Not Green and Sweet, but Tired and Beat Quiz

Answer: Depleted

Weakened, beat, bushed - these are also words that sum up excessive feelings of tiredness. The word "Depleted" means to be drained of all energy as we understand it today, or to be emptied in some way. It sprang into use in 1807 when applied to the long term practice of blood letting though, a bizarre treatment used by the medical professions for many centuries in the belief that they were draining away negative humours in a patient that were making that person ill.

DE, the first part of DEPLETED refers to the De Beers international organisation that specialises in diamonds, mining for them and selling them to various society outlets, from retail buyers to manufacturing companies. The second clue is PLEAT. You'll often see folded pleats around the skirts of school or sports uniforms - and this gives you the sound, PLET. D, of course, is the fourth letter of the alphabet. That gives you DE-PLEAT-D, which becomes DEPLETED.

Answer: Wasted

Limp, prostrated, shot - more words that can describe the feeling of being completely beat. Surprisingly the word "Wasted" in regard to tiredness, has actually been in use since the late 14th century. Today, it is usually applied to someone who has had too much to drink, but even that has been around for longer than thought. It began to be used in the 1950s.

The hidden word WASTED can be seen in the above question as: "WAS TED at the party last week?"

Answer: Exhausted

Other ways to describe exhaustion are worn out, all in and bone weary. The word "Exhausted" has been in use since the mid 17th century, where it meant back then, as now, to be used up, consumed or tired out. It comes down to us from the Latin word "Exhaustus" which was defined as used up, emptied, or taken away.

The FRACTURE for the answer is explained as follows: HACKS sounds like HEX (A witch's evil spell) which sounds like EX; SOURCED sounds like SAUCED, which gives you the "haust" sound to the word; and TAD sounds like TED, which when all combined together gives you HEX-SAUCED-TED = EXHAUSTED.

Answer: Weakened

Dead tired, dog-tired, done for - more expressions to describe great tiredness. The word "Weakened" has been with us in the English language since the late 14th century. It meant then, as it does now, to become enfeebled, to become drained of energy and to lose the strength to perform at one's peak efficiency.

Saturday and Sunday are known collectively as the WEEKEND, which sounds like WEAKENED. Did you get that one?

Answer: Enervated

All done in, effete, and had it - these are other different ways to describe great weariness. When the word "Effete" made its way into the English language in the 1620s, according to an online etymology dictionary, it meant "functionless as a result of age or exhaustion", and, somewhat insultingly, past the child bearing age. That's a rather peculiar association, you'll agree, but it's because of the word's connection to the word, fetus. Ah, the good old days, back to the times when most women were looked upon as little more than walking wombs.

VENERATED means any object, place or person regarded with great reverence and honour. When anagrammed, it gives you the completely drained of energy word, ENERVATED.

Answer: Frazzled

Kaput, out on one's feet, out of gas - these terms also sum up great feelings of exhaustion. "Frazzled", when it first appeared in 1825, actually referred to unravelling clothing, or the fluffy bit at the ends of rope. It sprang from the Middle English word "Facelyn" in the mid 15th century, and meant at that time, to fray. It doesn't say how it evolved from that original meaning to one associated with tiredness, but possibly it's because, when we're in that state, it's a little like feeling frayed around the edges.

The word FRAZZLED is broken down as follows: F is the sixth letter of the alphabet. If you RAZZ someone you have made a contemptuous buzzing sounds with your lips and tongue to express scorn or mockery. Showing someone to a seat is LEADING them there, and the past tense of that is LED. All this equals F-RAZZ-LED = FRAZZLED.

Answer: Debilitated

Ready to drop, tired out, run down - more means of describing exhaustion. "Debilitated", as used back in the 1520s, meant impaired in some way, or made completely inactive. This word came from the Latin "Debilitatus" which meant to weaken. "Bilis" originated in the proto-Indo-European word for strength, and the prefix "De" means away from. It's quite fascinating at times to trace the evolution and development of words. The word "Chunder" for example, which is an Australian slang term for vomit, and nothing to do with this quiz, apparently arose from an old courtesy rule on sailing ships. If you were going to be sick, and rushed to the rails of the ships to do so, it was considered a courtesy to cry out, "Watch Under!" to the people below on lower decks, in order for them to quickly get out of the way. That piece of whimsy, however, cannot be substantiated.

I hope you had no trouble figuring out the missing letters of E,I,I,A,E for this word to fit into the Dblttd = D-E-B-I-L-I-T-A-T-E-D

Answer: Wearied

Out of business, tapped out, simply had it - still more words to express weariness. "Wearied" is a word that entered the English language via the Anglo-Saxon settlers who arrived in the country during the mid-fifth century. Its Old English form was "wergian" which translated into "to be, or become, tired". It is also connected to the old Germanic language and the word "werig" which translated to "tired, miserable and sad". That just about sums it up.

The FRACTURE for this answer is broken down as follows: WEIR (a small overflow in a waterway acting as a mini dam) sounds like WEAR, the first part of your answer. READ, as in having perused the written word, sounds like RIED, the second part of your answer = WEARIED.

Answer: Sapped

Busted, coming unstuck, fall apart - all further ways to sum up great tiredness. As far as this feeling goes, "Sapped" entered the English language around 1750 but with a different meaning. Initially it meant to start digging a trench or tunnel towards an enemy's position. The word continues today in the British army in the form of "Sapper", a soldier who helps build or repair roads and river crossings, or lays and removes mines. The extended meaning, as far as tiredness goes, is to weaken or destroy, or drain away the vital sap. This quiz is making me frightfully sleepy, just in passing.

If you cook something in the microwave, this is known, in layman's terms, as ZAPPING it, and the past tense of that word is ZAPPED - which sounds like SAPPED.

Answer: Drained

Falling to pieces, out of commission, out of whack - these are still more expressions to describe exhaustion. "Drained" arose in the Old English word "Drahnian" which meant to draw or absorb something gradually. This of course referred to liquids. From there, with the same meaning, it moved into Middle English in the form of the word "Dreinen". By the 1580s, it had evolved further to mean to flow away gradually and that, when applied to energy levels, gives one the sense of energy levels becoming more and more depleted.

Dandy is a somewhat old-fashioned word to describe a man who is very conscious of his appearance and the fashionable clothing he wears. Looking DANDIER than everyone else means he's the very epitome of the male fashion plate. My father was a bit of a dandy. He was always checking out the way he looked and the angle of his hat in the bathroom mirror before he went out. My aunt said he accidentally sat on it once, which rather displeased him. He also regularly trimmed his eyebrows and nostril hair before the eyes of his fascinated children. In short, he looked dandier than everybody in town - men OR women. That word of course can be anagrammed to become DRAINED.