Word Search Triples - Colour Edition Quiz

Answer: white

The three words are HOUSE (reading up the first column), NOISE (right-to-left on the top row) and GOLD (diagonally from the final square on row 2).

The White House first became the home and office of the President of the United States in 1800, although it has undergone several extensions since that date.

White noise is a technical term for a random signal and turns up in several disciplines including physics, statistics and broadcasting - the buzzy black and white screen seen on an analogue television set when no broadcast signal is present is an example of white noise.

White gold is an alloy of gold and any of a variety of 'white' metals such as nickel or palladium. When used in jewellery it is usually plated with rhodium and bears a strong resemblance to silver.

Answer: red

GIANT (reading up the final column), HOT and EYE (both running diagonally left-to-right from the second column) can all be preceded by 'red'.

A red giant is a star that has used up its core supply of hydrogen and as a result has become cooler and larger. Eventually (after about a billion years) it transforms into a white dwarf.

Red-hot can refer to the glowing appearance of an item that has been heated to a high temperature but is also a phrase meaning that something is extremely popular or successful.

Red-eye is a visual effect where people in photographs appear to have red eyes and is also a term for a plane flight that departs in the middle of the night and arrives in the early morning.

Answer: green

Green can be followed by PARTY (fourth row), FLAG (second column) and MILE (right-to-left across the third row).

Many countries around the world have political organisations known as the Green Party, which commonly promote policies relating to environmentalism, conservation and ecological sustainability. The first Green Party member to become head of a national government was Latvia's Indulis Emsis in 2004.

A green flag in motor racing is used to mark the start or re-start of a race and also indicates that conditions on a section of track are safe, with no restrictions or cautions in place.

'The Green Mile' is a 1996 novel by Stephen King that was made into a film of the same name, starring Tom Hanks, in 1999.

Answer: yellow

FEVER (first column), RIVER (diagonally from bottom-left) and PAGES (reading up the fourth column) all relate to yellow.

Yellow fever is a virus spread to humans by mosquito bites. Most infections worldwide occur in Africa, but it is also relatively common in tropical areas of South America. It can be fatal, although there is a good chance of survival if the patient doesn't develop the second, more toxic, stage of the disease when jaundice becomes a common symptom.

The Yellow River is also known as the Huang He and flows across China to the Bohai Sea near Beijing. It is the third-longest river in Asia.

The 'Yellow Pages' is a business advertising and telephone directory produced across the world. It is printed on yellow paper and originated in the US in the late 1890s.

Answer: purple

A Purple HEART (top row) is a medal awarded to men and women killed or injured during US military service. Although the modern medal was first granted in 1932, it followed on from the original Purple Hearts that were created by George Washington to reward soldiers of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

A purple PATCH (right-to-left on fourth row) is a British phrase used to describe a period of great success or good luck. Alternatively, it is another name for a 'purple passage' of over-elaborate language in a literary work.

'Purple RAIN' (reading up the fourth column) is a song and album by Prince as well as a film of the same name in which he starred as "The Kid" - the lead singer of a band.

Answer: brown

NOSE (diagonally towards the top-left square), BEAR (diagonally from second row of the final column) and OWL (diagonally towards the bottom-left square) can all follow the colour brown.

To 'brown-nose' means to be sycophantic towards someone, often agreeing with someone purely because they are important or famous rather than because they are correct.

The brown bear, Ursus arctos, is one of the biggest and most common bear species found around the world. It has many subspecies including the grizzly bear and Kodiak bear.

The term brown owl is another name for the tawny owl (Strix aluco). It is also the name commonly used by the leader of a pack of Brownie Guides in the UK.

Answer: blue

Blue is the colour that can precede BLOOD (right-to-left on the second row), ANGELS (final column) and BOTTLE (reading up the fourth column).

Blue blood is a (non-literal) term for someone born into the aristocracy, nobility or (more generally) the highest social classes.

The Blue Angels are the aerobatic display team of the US Navy. The squadron was formed in 1946 and regularly performs at air shows around the country.

A blue bottle is a large fly in the genus Calliphora, which gets its name from the bright blue colouring of its abdomen. It is also known as a bottlebee and has the Latin name Calliphora vomitoria - which is probably quite apt as many people would feel like vomiting if they saw blue bottle maggots crawling around...

Answer: grey

Gray WOLVES (diagonally from the bottom-right square) are lupine animals also known as timber wolves or western wolves and are native to most of the northern hemisphere. They are both highly territorial and highly social; they tend to live in family groups or packs and collectively raise the offspring of the mated pair who act as pack leaders.

Grey MATTER (diagonally from the top-right square) is a term for the cells that make up the human brain and spinal cord as well as the remainder of the central nervous system. Agatha Christie's famous detective Hercule Poirot had a habit of talking about the prowess of his "little grey cells".

Grey HAIR (right-to-left on the second row) is hair that has lost its pigmentation and is a particularly irritating sign of ageing.

Answer: orange

COUNTY (fifth column), JUICE (diagonally from final square on the second row) and ORDER (right-to-left on second row) can all follow orange.

Orange County is the name of eight separates counties of US states, although perhaps the most famous examples are Orange County, Florida - home to most of the Walt Disney World Resort - and Orange County, California - part of Los Angeles that contains Disneyland and gave its name to the TV series 'The O.C.'.

Orange juice is what you end up with if you decide to squeeze some oranges and is a useful source of vitamin C.

The Orange Order is a Protestant organisation founded in Ireland in the late 18th century. It is now associated with unionist politics in Northern Ireland and has been at the centre of controversial marches through nationalist (and generally Catholic) neighbourhoods of the country.

Answer: black

PUDDING (diagonally from the bottom-right square), WIDOW (right-to-left along the bottom row) and FRIDAY (diagonally from the bottom-left) are the words in question and the answer they relate to is black.

Black pudding is a delicacy in northern England and is a type of sausage made from pigs' blood. It commonly appears as part of a 'Full English' breakfast.

A black widow is a term used for a woman who murders her husband (or several husbands). It is also a highly venomous spider with a distinctive red hourglass shape on its abdomen.

Black Friday is the name given to the day after Thanksgiving in the United States, which marks the start of the Christmas shopping period. In the 21st century it has become synonymous with sales and discounts (as well as overcrowding and violence) and has spread to other countries around the world.