Challenging Analogies Trivia Quiz

Answer: DIURETIC : URINATION

A mnemonic is a pattern or other device that aids in memory, just as a diuretic is a substance that aids in urination. A nephrolith is a kidney stone, and has nothing to do with digestion. If anything, a scotoma, which is a blind spot or partial loss of vision, deprives a person of proper visualization, and of course an anesthetic is a substance used to remove feeling in a patient.

Answer: CHALUMEAU : CLARINET

Much as a sackbut was an early form of the trombone, used during Renaissance times, the chalumeau was a precursor to the clarinet. A cornet is a currently employed instrument that is very similar to the trumpet, and a helicon is a type of tuba which encircles the instrumentalist's head. Bassoons and oboes are both double-reeded woodwind instruments of the same family.

Answer: PARTISAN : PREJUDICED

Something that is tenable is believable and credible, while someone who is partisan is prejudiced and one-sided. If you are indignant you are angry and annoyed because of poor treatment; a complacent person would have no such worries, being overly self-satisfied.

When you are prostrate you are exhausted, quite the opposite of one who is invigorated, or energized. An acquisitive person is looking out for their own self-gain, while a magnanimous person looks to benefit others.

Answer: PECCABLE : QUINTESSENTIAL

Someone who is obstreperous is noisy and uncontrollable, while an even-tempered individual could be called equable, quite the opposite. Someone who is peccable is sinful, while a quintessential person has no flaws, also opposites. Malodorous and noisome are both words used to describe something that smells awful. Something that is sumptuous may also be described as luxurious, both meaning opulent and splendid.

A person who is sanguine is quite optimistic, or buoyant, as the case may be.

Answer: URSINE : BEAR

Caprine is an adjective that describes something that relates to or resembles a goat. Ursine provides the same function vis-à-vis bears. The term ovine relates to sheep, not chickens. Cows are bovine, not horses. Vermian is an adjective relating to or describing something shaped as a worm.

The proper adjectival term for bees is apine; for horses, equine; for chickens (and all poultry), gallinaceous.

Answer: PUPIL : EYE

Naris (Pl. Nares) is another term for one of your nostrils; one of two external openings on your nose. Likewise, the pupil serves as an opening to your inner eye. Your tonsils are masses of lymphoid tissue in the back of your throat. Auricle is one of two names for your outer ear (also, pinna).

The largest artery in your body is called the aorta; it directs oxygenated blood from your heart to the rest of your body.

Answer: CANTON : SWITZERLAND

Russia is divided into administrative regions called oblasts, much as Switzerland is divided into cantons. The diet is the legislature of Japan. Taoiseach is the Irish Gaelic term for the prime minister of the country. The term mandarin is an archaic one describing a bureaucrat from the imperial age of China.

Answer: PRATE : BLATHER

Saunter and amble are both synonyms of 'walk', but more specifically they mean to walk leisurely and slowly. Prate and blather, both verbs denoting talking, also have a more specific correlation. Both mean to talk foolish nonsense at length. The other three sets of terms are somewhat synonymous, but are not as closely correlated. To nibble is to take small bites or eat a tiny amount, while to scarf something means to eat hungrily and in large quantities. To glimpse something is to see it briefly, while when you scrutinize something you look it over thoroughly. Typically, when we blanch food we immerse it briefly in boiling water, but when we broil food we place it under high, dry heat for an extended period.

Answer: ERUCTATION : BELCHING

To masticate (derived from the Latin 'masticare') means to chew, just as a belch is an eructation (also from the Latin 'eructare'), as I'm sure you knew. To vociferate is to shout, not quite what yawning is about. Similarly, sneezing doesn't have much to do with ululation, another word for wailing and lamentation.

As for 'sniffing' and 'flatulence', two words that are not much the same, these are two activities that should remain very much apart, or so I would claim.

Answer: KABBALAH : JUDAISM

While Sufism is a mystical movement of Islam, the Kabbalah is a Jewish mystic tradition. The catechism is a set of questions and answers used by Catholics to teach the principles of the religion. Moksha is a Sanskrit term that correlates with Nirvana. It is the release from the samsara, or cycle of life.