Doggerel and Ditties Trivia Quiz

Answer: Debut

When someone makes their debut, it is the first appearance or performance in a particular role. This can apply to actors or singers, or in the case of the girl pictured, ingénues making their first bow to polite society.

Answer: Dragon

Dragons have appeared in the legends and lore of cultures around the world, and represent great physical strength and good luck. The Welsh Dragon appears on the national flag of Wales, and Eustace Scrubb was a dragon for a short while in C.S. Lewis's 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'. It was a terrible experience for him, but he was a much better person afterwards!

Answer: Damper

Damper can be made with a scone dough, or more simply with just self-raising flour and water. Once cooked (wound round a stick as in the picture, or thrown into coals wrapped in foil) it can be drizzled with butter and jam and eaten while hot. Yum!

A damper for a fire is a flap inside the flue, which can be manually adjusted to allow smoke to escape. It is also possible to adjust the intensity of the fire by using the damper.

Answer: Dribble

Yeah, that was a terrible ditty, sorry about that. Dribbling in basketball is bouncing the ball to yourself while walking or running down the court. It must be done with one hand at a time however, or else it is considered an illegal move.

In babies, dribbling can be simply because they have not yet gained full control of their mouth and throat muscles, and it quite normal up to around 18 months. It can also be a symptom of teething.

Answer: Descartes

Des cartes before the horse...get it?

Rene Descartes was a Frenchman who was born in the latter 1500s. However, as he lived for around 20 years in what is now the Netherlands, he is considered one of the most significant thinkers of the Dutch Golden Age. Apart from his well-known philosophical works, he also contributed to the development of principles in optics, mathematics and geometry.

Answer: Dawn

'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader' is the third book in Lewis's 'The Chronicles of Narnia'. The children 'fall' into the painting of the ship - which is not surprising, as "she is such a very Narnian ship" - and that began their adventure.

Dawn French starred as 'The Vicar of Dibley', a BBC sitcom that ran from late 1994 to January 1998. There have been numerous Christmas specials in which she reprises the character.

Answer: Draught

The word 'draught' has numerous meanings as you have seen from my dreadful doggerel. It can be a current of air that sneaks in (somehow); a game also known by the same name as checkers; a dose of medicine and of course, beer served from a cask or keg, as distinguished from that served from a bottle or can.

The picture is of a draught horse, used to pull heavy loads or to assist with ploughing of a paddock.

Answer: Darwin

A portion of the sea around Darwin is named for the boat in which Charles Darwin (of whom the picture shows a caricature) sailed; Beagle Sea. Darwin is known for its two seasons; the Wet season, that lasts from November to April, and the Dry season - all the rest! It's pretty warm all year round.

Answer: Double

Nope, I wasn't seeing double. It really was a double decker bus I saw in the picture. Other things can be double, like the filling in Oreos...hmmmm...I suddenly feel like a glass of milk. Back soon!

Answer: Dianthus

Dianthus is the genus name for carnations, pinks, sweet William and so on, they are all in the same family (Caryophyllaceae). There are around 300 plants in the genus. As they are easy to 'strike' it's possible to take a shoot and plant it, and grow your own. The flower is edible and makes a colourful and peppery addition to a salad.