Movies, Books, Etc. - In Other Words Quiz

Answer: Klaatu and Gort

The actual film title in this case is 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', a 1951 film directed by Robert Wise and featuring a Martian (Klaatu) and his robot friend Gort. 'Telluric' is an adjective derived from the Latin 'tellur-, tellus', meaning 'Earth'. 'Perambulate' is a fancy way of saying 'to travel from place to place' (literally, to 'walk around', from the Latin 'perambulare').

Answer: Jane Austen

Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice' (1813) is considered by many to be her greatest work, and by some to be the greatest work in the history of English literature. One definition of 'pride' is 'excessive self worth', while, to look at someone with 'a jaundiced eye' suggests a certain preconceived resentment, akin to prejudice.

Answer: Pirates of the Caribbean

'Pirates of the Caribbean' was the apt title of the megahit film starring Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush that hit theaters in 2003. 'Picaroon' is a rather obscure term that means 'rogue, scoundrel', and can be used to describe a pirate. The Caribbean Sea stretches from Central America at its westernmost extend to the Lesser Antilles at its far eastern end.

Answer: Leo Tolstoy

Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy wrote the epic 'War and Peace' from 1865 to 1869, and fortunately chose a less orotund title than perhaps I could have suggested.

Answer: The Beatles

Since 'Lucy' is the name of the most famous fossil remains of the proto-human species 'Australopithecus Afarensis', the sky is sometimes referred to as the firmament in literature/poetry, and diamonds are indeed 'clear, colorless crystaline forms of pure carbon', it's possible that the Beatles could have gone with the above title. Thank the firmament they didn't!

Answer: Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali's haunting surrealist painting 'The Persistence of Memory' is certainly one of the most prized works of modern art. Since when one persists s/he prolongs a certain activity, and since 'mnemonic powers' (mnemonic being derived from the Greek 'mnumonikos', meaning 'mindful') is another way to describe memory, Dali could have gone with my more exciting title. Why he didn't is beyond my powers of comprehension!

Answer: M*A*S*H

Of course most people know that 'M*A*S*H' stands for 'Mobile Army Surgical Hospital', but do they know that 'ambulant' means 'mobile', that 'lazaretto' is an historical term for 'hospital' or that an army of a nation might be described as its 'martial forces'? 'M*A*S*H' was not only a television show (that ran from 1972-1983), it was also a 1970 film and a novel by Richard Hooker about his experience as an army surgeon during the Korean War.

Answer: Claude Monet

Luckily, Claude Monet chose the title 'Water Lilies' to describe his series of pictures of said flowers, rather than using my suggestion. Monet painted the almost abstract 'Water Lilies' in his garden at Giverny during the latter period of his life.

Answer: Charlie Chaplin

Charlie Chaplin wrote and directed 'The Great Dictator' in 1940, during a time when Hitler was just beginning his plan to conquer Europe. Chaplin's Hitler character was named Adenoid Hynkel, dictator of the mythical land of Tomania.

Aside from 'monocrat', another fun word for dictator is 'autarch'.

Answer: Mozart

Mozart's 1787 serenade entitled 'A Little Night Music' (German title: 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K.525') is one of his most well-known pieces.