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Fun with Words Trivia Quiz

This quiz will deal with some unique properties of words, obscure word facts and uncommon words.

A multiple-choice quiz by dan2626. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
dan2626

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
321,548

Updated
Aug 14 24

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
6841

Awards
Top 20% Quiz

Last 3 plays: tuxedokitten86 (8/10), Guest 124 (6/10), hilhanes (7/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Consider the following terms: HIV Virus, ATM Machine, ABS Braking System, DC Comics, DC Current, DOS Operating System, and PIN number. These are all examples of what? Hint

Misspelled terms

Spoonerism

Terms named after people

Redundancy

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. Monday is a unique day of the week for one of the below reasons. Can you guess the answer? Hint: Monday is a real dynamo of a day. Hint

It is the only day named after a God

Its Morse code translation is all dashes

It is the only day named after a celestial body

It's the only day of the week with an anagram that is a common word

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Pierre, the capital of South Dakota, has a unique distinction from all the other U.S. state capitals. Can you pick the correct answer? Hint: Remember this is a word quiz. Hint

It is the highest state capital above sea level

It's the only state capital with double letters together

It's the only state capital which is also a person's first name

It's the only state capital name that shares no letters with the name of its state

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Fun with numbers could be a whole different quiz. But since this is question number four, what is unique about the word four? Hint

It's the only number that has the same number of letters as its numeric value

It is the shortest name for a number

It is the only integer name with no repeated letters

There is nothing unique about the word four

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. An anagram is made when you rearrange the letters from a word to make a new word. But, what is a pangram? Hint

A word containing two or more repeating letters

A sentence containing all the letters of the alphabet

Two words that mean the same but sound differently

A word that reads the same backwards as forwards

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. The # symbol is very common and usually referred to as the pound sign, hash sign, or number sign. Which word below is also a name for this symbol? Hint

A tittle

An octothorpe

An aglet

A cromulant

7. A pride of lions and a murder of crows are fairly common phrasings. A group of dogs is called a pack. But, at least in the USA, cats are even more common than dogs. What is a group of cats called? Hint

Clowder

Gang

Sleuth

String

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. A synonym is a word that means the same as another. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another. What then is a contronym? Hint

A word that is an antonym of itself

A word made by two or more other words

A sentence that reads the same backwards and forwards

A word that sounds like another word but has a different meaning

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Rhythms has the distinction of being what? Hint

The longest English word in common use without an a, e, i, o, or u

The only word used in both music and poetry

The only term associated with music without an a, e, i, o, or u

It is the only English word that does not rhyme with another word

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. For the final question, we will explore the word trivia itself. Where is the word trivia believed to originate from? Hint

A city in southern Italy

The Latin meaning three streets or three way

Hungarian, meaning knowledge

The word was created by funtrivia.com

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Consider the following terms: HIV Virus, ATM Machine, ABS Braking System, DC Comics, DC Current, DOS Operating System, and PIN number. These are all examples of what?

Answer: Redundancy

Sometimes redundancies are so common we don't even think about them. HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus, so saying the HIV virus is saying virus twice. The other examples above are: Automatic Teller Machine, Anti-Lock Braking System, Detective Comics, Direct Current, Disc Operating System, and Personal Identification Number.

2. Monday is a unique day of the week for one of the below reasons. Can you guess the answer? Hint: Monday is a real dynamo of a day.

Answer: It's the only day of the week with an anagram that is a common word

Yes, Dynamo is an anagram on Monday. I have not been able to find any other common word anagrams for the other days of the week. If anyone does, please let me know. Some of my favorite other anagrams are: debit card becomes bad credit, Elvis becomes lives, and listen becomes silent. Also, check out the Rush song "Anagram" for more words.

While it is named after the moon, it is not the only day for which that is true - Sunday springs to mind immediately!

3. Pierre, the capital of South Dakota, has a unique distinction from all the other U.S. state capitals. Can you pick the correct answer? Hint: Remember this is a word quiz.

Answer: It's the only state capital name that shares no letters with the name of its state

Pierre and South Dakota share none of the same letters. For capitals with names of people, we have Montgomery (Alabama), Jackson (Mississippi), Helena (Montana), Olympia (Washington) and Madison (Wisconsin), among others. Double-letter capitals included Little Rock (Arkansas) and Tallahassee (Florida). Santa Fe (New Mexico) is located at 7,000 feet (2134 m) above sea level, making it the highest state capital in the United States. Santa Fe is also the oldest, as it has been the regional capital since 1610.

4. Fun with numbers could be a whole different quiz. But since this is question number four, what is unique about the word four?

Answer: It's the only number that has the same number of letters as its numeric value

"Four" has four letters and it is the only number to have such a property. Integer names with no repeated letters include: zero, two, four, ten, forty, and five thousand. The shortest names for numbers are, of course, one, two, six and ten.

5. An anagram is made when you rearrange the letters from a word to make a new word. But, what is a pangram?

Answer: A sentence containing all the letters of the alphabet

There are many pangrams. One of the more famous one is the following sentence: "A quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." I came up with one myself: "Janice and Roxy both came by the New Fieldview Zoo today pondering how to quit smoking." I know that one was reaching, but they are pretty hard to come up with.

6. The # symbol is very common and usually referred to as the pound sign, hash sign, or number sign. Which word below is also a name for this symbol?

Answer: An octothorpe

I have never heard anyone say "press the octothorpe key", but this is a real name for the commonly used pound key on a phone. A tittle is the dot over the letter i or j. The small plastic sheath on the end of a shoelace is called an aglet or sometimes anglet. Cromulant is a made up word on the show "The Simpsons".

7. A pride of lions and a murder of crows are fairly common phrasings. A group of dogs is called a pack. But, at least in the USA, cats are even more common than dogs. What is a group of cats called?

Answer: Clowder

Why every animal seems to have a different name for groups of them, I am not sure. But next time you are in a pet store, ask to go look at the clowder. Clutter and dout are used sometimes, as are a few other words, to describe a grouping of cats. A group of bears is a sleuth.

A group of elks is a gang. Finally, a group of ponies is called a string. If anyone has ever heard hundreds of crows all making noise together, you know why it's called a murder of crows.

8. A synonym is a word that means the same as another. An antonym is a word that means the opposite of another. What then is a contronym?

Answer: A word that is an antonym of itself

Some examples of contronyms are: dust, meaning to add fine particles or to remove them, and weather, which can mean to withstand or to wear away. A word made by two or more other words is called a compound word. Words that sound alike but have different meanings are called homophones. A sentence or word that reads the same backwards and forwards is a palindrome.

9. Rhythms has the distinction of being what?

Answer: The longest English word in common use without an a, e, i, o, or u

The word "rhythms" is also interesting since it is a word with only one y sound for an explicit vowel but, when pronounced, tends to have an extra vowel sound. Say the word and you will notice a i or u sound that most people say right before the m. Hymn, as in church music, also lacks the more common vowels. Poetry and music also use the words meter and tempo.

As far as rhyming with the word rhythm, other words (like orange, silver, and month) do not have common rhymes.

10. For the final question, we will explore the word trivia itself. Where is the word trivia believed to originate from?

Answer: The Latin meaning three streets or three way

There are different thoughts about exactly why trivia means what it means today. One is that when multiple streets would merge in ancient Rome, there would be information booths for those who needed them. Others believe that "three roads" referred to a meeting place like a tavern where insignificant facts were passed around, hence the word trivial.

The Hungarian word for knowledge is Tudas.

Source: Author dan2626

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor CellarDoor before going online.
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