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The Ups and Downs of Warfare Trivia Quiz

Start with an eight-letter word (a weapon of war). The next word will be one letter less and may need to be unscrambled. After you get down to one letter, I'll begin to add letters to make a new word. Have fun!

A multiple-choice quiz by reedy. Estimated time: 8 mins.

Author
reedy

Time
8 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
370,712

Updated
Jun 07 22

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
11 / 15

Plays
2291

Awards
Editor's Choice

Last 3 plays: Despair (15/15), alythman (10/15), vlk56pa (15/15).

Question 1 of 15

1. The first word of 8 letters is a siege weapon from which multiple arrows could be launched for long range shots.

Answer: (8 Letters)

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Question 2 of 15

2. Drop a letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that describes the material placed low in a vessel to improve its stability.

Answer: (7 Letters)

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Question 3 of 15

3. Drop another letter and rearrange the rest to make a fine-grained black volcanic rock.

Answer: (6 Letters)

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Question 4 of 15

4. Lose another letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that is explosive.

Answer: (5 Letters)

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Question 5 of 15

5. Again, drop a letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that describes a food seasoning also used for food preservation.

Answer: (4 Letters)

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Question 6 of 15

6. Drop yet another letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that describes what you likely did on a chair recently.

Answer: (3 Letters)

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Question 7 of 15

7. Lose a letter once again to make a word that describes a location or an arrival to a destination.

Answer: (2 Letters)

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Question 8 of 15

8. Drop one last letter to leave yourself with a letter grade worth a 4.0 towards your grade point average.

Answer: (1 Letter)

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Question 9 of 15

9. Now add a letter to make a word that is the fourth syllable in the solfege scale.

Answer: (2 Letters)

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Question 10 of 15

10. Add another letter for a word that indicates something at a great distance from you.

Answer: (3 Letters)

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Question 11 of 15

11. Add another letter to make a word that is an emotion you feel when you are scared.

Answer: (4 Letters)

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Question 12 of 15

12. Add yet another letter and rearrange them to make a word that means a bright flash of light.

Answer: (5 Letters)

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Question 13 of 15

13. Now add a letter and rearrange them to describe what you might verbally receive from your parents when you disobey them or from your coach when you don't play well.

Answer: (6 Letters)

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Question 14 of 15

14. Add the quiz's penultimate letter and rearrange to make a word that is a negative response to a request.

Answer: (7 Letters)

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Question 15 of 15

15. Finally, add one last letter and rearrange them to describe what there are many of following battles during wartime.

Answer: (8 Letters)

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Most Recent Scores

Dec 18 2024 : Despair: 15/15
Dec 11 2024 : alythman: 10/15
Dec 10 2024 : vlk56pa: 15/15
Dec 08 2024 : joecali: 5/15
Dec 07 2024 : Jdoerr: 10/15
Dec 05 2024 : Guest 24: 8/15
Dec 02 2024 : japh: 12/15
Dec 01 2024 : rustic_les: 14/15
Dec 01 2024 : sabbaticalfire: 15/15

Score Distribution

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The first word of 8 letters is a siege weapon from which multiple arrows could be launched for long range shots.

Answer: Ballista

One of the earliest descriptions of ballistae can be found in the Bible. King Uzziah of Jerusalem had engines that "could shoot arrows and large stones" (II Chronicles 26:15). King Uzziah lived in the 9th and 8th century B.C.

Philip II of Macedon, along with his son Alexander (the Great), made popular use of ballistae, finding them to be versatile both as a siege weapon and as artillery.

2. Drop a letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that describes the material placed low in a vessel to improve its stability.

Answer: Ballast

Ballast can actually take many forms, including people. Essentially, anything that is used to provide stability to a vessel (both on water and airborne) is ballast. Historically, ballast was stone or sand, but in more modern times, ballast tanks are filled with water and kept well below the outer waterline.

