Upwords & Downwords I Trivia Quiz

Answer: nerves

The word 'jitter' came into use between 1920 and '25, and is an alteration of the word 'chitter' or 'chatter' (meaning 'to shiver').

Answer: sever

Interestingly enough, 'sever' can also mean 'to touch another person with one or more of one's fingertips in an annoying way'.

Answer: veer

To shift to a direction less nearly astern would be to haul. 'Veer' (or 'wear') also means 'to turn away from the wind'.

Answer: ere

'Ere' is the early modern English form of the Old English word 'aer' (ME 'er'), and means 'previous to' or 'before'.

Answer: Er

Erbium (Atomic # 68) is a soft, malleable, silvery element of the rare-earth group (lanthanide series). It is used in metallurgy, nuclear technology, fiber-optics, and glass and porcelain color treatment.

Answer: ret

Retting is the separation of bast (woody) fibers from the core tissues of the plant. Commercial retting is traditionally done by water-retting or dew-retting. The former involves soaking water and relies upon the pectin digesting action of anaerobic Clostridium bacteria in soil.

The latter depends on the degradation of cell-walls by the removal of matrix materials, a function carried out by aerobic fungi. Chemical retting, enzyme retting, and other methods have been explored.

Answer: erst

A word with similar roots to the word 'ere'. 'Erst' is from the Old English 'aerest' (ME 'erest').

Answer: terse

A very short form of poetry involving a rhyme used to solve a question is called 'Terse Verse'. See the following for examples:

A bird-shaped vegetable -
Parrot Carrot

A material drink is -
Silk Milk

Answer: berets

Berets were originally worn by Basque peasants.

Answer: betters

John Wayne used the word in the movie "Big Jake" (1971). Speaking to his son, Jacob 'Big Jake' McCandles (Wayne) says, "Well, son; since you don't have any respect for your elders, it's time somebody taught you some respect for your betters!"