Upwords & Downwords XIV Trivia Quiz

Answer: persimmon

Like the banana, the persimmon is not commonly considered a berry, even though it is a true berry by definition. The word 'persimmon' is a Native American derivative meaning "dry fruit". The fruit is generally dry and crisp, and only edible when completely ripe.

Answer: misnomer

A misnomer is the use of a naming word to refer to a person or object that is suggestive of an interpretation known to be false. For example, the term "koala bear" suggests that the animal so called is a member of the bear family, when in fact it is unrelated.

Answer: memoirs

Though today the terms 'autobiography' and 'memoir' are nearly synonymous (at least in usage), it is technically almost a misnomer to use the word 'memoir' to refer to autobiographies in a general sense. In literary terminology, 'memoir' refers to a subclass of autobiography.

"Memoirs of a Geisha" (1997) is a novel by author Arthur Golden. The film adaptation was released in the US in December 2005.

Answer: isomer

Isomers are generally classified as either constitutional isomers (structural isomers) or stereoisomers (spatial isomers). Constitutional isomers have the same molecular composition, but the atoms are connected differently. Stereoisomers have the same molecular composition and atomic connections, but they differ in terms of spatial arrangement.

This latter class includes enantiomers (non-superimposable mirror images) and diastereomers (non-superimposable non-mirror images). Diastereomeric compounds are further sub-classified as either cis-trans isomers or conformers.

Answer: moire

Moire is formed by varying the tension on the threads during weaving or pressing. The word is a mutational derivative of the word 'mohair'.

Answer: rime

Rime, or hoarfrost, is a thin deposit of ice crystals forming a white film, which results when water droplets contact a cold surface and freeze almost instantaneously.

'Rime' is the Old English form of the modern English word 'rhyme'. The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge authored a work entitled "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner".

Answer: ire

Solving the cryptic clue "fire without a start", we remove the 'f' (the start) to yield 'ire'.

'Ire' refers to wrath or indignation.

Answer: re

The syllable 're' refers to the second tone (D) in a major scale. Solfeggio is a vocal exercise in which the sol-fa syllables are used to represent the tones of a scale.

Answer: e

The natural logarithm (ln) is the logarithm to base e (common logarithms use base 10). The number e, sometimes called Euler's number, is one of the most important numbers in mathematics, and is classed amongst other important numbers like the constant pi and the imaginary number i.

Answer: pe

Pe is the 17th letter in many Semitic alphabets, including Aramaic, Persian, and Arabic. The Greek letter pi (and the Latin p) originated from the Phoenician pe.

"An abbreviated (Pauline) letter backwards" is a cryptic clue referring to the short form of the word 'epistle' (ep). Turning ep backwards yields the answer, pe. Pauline epistles are those epistles attributed to the Apostle Paul in Scripture (e.g. Galatians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Timothy, etc.).

Answer: ape

The word 'ape' is synonymous with 'mimic' or 'imitate', and apes will often mimic human actions, so it's not difficult to see how the word acquired the meaning.

A hominoid is an ape in the primate superfamily Hominoidea. The hominoids include the lesser apes (e.g. gibbons) and the greater apes or hominids (e.g. gorillas, chimpanzees, orangutans, and humans).

Answer: neap

The tidal range is lowest during the first and third quarters of the moon. These so-called neap tides occur when the sun and moon are separated by 90 degrees and the sun effectively cancels out some of the gravitational attraction between the earth and the moon.

When the sun, moon, and Earth align during full and new moons, the tidal range is highest. These latter are called spring tides.

Answer: paean

The word 'paean' derives from the ancient Greek 'paian' meaning "song of triumph, any solemn song or chant". Paeans were songs of thanksgiving, triumph, or adulation and were usually choral in format. The earliest paeans appear in Homer's Iliad (e.g. the song of the Myrmidons following the defeat of the great Trojan warrior, Hektor).

Answer: canape

Canapes usually consist of thin slices of bread, pancakes, or other bases topped with cheese, caviar, foie gras, relish, or other savories. They are often garnished with herbs, truffle oil, scallions, caviar, and the like.

Answer: panache

Panache was not seen as a good quality until Edmond Rostand's depiction of Cyrano de Bergerac. In the play of the same name, Rostand established panache as a kind of courageous flamboyance more a virtue than a questionable trait. Indeed, Cyrano's last words read, " ... yet there is something still that will always be mine, and when I go to God's presence, there I'll doff it and sweep the heavenly pavement with a gesture - something I'll take unstained out of this world ... my panache". Panache came to be defined then as something added to greatness, perhaps the very spirit of courage.