Yes, I'm the Great Dictator Trivia Quiz

Answer: Boneywasawarriorwayayix

This is a marvellous story, full of hard-as-nails characters who pretty much floor you with just a look, and the Goscinny/Uderzo team in very fine fettle. In the original French, this character's name is "Ocatarinetabellatchitchix", which is simply the title of a song by popular Corsican crooner Tino Rossi, with an -x added. "Boney", of course, is Napoleon Bonaparte, and the English name of this character is from a sea shanty. Towards the end of the story, our guy tells the Roman prefect that Corsica will never accept an emperor who is not himself a Corsican. So there! Oh, and Slartibartfast is from "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" by Douglas Adams.

Answer: Cincinnatus

In Republican times, the law said that a dictator could be appointed for a term of at most six months, so as to prevent powerful men from trying to seize power permanently and become king. Cincinnatus was appointed in 458, to lead a war against the Aequi and the Sabines, and again in 439, to strike down a conspiracy by a would-be king. Both times, he resigned as soon as the danger was past.

The city of Cincinnati, Ohio, is named after the Society of the Cincinnati, which is named after our guy. Publius was Cincinnatus' second in command in 458, Cato the Younger was never a dictator, and the last name is just made up.

Answer: Ioannis Metaxas

Metaxas was lawfully appointed by the king, and confirmed by the Senate, in April of 1936. However, he seized dictatorial powers in August of the same year, governing until his death in January, 1941. He is a highly controversial figure in Greek history, even to this day. Karamanlis served as a democratically elected PM four times and twice as president. Avrakotos was a CIA officer in Greece at the time of the 1967 military coup, and the last option is made up.

Answer: Narnia

In the chronology of the Narnia stories, she first appears in "The Magician's Nephew" (1955). In the publication chronology, this was the sixth Narnia book. The story involves a minor, but wicked, magician, dabbling in things he does not understand. His young nephew and a friend accidentally bring Jadis from her home world on the planet Charn, into newly created Narnia.

She gets her comeuppance later on, in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" (1950). The Shire is a place in several works by J.R.R. Tolkien; Discworld is Terry Pratchett's creation, while Utopia is from Thomas More's 16th century book.

Answer: Equatorial Guinea

Although he has so far (2014) won five presidential elections, they were not fair. In 1982 and 1989, he was the only candidate, and the later elections were heavily rigged. His rule was somewhat humane to begin with, but has become increasingly brutal. His country is a major oil exporter, but the vast majority of the people live in poverty. The CAR is also a troubled country, which has seen dictators, like Jean Bedel Bokassa, the self-styled emperor. Nor has there been a shortage of dictators in Chad. The USA wants nothing to do with dictators (at home, anyway).

Answer: Enver Hoxha - Albania

Hoxha ruled Albania harshly from 1944 until his death in 1985, first as prime minister and later as president. Execution and imprisonment of dissidents was rife, and Albania was a very isolated country. It is still one of the poorest in Europe today (2014). Skanderbeg was an Albanian nobleman in the 15th century, and is seen as a national hero by many. Xoxe was a powerful man under Hoxha in the 1940s, serving as minister for the interior and for defence.

Answer: Adenoid Hynkel

Given the title of the quiz, there really must be a question on Chaplin's "The Great Dictator" (1940). It's a moving, hilarious story, with satire that stings. Or at least it should. It was also Chaplin's first real talkie, as "Modern Times" was mostly without diaogue.

The film was a hit in both the USA and the UK, and remains a classic still. Garbitsch, Herring and Benzino Napaloni are parodies of Goebbels, Göring and Benito Mussolini, respectively.

Answer: Syngman Rhee

Rhee did not come to power in a coup, but his rule was pretty dictatorial all the same. He was a major player in Korea even before he became president, and during his presidency, Korea was strongly influenced by the Cold War and all its powerplay. There was a warm war, too, which still (2014) has not formally ended.
Park Chung-hee was the next dictator, while Kim Il-Sung had the same job in North Korea. Menelik II, who died in 1913, was emperor of Ethiopia.

Answer: Oliver Cromwell

OK, this is a simplification, as it wasn't all Cromwell, but he was a key player. Cromwell was a devout Puritan Christian, and obviously a talented man in many respects. There is no doubt that his rule of the Commonwealth of England, which lasted from 1649 until 1660 (after O.C.s death in 1658 his son took over) was dictatorial.

Afterwards, Charles II was restored to the throne which he had nominally held since the death of Charles I, and the troublesome Stuarts could keep going for a few decades longer. James I, by the way, died in 1625. Did you recognize the reference to the Monty Python song about Cromwell in the question wording?

Answer: To pound, crush

According to the online Oxford English Dictionary (oed.com), the pre-Germanic root is most likely '*ghreud' (the asterisk signifies a reconstructed form). The sense "large" has developed from crushing grain and similar substances into coarse - and quite large - pieces, and later just "large". Related words in English and other languages are "grit" (English), "grautr" (Icelandic: porridge, mash, coarsely ground meal), and others.

This is contested, though, and some argue that the sense "coarse" is rare in Old English and other West Germanic Languages, while the sense "large" is more frequent, thereby casting doubt on the etymology.