Alfabetical Fun With Fonetics Trivia Quiz

Answer: D

Delta is the name that fits all three criteria in the question. I represents India, one of three place names found in the alphabet. The letter W stands for Whiskey, and A stands for Alfa, (not Alpha as sometimes thought, to avoid confusion in pronunciation). The alternate spelling Alpha is, however, used by ATIS, the Automatic Terminal Information Service.

Because of possible confusion in some airports which serve a large volume of Delta Air Lines traffic, the words 'Data' or 'Dixie' are occasionally substituted for 'Delta'.

Answer: Roentgenium

Roentgenium is a highly radioactive chemical element. It has the atomic number 111 and the symbol Rg. It is named after German physicist Wilhelm Rontgen (sometimes spelt Roentgen), who is credited with discovering the X-ray in 1895. His discovery also won him the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1901, which was the very first time it had been awarded in the field.

He was a very modest and altruistic man, and gave the money associated with his Nobel Prize to the University of Wurzburg, to aid their research. Wilhelm Rontgen was born in Germany in 1845.

He died in Munich in 1923, aged 77.

Answer: Romeo

As well as Shakespeare's star-crossed lovers Romeo and Juliet, there are also four other proper names in the NATO phonetic alphabet; Charlie, Mike, Oscar and Victor. There is also Echo, another tragic figure, this time from Greek mythology, although that might be stretching a point! Echo was a nymph who had the misfortune to fall in love with the self-obsessed Narcissus, and pined away for love of him until only her voice remained, hence the origin of the word 'echo'.

In the NATO phonetic alphabet, Juliett is spelt with two Ts. This is so that people who have French as a first language are reminded that the T should be sounded, rather than silent. In the ATIS use of the Alphabet, however, Juliet is spelt with one T.

Answer: Ernie Els

G in the NATO phonetic alphabet stands for Golf. Popular South African golfer Ernie Els has had over 60 career wins including four major titles, twice each in U.S. Open and The Open Championship (British Open).

British track and field athlete Mohamed 'Mo' Farah won two Gold Medals for Team GB in the Olympic Games in London in 2012 in front of an enthusiastic home crowd, as well as winning the 5000 metres in the European Athletics Championships in Helsinki earlier in the year. Sir Ian Botham captained the English cricket team in the 1980s. He was chosen as BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1981, and was knighted in 2007 for his services to charity. Swiss tennis player Roger Federer has set several records in the game, including winning his seventh Wimbledon title in 2012, equaling Pete Sampras's record in the open era. His 2012 Wimbledon win was his 17th Grand Slam singles title.

Answer: T

The ballroom dance the Tango, which originated in Argentina and Uruguay, is popular all over the world. The film starring Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider, released in 1972, was called 'Last Tango in Paris'. It was heavily censored when it first came out, although it was later reclassified in some countries.

In the NATO phonetic alphabet the letter Y stands for Yankee, Z stands for Zulu and B represents Bravo.

Answer: Charlie Oscar

The completed sentence correctly reads 'Charlie was thrilled when his name was announced as the winner of the coveted Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and beamed with pride as the crowd shouted 'Bravo! Bravo!'

The Academy Awards, colloquially known as 'the Oscars', are the highlight of the film year. So far, no one actually called Charlie has won an Oscar for their performance as Best Actor in a Leading Role; Charlie Chaplin was Oscar-nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for 'The Great Dictator' in 1940, but the Award that year went instead to James Stewart for 'The Philadelphia Story'. A 'Charles' has won, however; Charles Laughton won the Best Actor Oscar in 1933 for playing the title role in 'The Private Life of Henry VIII'.

Answer: Papa

All the choices are words in the NATO phonetic alphabet. The characters Papa and Nicole were played by French actors Max Douchin and Estelle Skornik. The advertisements ran from 1991 to 1998 and were hugely popular. The series ended on a high note in 1998 with a much-hyped finale which was watched by over 20 million viewers.

It featured British comedy duo Reeves and Mortimer, and saw 'Nicole' arriving at her long-anticipated wedding only to jilt her 'mystery bridegroom', Vic Reeves, at the altar, and drive off with Bob Mortimer in his own Renault Clio in a scene reminiscent of the film 'The Graduate'.

Answer: L

Lima is indeed the capital city of Peru. It is also the country's largest city, covering just over 300 square miles, with a population close to nine million. Lima is situated on Peru's west coast, by the Pacific Ocean. The currency of Peru is the Nuevo Sol, which translates into English as 'new sun'.

A popular character in children's literature, Michael Bond's marmalade-loving Paddington Bear came to England from Lima, sent by his Aunt Lucy when she could no longer look after him.

Lima is one of three place names used in the NATO phonetic alphabet. The other two are India, the only country name to be found, and the Canadian province of Quebec. E stands for Echo, N for November (the only name of a month to feature in the alphabet) and U for Uniform.

Answer: a thousand

K in the NATO phonetic alphabet is represented by kilo. The prefix kilo-, which comes from the Greek language, is used in the metric system of measurement meaning one thousand, e.g. one kilometre = 1,000 metres, one kilogram = 1,000 grams, etc. One kilogram equals approximately 2.2 pounds in the imperial system.

The metric system has largely replaced the imperial system in many parts of the world. In the UK, the transfer to metrication has been partial. The metric system is the official system in many cases, particularly when weighing produce in shops, although (largely due to much public protestation) imperial equivalents are also allowed to be shown.

Not everything in the UK uses the metric system however; a notable exception is draught beers, which still legally have to be sold in units of an imperial pint!

Answer: foxtrot hotel

The completed sentence correctly reads 'Victor drank a glass of whiskey to help him pluck up courage to dance the foxtrot in the hotel ballroom'. The other words in the sentence which are used in the NATO phonetic alphabet are Victor and Whiskey.

The ballroom dance the foxtrot came to prominence during the 1920s. It has an elegant, flowing style and is danced in 4/4 time. With the advent of television shows such as 'Strictly Come Dancing' in the UK and its American counterpart 'Dancing With the Stars' it has, along with ballroom dancing in general, enjoyed a resurgence in popularity.