less money.

Answer: THE HYLA

THE HYLA = HEALTHY

Hyla is a common species of frog.
Healthy means full of health, the opposite of sick or at its worst, dying. However when each of us is born, we are a bit closer to our death than we were a minute ago. So being healthy is a way to prolong life or at least have the 'slowest possible rate of dying'.

Answer: VIE CORD

VIE CORD = Divorce

Many people equate wedding and marriage as being the same thing. However, a wedding is day of celebration whereas a marriage is a lifetime of commitment. In the western world in 2010 the US had a divorce rate of 53% of marriages but there were six European countries that were higher, including Belgium at 70% and Luxembourg at 87%. By comparison Great Britain and New Zealand were more modest at 43% and in Australia and Canada the rate was 38%. Though it is somewhat cynical, divorce being the state of a 'marriage in the future' is not inaccurate.

Answer: LATINO FIN

LATINO FIN = Inflation

Inflation is a marker of the economic health of a country. Most of the western world had an inflation rate of 2-4% in 2017/8, though South Sudan's was above 100% and Venezuela's rate was around 800,000% for the same time period. 'Cutting money in half' is a reference to inflation meaning, not literally but figuratively, inflation erodes the value of the currency. However, at the rate of 4% per year, it would take more than a few years to 'cut the value in half'.

Answer: REPEATER

REPEATER = Repartee

Wit, quip, repartee, and wisecrack are all synonyms for intelligent humour where we can say (or write) words that are clever and funny. There is also an element of quickness - you have to respond quickly, a difficult task and most people when they do think of something witty, the moment has long passed. So the phrase 'Snappy comeback you think of the morning after the dinner party' is correct that the wit comes too late, for most people.

Answer: ANCIENT HEIR

ANCIENT HEIR = Inheritance.
Word play is involved here. 'Dead Giveaway' is a phrase that means 'Words or phrases that disclose, nearly always unintentionally, a fact or statement'. For example, 'The car in the carport was a dead giveaway that someone was in the adjacent house'.
By the same token, an inheritance is something given to you when someone dies, so in a very literal sense a 'dead giveaway' is an inheritance.

Answer: PETTY NITRATES

PETTY NITRATES = Paternity Test

A paternity case is the utility of genetic fingerprinting to establish whether two individuals are biologically parent and child. In nearly all cases it is used to determine if a male is the father of a particular child. 'Pop Quiz', normally meaning a 'spot test in a classroom' is a rather flippant but literal descriptor in this context.