From the Hidden Depths (of the dictionary) Quiz

Answer: A snail

Rather ordinary, but I like it.

Answer: Ship's biscuit, soaked and mixed with molasses and rebaked

Ship's biscuit was a very hard substitute for bread on the old sailing ships. It kept for ages (but tended to get weevils in it). It needed to be soaked to avoid dental problems.... Funky did mean sweaty, originally, I believe, but I don't think there's a connection.

Answer: Doesn't exist

Sorry, it's a Balooism! I was rather pleased with the three meanings I invented for this one. They nearly convinced me!

Answer: A set of eight

As in triad, etc. I don't think Serpillius existed, but you never know. Ogham was a sort of writing in the British Isles consisting of lines carved on the edges of square pillars, etc. Some letters were on one face, some on the other and some on both. Could be regarded as a very ancient (and inconvenient) ancestor of Braille... No? Ah, well.

Answer: (to) Sunbathe

From the Latin meaning 'to bask in the sun'. I know that apricots like to do that, but their name is connected with 'praecox' and refers to early ripening.

Answer: A female salmon after spawning

Gotcha! OK, perhaps not. Food taken to work is baggin (at least, in the North of England it is). A boggart is a rather unhelpful sort of spritey thing. Why anyone would need a word for a female salmon after spawning could be a useful area for investigation if you can get a grant to live on while doing it....

Answer: The sky, or the vault of heaven

You've seen this word in Shakespeare. (Or maybe not as the case may be.) I've seen it there, and didn't know what it meant until after I'd left school. The shoe does have a waterproof ring to it, but you're getting mixed up with wellingtons there.... Oh, and a whelk is a shellfish but as UK shellfish go, it's not very small. OK, on YOUR tropical island they grow to....

Answer: The play of colours in precious stones or fabrics

Miaaaooooowwwwwww! Can also refer to the changing lustre of a cat's eye. And I do know there should be an acute accent on the e of rose. (If you tie a bow on it does it become a cute accent? Aaaaarrrgh!)

Answer: A travelling salesman of books, especially bibles

Colcannon is an Irish fried dish involving cabbage. Porter is a beer, but not specifically a winter ale. If you're a drinker of American beer or English lager, beware of winter ale! It can be darker than Guinness (really!), fairly flat, sometimes appears to be nearly solid and always packs a punch. Great in cold weather. (I wonder if Cole Porter got his 'stage name' from this word? Your assignment, if you choose to take it.....)

Answer: The sound made when a cork is pulled from a bottle

I like this one! Mind you, I like the sound of corks being pulled from bottles.... There is a word sloop which is a boat, but it's not flat bottomed so far as I know. Clay is puddled to make a waterproof lining for a canal, and the olden day navvies probably had a word for it (and it may be something we had better not go too far into...)

Answer: Sweet wine

I don't go along with the British fad for dry wines, ciders, beers, etc. In Germany, the sweeter wines are dearer, and I hear that the French drink their champagne doux or demi-sec and send the brut (very dry) to the UK. Don't think Morsena apricola exists, but apricola sounds even worse than cherry cola to me. (Don't like that vanilla one, either. So there.)

Answer: A sort of basket thingy for catching fish

No, I can spell wheel - this IS weel. Comes from willow - which is logical, as lots of baskety things are made from willow. Unless they're plastic. Or whatever sort of bendy branched tree / bush grows in your area. Weld is a plant giving a yellow dye.

Answer: Coloured like a dead leaf

From the French 'feuille morte' meaning 'dead leaf'. Now there's surprising for you. Not a pasty, but I would like to try that one. Do the Belgians have marines? Please don't tell me!

Answer: Doesn't exist

Jedbury as a place seems to be an alternative version of Jedburgh (in Scotland, not Wiltshire). So no carriage. No Sir Samuel, either. And pleeeease, please don't try to explain contract bridge to me. My mother used to. I just switched off totally. Rather cruel this quiz - TWO Balooisms instead of one!

Answer: A large bird cage

From the French voler - to fly. It's a cage big enough for the birds to fly in. Various sizes: large for vultures, and tiny for hummingbirds, I suppose. Not for ostriches - well, come on, they don't fly, do they?. And it's wabbits in warrens, not voles.