Compound Words - Alphabetics A-H Quiz

Answer: Aftermath

The opposite of before = after
A school subject dealing with numbers = math
After + math = Aftermath

The word aftermath is usually associated with disaster or unfortunate events.

Answer: Buckshot

A male deer = buck
An injection = shot
Buck + shot = Buckshot

Buckshot is the little pellets in a shotgun shell.

Answer: Cowlick

A bovine = cow
What you do to an icecream with your tongue = lick
Cow + lick = Cowlick

A cowlick is a tuft of hair that grows in a different direction than the rest of your hair. It comes from the idea that your hair looks like it has been licked by a cow.

Answer: Downfall

Opposite of up = down
Another word for autumn = fall
Down + fall = Downfall

Downfall can mean something that leads to someone's ruin or it can mean a sudden heavy fall of rain or snow as in a downpour.

Answer: Eyeball

Organ of sight = eye
A thing you bounce = ball
Eye + ball = Eyeball

Although eyeball is usually thought of as a noun synonymous with eye, it can also mean to look at something very closely.

Answer: Firefly

Another word for a blaze = fire
Soar through the air = fly
Fire + fly = Firefly

Fireflies, or lightning bugs as they are sometimes called, are actually beetles. There are about 2000 species. (Source: nationalgeographic.com)

Answer: Grapefruit

A red or green fruit that comes in bunches = grape
What apples and oranges are = fruit
Grape + fruit = Grapefruit

Grapefruit was originally a New World citrus but now can be found all over the world.

Answer: Gunboat

What a rifle or a pistol is = gun
Another word for ship = boat
Gun + boat = Gunboat

Gunboat diplomacy is diplomacy backed by military might. Theodore Roosevelt is most famous for using it.

Answer: Haircut

The stuff on the top of your head = hair
What you do with scissors = cut
Hair + cut = Haircut

Haircut and hairdo are synonyms but only the first one fits the entire clue. Some types of haircuts are the crew cut and the buzz cut. Types of hairdos are the beehive and wave.

Answer: Headlight

What is on your shoulders = head
The opposite of dark = light
Head + light = Headlight

Surprisingly headlights, or headlamps as they were first called, have been around since the late 1800s. But headlights were not required until the 1940s.