A Veritable Vein of Verbiage Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vanadium

There is only one chemical element that starts with a 'V'. The others alluded to are beryllium, titanium and yttrium.

Originally named erythronium in 1801 by Spanish-Mexican mineralogist Andrés Manuel del Río, he was persuaded by others that his element was in fact chromium. He named it for the red colour of its salts on heating.

Some 29 years later Swedish chemist Nils Gabriel Sefström was able to prove the existence of a new element which he named after Vanadís, one of the many names for Freyja. German chemist Friedrich Wöhler later showed erythronium and vanadium to be one and the same. He is also credited as co-discoverer of beryllium as well as isolating the elements beryllium, titanium and yttrium.

Answer: Victory

The photo clue shows Nike, the (often winged) Greek goddess who personified victory.

The ship, launched in 1737 and sunk in 1744 with loss of Admiral Sir John Balchen and 1,150 hands, was the last British first-rate armed entirely with bronze cannon. For many years it was believed wrecked on the Casquets in the Channel Islands, where wreckage identified with the vessel had been found. In 2008, the main wreck was found some 80 km away at a depth of 100 metres.

It had been built to replace the previous HMS Victory which had been accidentally burnt in 1721 during breaming (the process of cleaning the bottom of a vessel of weed and shells by scraping and burning).

There have been six vessels in the British Navy bearing the name 'Victory', the most famous of which, Nelson's flagship at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805, was launched in 1765 and in 1922 was moved to dry dock to become a museum ship.

Answer: Vendetta

The photo clue shows the style of mask worn by V. It may be familiar as it has made its way into real life during various street demonstrations. It is the mask adopted by the Occupy movement, the hacktivist group Anonymous and various other anti-establishment groups in recent times.

The 2006 film differs considerably from its graphic novel origins. The novel is more about anarchism against a fascist state during the 1990s compared to the film's more American-style liberalism versus neo-conservatism conflict.

Vadimony is a bond or pledge for appearance before a judge on a certain day, volery is flight of birds or an aviary and vulpicide is one who kills a fox, except in hunting; also, the act of so killing a fox (all definitions from www.webster-dictionary.org).

Answer: Venezuela

Venezuela is located on the north coast of South America and is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, those which are considered to have extreme biodiversity. It was colonised by the Spanish during the 16th century and it was during the 16th century when the first known shipment of Venezuelan oil occurred - a barrel of oil to help with King Charles V of Spain's gout.

The photo shows the Angel Falls, the world's highest waterfall which is in Venezuela.

Answer: Vinegar Hill

The end of the 18th century was a time of upheaval which saw the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-1799). Ireland, although nominally independent, was in effect a client state of Britain at the time. As disorder increased, the British used sectarianism as a tactic to divide and conquer.

The United Irishmen, inspired by the French and American revolutions, rose up against the British following the imposition of martial law in March 1798. The rebellion failed. It was characterised by atrocities, mostly against the losing side. There were over 30 military engagements in five months. Wolfe Tone, leader of the United Irishmen, sought help from the French. On three occasions French soldiers attempted to land in support of the United Irishmen, succeeding only once with a force of 1,000 during the rebellion.

The photo shows a train tanker carrying acetic acid, the organic compound which when diluted with water is typically called vinegar.

Answer: Vihuela

The vihuela is a five-stringed instrument typically found in mariachi folk music bands in Mexico. It is unusual in that it is typically uses re-entrant tuning. This is where the strings are not in order running from highest to lowest pitch (or visa-versa). In the case of the vihuela, the third, fourth and five strings are an octave higher than you would expect.

There is also an unrelated Spanish guitar-shaped instrument with the same name. The Spanish vihuela is known as the viola da mano in Portugal and Italy. It has six double strings compared to the Mexican vihuela's five single strings. The photo shows the Mexican version.

Answer: Barbara Vine

Multi-award winning writer Ruth Rendell started off as a reporter for her local paper, with her employment there coming to an end after reporting on the local tennis club AGM and dinner. Unfortunately she had not gone to the event and so missed the unexpected death of the after-dinner speaker whilst in mid-flow. It is not recorded as being a suspicious death.

Her pseudonym comes from her middle name combined with her great-grandmother's maiden name. With over 70 books to her name, she is now a Peer sitting in the House of Lords and goes by the title Baroness Rendell of Babergh.

The photo was taken in an ivy-draped cemetery. Ivy, shown climbing as a vine, is the clue.

Answer: Video Killed the Radio Star

The song was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley. It was first recorded by Bruce Woolley and The Camera Club, a band formed by Woolley. It is however the version recorded by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, performing as The Buggles, which was made into the video appearing on MTV.

As well as being the first music video aired on MTV, it was also the one-millionth.

The photo shows the tuning dial on a radio.

Answer: Vaticide

"Collins Dictionary" gives the definition as the murder of a prophet or a person guilty of this. The other words involve worms (vermicide), viruses (virucide) and foxes (vulpicide). The photo shows wine vats.

Answer: Johannes Vermeer

Known for his use of light in his paintings, he painted domestic scenes in middle-class houses. Dying at the age of 43 and leaving considerable debts, his work was forgotten about until he was re-discovered in the 19th century. His photo-realistic renditions and some apparent optical distortions recorded in his paintings have prompted theories about the use of optical aids. For example, the Hockney-Falco thesis suggests the use of devices such as a camera obscura.

Fyodor Vasilyev was 19th century Russian landscape painter; Spaniard Diego Velázquez was active in the 17th century and is another suspected of using optical aids; Clark Voorhees was an American impressionist painter working around the beginning of the 20th century.

The photo shows a street artist at work on one of Vermeer's most famous paintings: 'The Girl with the Pearl Earring'.