Bafflement & Bewilderedness in Buenos Aires Quiz

Answer: ar

Buenos Aires is the largest city and capital of Argentina, the seventh largest country in the world in area and the second largest in South America. In 2016, this country had a population of 44 million of which 2.9 million lived in the capital.

For standardisation, each country has a unique country code top-level domain. For Argentina, this is "ar".

Answer: rio

Rio de la Plata (River of Silver) is an estuary that separates Argentina from its northern neighbour Uruguay. Both capitals (Buenos Aires and Montevideo respectively) are on the banks of the estuary. Some geographers think of the estuary as a river or a gulf. If the former is true it is the world's widest river at 140km across in parts.

Rio is the the Spanish word for river. Rio de la Plata was actually named by Italian Sebastian Cabot. The Italian word for river is "Fiume".

Answer: sere

The height of the Andes stops the moist air from the west washing over the Patagonian Desert area making it an arid land. It is a cold desert but snow rarely occurs.

Sere is a synonym for arid or withered though its contemporary use is limited.

Answer: brass

With a name like Argentina, one would expect this country to have a large mining industry and it does, particularly in silver, gold, zinc and copper, with copper making up over 40% of its non-fuel mining output.

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc so one would guess there would be expected to be a large brass presence in Argentina.

Answer: aerie

The Chaco eagle or crowned solitary eagle (Buteogallus coronatus) is an endangered bird of prey from eastern and central South America. It is found in marshes and woodland, unlike its relative the montane solitary eagle, which lives only in dense mountain forest.

Regardless nearly all eagles build their nests high off the ground often on cliff faces. These nests are called aeries.

Answer: senor

The Spanish word "Senor", spelt with a virgulilla (tilde) above the "n" to give it a nasal pronunciation, is the equivalent of "Mister" in English. Originally used to address someone above one's station, this usage, like "Mister" in the UK, is obsolete and it is used today as a mark of respect.

Answer: urbane

With a city that gave the world the tango, and where the European immigration came mainly from Spain and Italy, one would expect people in this city do be sartorially resplendent. And they are. The demand for high end clothing is high, and a larger proportion of the average wage is spent on clothing more than nearly all of the rest of the world.

"Urbane" comes from France meaning "of a city", the premise being city folk are more sophisticated than their rural cousins.

Answer: serious

Asado is used in Argentina as American and Australians use "barbecue", both for a range of grilling techniques and the social event of having or attending a barbecue. The asado is usually beef, lamb or goat grilled over a slow fire. Embutidos (sausages) and offal often accompany the main meats. It is usually accompanied with mate, the national drink or red wine and salads.

"Serious" is usually meant as sombre or humourless, but it can also mean crucial or weighty. It is in the latter context that it is used in a the above example.

Answer: senoras

Senora (with a tilde above the "n") is the Spanish-language equivalent of Missus or Mrs. and often is used as the definition for someone that is married. A girl who is not married would be addressed as "Senorita".

Answer: bareness

Argentina is becoming more urbanised (incidentally "Urbanise" is also an eight letter word that can be made from the letters of "Buenos Aires"). Most of the land on the shoreline of Rio de la Plata is now urban and this area has the highest population density in the country.

Bareness is related to barrenness, bleakness and desolateness but it can also mean vacancy, emptiness, depletion, and exhaustion.