In the Long Run Trivia Quiz

Answer: runoff

A noun used mostly in hydrology and environmental science, "runoff" (also known as "overland flow") refers to water - such as rainfall, snow melt or irrigation water - that does not infiltrate or evaporate, but flows away over land in uncontrolled streams. Additionally, "runoff" denotes an additional contest or election held to decide the winner after a previous, inconclusive one.

The term was first used in the US in the late 19th century; the electoral meaning dates from the early 20th century.

Answer: run-of-the-mill

The literal meaning of the adjective "run-of-the-mill" refers to the material yielded by a mill before being sorted for quality. Similar phrases involve the likes of "kiln" or "mine" in place of "mill". According to one source, the first use of "run-of-the-mill" occurred in an 1895 advertisement for clothes produced by a weaving mill in Massachusetts.

Answer: run-in

First recorded in the early years of the 20th century, the noun "run-in" is synonymous with "disagreement" or "confrontation", In printing, it denotes something added to a text, often without the indentation that characterizes a new paragraph. In British English, "run-in" is also used to mean the final part of a racetrack; this is the word's oldest recorded meaning, dating from the end of the 18th century.

Answer: runway

The original meaning of "runway", attested in the US in the 1830s or somewhat earlier, is "habitual track of an animal"; its use in aviation dates from the 1920s. "Runway" is also commonly used as a synonym for "catwalk" - a narrow walkway extending from a stage, such as the one on which models walk during a fashion show. "Project Runway" is the title of a popular American TV series focusing on fashion design.

Answer: runnel

The oldest word in this quiz in terms of etymology, the noun "runnel" has its roots in the Old English "rynel", meaning "something that runs", and, by extension, "stream". In its modern form, the word was first recorded in the mid-16th century. Though not a word commonly used today, "runnel" occurs relatively often in literary texts, especially poetry.

Answer: run-down

Generally spelled with a hyphen, the adjective "run-down" can refer either to places or people - in which case it is synonymous with "worn out", rather than "shabby" or "dilapidated". This word, derived from the phrasal verb "run down" (meaning "to chase to exhaustion") was first recorded in the second half of the 17th century.

The unhyphenated noun "rundown" is mostly used as a synonym of "summary".

Answer: also-ran

Dating from the late 19th century, the noun "also-ran" originally applied to a horse that competed in a race, but did not finish in the first three. Later it was also used to refer to athletes who rarely, if ever, won the contests in which they participated. In more recent times, however, the word has become synonymous with "loser", and therefore acquired a strongly derogatory meaning.

Answer: hit-and-run

Despite its rather grim connotation, "hit-and-run" (used both as a noun and an adjective) was first recorded in 1899 in a baseball context, referring to a risky but potentially very successful strategy. Its most frequent modern use, denoting a driver that flees the scene of an accident to avoid identification - or also the accident itself - dates from the 1920s. "Hit-and-run" is also used in a military context, referring to an attack that relies on surprise and speed.

Answer: runner-up

Like other words in this quiz, the noun "runner-up" has its roots in the world of sports - in this case, dog racing. The term was first recorded in the mid- or late 19th century, when it was used to refer to the dog that finished second in the final heat. Today it refers to a participant that finishes in second place in any kind of contest, sporting or otherwise.

Answer: rerun

Though today the noun "rerun" is used mostly in relation to TV or movies, the word was originally used as a verb in a sports context, namely in horse racing, where it was first recorded in the early years of the 19th century. The first instance of the use of "rerun" as a noun in reference to films dates from the 1930s, and from the 1950s when applied to TV programs.