Hidden Dogs in Other Words... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Doctrine

Often used in a religious context referring to the central tenets of a faith, dogma can also refer to any belief system or philosophy, including political doctrine. The unusual plural of dogma is dogmata. Dogma is derived from the Latin "dogma" meaning 'philosophical tenet' and the same word in Greek for 'what one thinks/believes is true'.

Use in a sentence: The dogma of papal infallibility is a central tenet of the Roman Catholic Church.

Answer: Magistrate

A doge was the chief magistrate in the two Mediterranean republics of Venice and Genoa. The word originates from the Latin "Duc" or "Dux" meaning leader.

Use in a sentence: The Italian people have been ruled by a wide variety of leaders including princes, popes and doges.

Answer: Pedometer

An odograph can either be an instrument that plots course and direction automatically or a device that records frequency and length of stride as well as the number of steps taken. From the Greek roots "hodos", meaning trip or road, and "graph", to write.

Use in a sentence: My odograph buzzes when I reach 20,000 steps in a day.

Answer: Parhelion

A sundog is a form of halo, light patches appearing either side of the sun, caused by refraction of sunlight by ice crystals in the atmosphere. A sun dog appears at the same altitude as the sun above the horizon and is formally referred to as a parhelion (plural is parhelia). The etymology is uncertain, but is believed to be attributed to these light patches following the sun like a dog follows its master.

Use in a sentence: Sundogs are most commonly seen when the sun is close to the horizon and the air is extremely cold.

Answer: Custodian

Extrapolated from the literal dog keeping guard and watching for strangers or intruders, the contemporary meaning has switched from the canine to the human; a watchdog is now a custodian or surveillant - a person or group who oversees another group for accountability reasons.

Use in a sentence: The government watchdog agency reported that the retail price of new cars was too high for the current market.

Answer: Internal origin

This word has a specific meaning in biology referring to growing within an organism, while in psychiatry it means a symptom that cannot be attributed to an external or environmental factor. From the Greek "endo" meaning within, French "gene" meaning born or produced and the middle English "ous" meaning full of, or possessing.

Use in a sentence: The scientist struggled to find endogenous DNA from the dodos in Mauritius.

Answer: Comic verse with irregular rhythm

While commonly used to mean a verse which is irregular in rhythm and rhyme, and often used in burlesque, it may also mean a monotonous, easy rhythm, like those used in children's books. The Scottish poet William McGonagall is famous for his doggerel; none more so than his 1880 "The Tay Bridge Disaster". The origins of the adjectival word arise in the 15th century from the Middle English "dogerel" or (contemptuously) dog.

Use in a sentence: Before taking writing lessons, I wrote poetry that was more doggerel verse than metrical writing.

Answer: Wasteful project

A boondoggle refers to a wasteful or fraudulent project, something that's over-budget, behind schedule and unnecessary. The origin of the word is unknown. A boondoggle can also refer to the braided cord used as a neckerchief slide by members of the Boy Scouts. It may also refer to a leather cord used as a knife sheath. This latter meaning was introduced by Robert Link, an early Scoutmaster, and first appeared in print in 1935.

Use in a sentence: The local mayor was heavily criticized for awarding the contract for an unneeded apartment building to his brother-in-law; a complete boondoggle.

Answer: Motherless calf

A dogey is a motherless calf in a herd of cattle. The plural is dogeys or dogies. "Git along little dogies" (also known as "Whoopie Ti Yi Yo") is a cowboy ballad that originated towards the end of the 19th century. Although the etymology is uncertain, one hypothesis is that it refers to these calves being unable to digest harsh grasses as they were weaned much too early, thereby causing their bellies to swell like sourdough sacks. Hence they were known as dough-guts which then became dogeys (or dogies). Reference: Western Words by R.F. Adams.

Use in a sentence: The cowboys paid particular attention to the dogeys in the herd, nursing them carefully back to health.

Answer: Ammonia-based radical

Amidogen is an ammonia molecule (NH3) which has had one of its hydrogen atoms removed, often by a hydroxide radical. Amidogen, also known as an aminyl or azanyl radical, is short lived and highly reactive. It maintains the tetrahedral geometry of ammonia with two hydrogens, one lone pair of electrons and the single 'radical' electon.

First recorded in the middle of the 19th century, amidogen stems from 'Ammon' (ammonia, which was originally found near the Temple of Ammon in Egypt) or 'amide', meaning in the middle, and the Greek and Latin suffix 'gen', which means born or produced.

Use in a sentence: Healthy physiological functioning is in part due to the interaction of free radicals like amidogen and anti-oxidants.