You Cannot Be Serious Trivia Quiz

Answer: Cheery

First of all, an explanation of the solution:

Unserious 9 starts with the same letter as Unserious 6 and therefore both must begin with either an 'F' or an 'I'. However, we are told that Unserious 8 begins with 'In', so Unserious 9 and Unserious 6 have to be the 'F's. Unserious 6 can't have just five letters as it has more letters than Unserious 7, so it is Flippant and Unserious 9 is Funny.

Unserious 7 and Unserious 3 have the same number of letters as each other so can only be five or six-letters long - but as Unserious 1 has an even number of letters, it has to be one of the six-letter words (since it can't be Flippant). Therefore, the remaining two five-letter words have to be Unserious 7 and Unserious 3; the latter of these two comes later alphabetically, so it is Minor and Unserious 7 is Light.

With the allocation of Light and Minor, the only word left available that contains no repeated letters is Joyful, so that has to be Unserious 5. This leaves the other six-letter word, Cheery, to be Unserious 1.

Unserious 2 can't end with an 'L', so it has to be Insincere and Unserious 8 therefore has to be Inconsequential. Finally, as Unserious 4 comes before Unserious 10 alphabetically, these must be Superficial and Trivial respectively.

---

One meaning of the word 'serious' relates to the character or temperament of someone who is solemn, thoughtful or grave. Generally speaking, a person displaying these characteristics is unlikely to be described as 'cheery', which implies a happy person who is likely to greet you with a smile and less likely to publicly show any stresses that they may be under.

Answer: Insincere

If somebody is not being serious then they may also be insincere. Many jokes are based on statements that simply aren't true but are made purely for the purpose of entertainment. If the listener doesn't 'get' the joke then they may later come to view the comedian as an insincere or dishonest person if they discover that the story they've been told isn't true.

Answer: Minor

The word 'minor' has several different definitions, but the one of relevance if someone asked "it cannot be serious?" is the one meaning that something is of lesser importance or lesser severity - i.e. a minor illness or a minor incident. (The other definitions can mean a child or young person; a type of musical key or scale; or a second subject studied by a university student in the USA).

Answer: Superficial

If something is superficial then it might have a showy external cover, but very little substance at its core. Therefore, the word would be an antonym of 'serious' in both the sense that something is of significant importance or that it is deep and meaningful.

Answer: Joyful

If someone is joyful then they are probably exuberantly expressing their happiness to those around them. Although it shouldn't be implied that someone who appears serious can't feel joy, it is probably fair to assume that they won't be displaying their happiness in a particularly playful or light-hearted way.

Answer: Flippant

A flippant response is one which shows a lack of respect and is careless, glib or irresponsible. Giving such a quick off-the-cuff remark would indicate that a person does not consider the subject matter to be important or serious enough to warrant a more thoughtful response. If the flippant remark has come from someone who is usually more conscientious then you might be justified in responding with "You cannot be serious?", as it is always possible that they are attempting to be funny.

Answer: Light

Seriousness can also refer to a piece of music, literature or art that needs significant thought and thorough consideration to be appreciated fully. A book described as a 'serious tome' is more likely to be a deep philosophical work than a light and fluffy romance novel. Obviously, this use of the term 'light' relates to a metaphorical version of its definition of 'not heavy' rather than its definition of 'not dark'.

Answer: Inconsequential

The term 'serious' can also mean that something is important, critical or of significant consequence. Therefore if it cannot be considered serious then you would be justified in calling it 'inconsequential' and shouting "You cannot be serious!" at anyone who attempts to prioritise it over something really critical.

Answer: Funny

If you hear someone exclaim "You cannot be serious!" then it is entirely possible that someone has attempted to play a joke on them by telling an unlikely story. Trying to be funny in this way can prove dangerous - the person on the receiving end of the joke may see the funny side, but if they are a particularly serious person then they may end up rather angry with you for attempting to trick them or make them look foolish.

Answer: Trivial

Trivial is an adjective that means something is unserious or of little or no importance in the grand scheme of things. It is closely related to the noun, 'trivia', which can be used to refer to minutiae or details that are of little significance. However, I suppose anyone taking this quiz who is a regular player on the FunTrivia website will be all too familiar with the meaning of both these terms...!

Any self-respecting trivia buff is also likely to know that "You cannot be serious" is probably the most famous quote attributed to the tennis player John McEnroe - who apparently couldn't quite believe some of the decisions made by the umpire of one his matches at Wimbledon.