3. Drop another letter and rearrange the rest to make a fine-grained black volcanic rock.

Answer: Basalt

Basalt is a common igneous rock formed from rapidly cooling lava at or near the surface of the Earth. It is black to grey in colour to begin with, but the mineral content of its makeup will gradually turn the rock to a brownish-red rust colour.

4. Lose another letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that is explosive.

Answer: Blast

A blast can be an explosion or the effect of an explosion, or really, any sudden and violent experience. You could blast a hole into rocks, or experience the blast of a shock wave. Or perhaps it's a blast of cold air or your neighbour blasting their stereo annoying you.

5. Again, drop a letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that describes a food seasoning also used for food preservation.

Answer: Salt

The chemical composition of common salt is NaCl, or sodium chloride. Salt has been used for centuries as a seasoning and for food preservation. The word 'salary' has its origins with salt, as the Latin 'salarium' referred to the money used by Roman soldiers to buy salt.

6. Drop yet another letter and rearrange the rest to make a word that describes what you likely did on a chair recently.

Answer: Sat

You can sit down, and you can sit up. Oddly enough, if you do either, you can end up in the same position. Personally, I prefer sitting around... all day, if I can manage it.

7. Lose a letter once again to make a word that describes a location or an arrival to a destination.

Answer: At

In addition to the many uses of the word 'at' in common usage, it has become super prevalent as an integral part of email addresses, with the use of the @ symbol.

8. Drop one last letter to leave yourself with a letter grade worth a 4.0 towards your grade point average.

Answer: A

Grading systems vary from country to country, and sometimes even within the country itself. In Canada, education is a provincial matter rather than a federal one, so there are differences in the grading system between the provinces.

9. Now add a letter to make a word that is the fourth syllable in the solfege scale.

Answer: Fa

When using solfege with a non-transposing scale (C Major - no flats or sharps), Fa is equivalent to the musical letter F.

Do (C), Re (D), Mi (E), Fa (F), So (G), La (A), Ti (B).

And of course, Fa is also a long, long way to run, according to Maria.

10. Add another letter for a word that indicates something at a great distance from you.

Answer: Far

I find it interesting that most of the uses of the word 'far' indicate something in the distance, either physically or in time, but the phrase 'so far' can mean 'up to the present', or 'up to now', which is definitely not far.

11. Add another letter to make a word that is an emotion you feel when you are scared.

Answer: Fear

Use of the word 'fear' dates back to the 12th century and holds its origins with the Old English word 'faer', meaning sudden danger.

12. Add yet another letter and rearrange them to make a word that means a bright flash of light.

Answer: Flare

A flare, or 'flaring', is not only a reference to light or flame, but can also mean something that spreads outward in a similar visual sense. An example would be having a rash flare up (spread out more from its origin, and/or become more sensitive), or to wear bell-bottom pants.

13. Now add a letter and rearrange them to describe what you might verbally receive from your parents when you disobey them or from your coach when you don't play well.

Answer: Earful

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the first known use of the word 'earful' was in 1911. It is a very descriptive word, given that you only get an earful when someone is either berating you, or talking at you so incessantly that it is annoying (listening to a gossip).

14. Add the quiz's penultimate letter and rearrange to make a word that is a negative response to a request.

Answer: Refusal

To refuse something is to reject it or to turn it away. It is fitting, then, that as a noun, refuse is something worthless and to be discarded.

The origin of the word is from the Old French 'refuser' (and prior to that the Latin 'refundere', meaning to pour back). This is also the basis for the word 'refund'.

15. Finally, add one last letter and rearrange them to describe what there are many of following battles during wartime.

Answer: Funerals

Warfare happens for many reasons, but the result for all sides is sadly the same - many deaths and many corresponding funerals.

Death in battle can be honourable or glorious, or tragic and meaningless, strategic and sacrificial, or wasteful and brutal. In the end, funerals serve to honour those who have given their lives. Sadly, there are many who have died in war without ever having a funeral, represented only by memorials to unknown soldiers.

Source: Author reedy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Tizzabelle before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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