Identical but Not Alike 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Address

The abode at which you live, along with its house or apartment number, and the street on which it is located, plus its suburb and town, state and country, is known as your address. For example, the address of the White House in the United State where most of that country's presidents usually live during their time in office is 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW, Washington, DC 20500, USA. A speech or talk you give to a room full of people is also known as an address - at the conclusion of which you usually hope to receive rapturous applause. Different countries place the stress on the first part of this word, but in Australia, the stress for both meanings is placed on the second part of the word.

This word dates back to the 16th century when it was used as a verb meaning to "guide or direct or give directions to someone, or a dutiful and courteous approach". Based on the Old French, which in turn was based on the old Latin, it changed its meaning when used as a noun, describing the act of approaching or speaking to another person.

A homonym is a word with the same spelling and pronunciation as another word, but with different meanings. A homograph is a word with the same written form as another word, but with different meanings and pronunciation. A homophone is a word that is pronounced the same as another word, but with different meaning and spelling.

Answer: Backing

Reversing a motor vehicle - an alarming task - is known as backing it out of its location. Having to reverse it out onto a street filled with other vehicles zooming up and down can be a hair-raising experience, so wherever possible, it's best to park your car so that its nose is facing out. That way, instead of backing it out when you need to go anywhere, you can drive it out frontwards instead. Supporting your favourite sports team is known as backing it. You're a cheering, shouting, sometimes mindless spectator on these occasions, usually hollering your head off because some player out on a field somewhere has just managed the apparently miraculous achievement of kicking a ball between two posts. Backing has another couple of meanings as well. One is placing a firm back support on an article such as a photograph in a frame, and another is wasting your money by betting it on a possible winner of any sports event - a horse race for example.

The word "backing" is an Old English one from the late 14th century when it meant "to or toward the rear or the original starting place; in the past; behind in position". It derives from the word "abak".

Answer: Bank

The banks of assorted rivers throughout our beautiful world come in all shapes and sizes. Some are steep and dangerous cliffs towering over a river that has eroded its way deeper and deeper into the soil between two cliffs, some are gentle low set edges of a river that can be easily accessed by simply walking into it, and some can be covered in ice or snow or devoid of all vegetation except for a few lonely tufts of grass. It all depends on their location, climate, age and the force of the waters contained between them. A bank is a financial institution into which you dutifully deposit your money each week, hoping you can eventually earn enough interest to be comfortably off - dream on - or from which you withdraw money to pay assorted bills. Another meaning of this word is that if you bank on someone to achieve a certain feat, that person is guaranteed to be reliable.

The word "bank", as applicable to a river, dates back to the 1580s where it meant "to form a slope or rise". "Banking" or "bank" (the building) as we understand the meaning today, dates back to the 14th century, when this system of storing money in a safe place arose in Renaissance Italy.

Answer: Bat

Part of the equipment used in a game of cricket is the bat. To the uninitiated, a cricket bat is just a rectangular piece of wood with a handle, but it is far more than this, as any shocked fan of the game will hasten to tell you if you describe this piece of equipment in such dismissive terms. A cricket bat is made of very strong willow wood and has a distinctive form. The side that connects with a satisfying clunk to any ball bowled at it is known as the blade. It usually has a flat face. The back of the bat is moulded so that it forms a type of small ridge running down its centre. The blade is connected to its cylindrical cane handle with a splice. The top of the blade connecting to the handle are known as the bat's shoulders, while the bottom is known as its toe. There are specific measurements to which a bat must conform according to the Laws of Cricket - no more than 38 inches in total length for example - and this can sometimes look rather comical in the hands of a very tall batsman. Each bat has what is known as a sweet spot, where if a ball is struck exactly in the middle of that spot, a lot more power is given to the stroke - and it makes the sweetest sound in the world to the ears of the batsman.

Bats are mammals that fly. This is quite remarkable really. Sadly these delicate little creatures with such cute faces have been given a very bad press over time, by being associated with horror stories and vampire movies and the like. Coming in second after rodents, bats represent twenty per cent of all mammals in the world, and this is a real worry for conservationists. Once our mammals are gone, they're gone forever. there is nothing left but memories. The vast majority of bats eat fruit and insects. A very, very small group (only three species) feed off the blood of other animals, but don't let this creep you out. So do mosquitoes. Three species of bats feed on fish, two species feed on other bats, and one larger species catches and eats small birds. Because bats use echolocation when flying, you'll never see them flying in rainy weather because this interferes with that amazing echolocation ability they possess.

"To hit or strike something with a piece of specially shaped wood", known as "batting", dates back to the 15th century in English speaking countries, but it is thought it may have originated in Denmark. It's difficult to locate the origin of the word "bat", as far as flying creatures of the night go, but the Old English name for this little creature was "flittermouse". So cute.

Answer: Bear

The word bear, when used as a verb, means to carry, or transport, or bring someone or some thing to a destination of some kind. You can arrive bearing gifts, for example. It can also mean to support or prop up something large or heavy, such as a load bearing wall that holds up the weight bearing down or against it. To bear can also mean to put up with, or endure some trial. Or, in another example, it can mean to deliver a child. Bear, in fact, is one versatile word. Then we have the growling, ferocious mammal that is not to be messed with under any circumstances, particularly if it's a mother bear with cubs. There are only eight different species of bear in the world, and these can be found in most parts of the world except for the Antarctic and parts of Asia and the Pacific countries. Australia even has bears - or do we? You'd be incorrect in assuming this. Our little koala, often referred to incorrectly as a koala bear, is actually a marsupial. It's been mistakenly referred to as a bear ever since European settlement of the country, because of its supposed resemblance to a bear. Caricaturists used to portray one of Australia's prime ministers (Joseph Lyons) as a koala, and the resemblance was comically spot on.

