Down Trivia Quiz

Answer: Incidental

A synonym for incidental is accidental or contingent. Antonyms for incidental include inevitable or necessary. Zelda Fitzgerald once stated: "I don't want to live, I want to love first and live incidentally."

Answer: Identical

Identical twins are called monozygotic which means they form from a single fertilized egg. After conception, the zygote splits into two parts, resulting in two individual embryos having the same genetic origins and subsequent DNA. Robert Brault once stated: "You can spend too much time wondering which of identical twins is the more alike." Having adopted two twins into our family from China -- I can relate!

Answer: Indicate

The word indicate is derived from the Latin word indicatus meaning to point. The word has many uses such as to point to, to make a sign of, to direct attention to, or to express or state. Victor Hugo, author of "Les Miserables," once stated: "Strong and bitter words indicate a weak cause."

Answer: Incited

Some synonyms of the word incite include instigate, goad, spur, exhort, induce, arouse, provoke, excite, and inflame. Incited is a word often used in the context of motivating a group of people to take action such as protestors inciting an angry mob. German philosopher, Novalis, once stated: "Life is a disease of the spirit; a working incited by passion. Rest is peculiar to the spirit."

Answer: Indict

The word indict is traditionally used in the context of a crime presented in front of a jury. For instance, a grand jury can indict a person for murder. Other synonyms also used with the word indict might include: accuse, criticize, charge, or castigate. One of my favorite Presidents, John F. Kennedy, once used the word indict in a famous quote: "To state the facts frankly is not to despair the future nor indict the past. The prudent heir takes careful inventory of his legacies and gives a faithful accounting to those whom he owes an obligation of trust."

Answer: Nitid

Nitid is a word that literally means bright and lustrous and is often used to describe the stars and the moon. Nitid is a great word, albeit a tad archaic. It is certainly a beloved word of Scrabble players everywhere. The lexicographers from Collins English Dictionary included it on a list of words they wished to exuviate (get rid of) back in 2008 in a desire to add over 2,000 more commonly used words. Lazarus Knix used the word Nitid in his poem, "In Gardens."

I have know that nitid song,
Which pens a sonnet in the east.
Watch it whirl like a sarong,
And tame the blackened boundless beast.

I have held it as a babe,
Within my crippled sight.
The pendulum of fragile earth-
Seasons, Hours, Night.

Answer: dint

Dint is another great scrabble word and is a favorite also for the cruciverbilist (architects of the crossword puzzle). Gustave Flaubert once stated that "By dint of railing at idiots, one runs the risk of becoming idiotic oneself." The word dint also shows up in the 5th verse of my most favorite Christmas Carol -- "Good King Wenceslas:"

"In his master's steps he trod, where the snow lay dinted;
Heat was in the very sod which the saint had printed.
Therefore, Christian men, be sure, wealth or rank possessing,
Ye who now will bless the poor, shall yourselves find blessing."

Answer: Tin

Tin is a group 14-metal element with an atomic number of 50 that is grouped with elements such as germanium and lead. It is a silvery, malleable and highly ductile metal used in plating other metals and in the production of various housewares and interestingly, church organ pipes. Rudyard Kipling used tin in more than one quote when making commentary on social topics. One such quote reads: "Politicians. Little tin Gods on wheels."

Answer: ti

Ti is actually a very cool two letter combination. Aside from representing the 7th tone on the diatonic scale, it is also the chemical symbol for titanium. Titanium is a silver, lustrous, versatile metal which is highly resistant to corrosion. One of the primary uses of titanium is in the manufacture of boat and aircraft parts. TI is also the abbreviation for Texas Instruments, the stage name for American rapper Clifford Joseph Harris, and a well known tropical flower known as the good luck plant (Cordyline fruticosa). I am sure you are thinking, how is he going to get a quote out of the word "ti?" Well Feliz Dia De Las Madres once stated: "Junto a ti aprendi el significado de la palabra mas Hermosa del mundo: Amor. Gracia Madre!" Translated this means, "By your side I learned the meaning of the most beautiful word in the world: Love! Thank you Mother!"

Answer: I

The lower-case letter I is usually accompanied by its tittle (small dot). In Morse code it is represented by two dots and in Hebrew it is closely related to the symbol yodh. I is also the first-person singular nominative case personal pronoun used to refer to self in the English language. Lots of quotes contain the letter "I," but one of my favorites is by Buddha -- "I am the miracle."