The origin of the word "bear" to describe the animal is an Old English word, that was, during this period, spelled as "bera". This derived from the proto-Germanic form. "Bear", meaning "to carry or give birth to", dates back at least to the 1300s in England.

Answer: Board

A board is a plank of varying sizes, usually of wood, that is used in the construction of a wide range of constructions - from a large building, to a small garden shed, to a ramp for example; or, when cut down to size, one that can be used to make even smaller objects such as tables and chairs. To step onto a boat or plane or any moving vehicle is described as "going on board" or "boarding" same. The word board can also be used to describe a management group of decision makers of any large organisation; or even to live or board with a family or organisation as a lodger.

"Board", as in "going alongside or onto a ship", dates back as far as the mid 15th century in the English language. As a word to describe a "flat piece of wood", it originated in the Old Nordic languages, where it was known as "bord".

Answer: Bore

A bore is a piece of equipment, operated either manually or mechanically, which has the ability to drill holes through wood, steel, the ground - or anything in fact that requires a hole to be made. A bore is also one of those simply dreadful people who backs you into a corner at various functions and drones on and on and onnnnnnn about the most uninteresting subjects under the sun. The only way to escape people like that, without hurting his or her feelings (and that's important) is to make a watertight reason to be somewhere else as soon as possible. There's an hilarious scene in the 1996 film "The Birdcage" where the far right senator Kevin Keeley (Gene Hackman), on first meeting the very gay Armand Goldman (Robin Williams), drones on endlessly about the colours of the falling leaves on their long car trip down through the country to Florida to meet the family of his daughter's fiance. The camera focuses on the face of Armand during this lengthy address, and he slowly starts to fall asleep because he's bored stiff. It's very funny.

"Bore", as in drilling a hole, sprang into use from the 1570s in the Old England language, where it was written as "bor". As an adjective to describe a dull or irritating person, this is described as a vogue word dating back to the 1780s. How interesting to think they had trendy words back then as well, but it's a grim thought that perhaps some of trendy words used in the English language in more modern times may be general usage in a couple of hundred years time. I particularly find the word "kewl" to describe anything enjoyable or interesting as one of the most irritating terms under the sun. That in turn dates back to the 1960s, when, with the same meaning, and just as stupid, it was still spelled as "cool...man".

Answer: Bust

To break or bust anything object is to destroy it so that it is usually beyond repair. Relationships can also be busted up or broken, as can contracts, deals or any form of agreement. You can even break a bone or bust someone's head, but the meanings begin to differ a little here. Having a break from work or any task also has a different meaning to bust as well. A bust can be a word to describe the breasts of a female, as well as a work of sculpture featuring the shoulders and head portrayal of some famous (usually) person. One of loveliest ones ever created is that of "The Veiled Nun" by an Italian sculptor, Giuseppe Croff. Made completely from marble, this features the face of a woman whose head is covered with a sculptured see through silk veil - of marble. It's just amazing, beautiful, astonishing.

The origin of the word "bust" to describe a sculpture of a torso and head is from 16th century France, "buste" and the Italian "busto", which translated to "upper body". "Bust", when used to refer to breaking anything, appeared in the English language from 1806.

Answer: Can

"Can" is a verb meaning "able to" or "capable of being achieved". It is applied to any concept or action that denotes a definite result, theoretical or definite, as the ultimate outcome. A can is also a small container in which long lasting food is usually stored. These once had to be opened with a device known as a can opener, but most cans today come with a tab attached to their lids, that, when pulled firmly in the right direction, peel the lids back for us instead. They're a wonderful invention. Canned foods have been with us since the beginning of the 1800s and the tins containing same were once made of a tin-lead compound. This resulted in lead poisoning in some cases. These cans, however, eventually gave way to ones made of tinplated steel or aluminium. A relatively new innovation with canned foods is their inner plastic type linings. This is known as epoxy and it stops the food within the can coming into contact with the metal casing. Did you know, though, that that lining contains a toxic chemical called Bisphenol-A (BPA)? Quite seriously, this is bad for you. Canada has already banned this product, and did so in 2010, so hopefully the rest of the world will follow suit asap.

To put anything into a sealed container - the "can" - appeared in the English language in the 1860s. This seems a little odd when tinned can goods were first made fifty years earlier, so it would be interesting to know what they were called until the later date. Perhaps simply as tinned food? Unfortunately the etymology of the word "can", as in having the power to do anything, cannot be located.

Answer: Cabinet

A cabinet is a general purpose cupboard, used mostly for the purpose of displaying prized possessions, while keeping them reasonably protected at the same time. That could include objects such as trophies, prized figurines, photographs and so on. A cabinet, as far as government purposes go, is a group of the top leaders of whichever country in which they're located, who advise and work with the leader of that country in order to make important decisions and rulings. The members of this group are often referred to as ministers, with each heading a different department within the government.

"Cabinet" as a place for storing or displaying valuables originates in the Middle French word of the same name in the 1540s. "Cabinet", as in an informal group of advisors, is described as an American-English slang term from 1832. It was used to describe President Jackson's close friends who were said to have more than a fair share in how the United States was being run. It has moved from slang into general usage since then.