Last Rights Trivia Quiz

Answer: Alright

The Oxford dictionary suggests that using the single word 'alright' rather than the two words 'all right' is regarded as incorrect by many people despite the fact that similar words such as 'altogether' and 'already' have long been accepted. The word alright comes from the Old English 'eall' and 'riht'.

"It'll Be Alright on the Night" is an occasional television program first broadcast by ITV in 1977. Dennis Norden (and subsequently Griff Rhys Jones and David Walliams), have presented a selection of clips from sitcoms and other broadcasts, where something went wrong.

Answer: Playwright

A wright is someone who builds or makes something, but the word is not usually used on its own any more. Thus a playwright is a creator of plays. The word comes from the Old English 'plega', which means brisk movement, and 'wryhta', which relates to work.

Possibly the most well-known playwright in the English speaking world is William Shakespeare, whose works are still being performed more than four hundred years after they were written. Although Greek playwrights, such as Aeschylus or Aristophanes, from nearly two thousand years earlier still have their works performed in the twenty-first century.

Answer: Fright

Fright comes from the Old English word 'fryhto', and is defined by the Concise Oxford Dictionary (1999) as a sudden intense feeling of fear.

Fright is the alter ego of Dr. Linda Friitawa, a fictional character created by DC Comics. She has the ability to exhale nerve toxins as well as superhuman agility and strength.

Answer: Wainwright

This wright makes wains, which are wagons or carts. Think of Constable's picture - 'The Hay Wain'. The word wain comes from the Old English 'węgn', which relates to way.

The name Wainwright is very well known by walkers in the Lakeland fells of Cumbria in England. Alfred Wainwright (1907 - 1991) produced a pictorial guide to the fells. The seven volumes consist of his drawings and handwritten directions to the best way to reach each of 214 different fells.

Answer: Outright

The word has been around since the fourteenth century, and comes from the two words 'out' and 'right'. The word comes from the Old English adverb 'ut' and the Old English word 'riht'.

The word 'outright' can be used with reference to payment for an expensive item. It is possible to purchase something outright, rather than using an installment plan or a hire-purchase agreement, sometimes described as paying on the 'never-never'! These days such arrangements are often described as finance deals, which may sound better to some people.

Answer: Forthright

The word forthright comes from the Old English word 'forthriht' which means straight forward.

Another synonym of candid also fits this quiz - it is downright.

Answer: Birthright

The word birth comes from the Old Norse 'byrth', which is related to the word bear.

In the Old Testament of the Bible, the book of Genesis includes the story of how Esau sold his birthright to his brother, Jacob, for a 'mess of pottage', which was probably a dish of lentil stew.

Birthright is also the name of a very small settlement in north-eastern Texas in the USA. Shortly after it was founded at the end of the nineteenth century it had a population of two hundred and fifty, but by the end of the twentieth century only around forty people remained.

Answer: Upright

The word upright comes from the Old English 'uppe' and 'riht'.

Upright can be used to describe a piano where the strings are arranged vertically instead of horizontally, as in a grand piano. So an upright piano takes up considerably less floor-space, and is more suited to a domestic environment.

Chapter 7 of the book of Ecclesiastes in the King James Bible states that "God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." More modern translations have described these inventions as 'schemes', or 'following a downward path'.

Answer: Copyright

The word copy comes from the Old French 'copie' from the Latin 'copia' meaning abundance.

Books and other publications often have the symbol © by a person's name and the date of publication to indicate the copyright holder. This is known as the copyright symbol, but in most cases a person owns the copyright of something they have written without any sort of registration or symbol.

The term copyright library is often used to describe a legal deposit library. In the United Kingdom the Legal Deposit Libraries Act of 2003 requires that one copy of every book, pamphlet, map, magazine or other publication should be sent to the British Library. Five other libraries are entitled to request a free copy - they are the National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, and the University Libraries of Oxford, Cambridge and Trinity College in Dublin. Other countries have different requirements.

Answer: Bright

Bright comes from the Old English word 'beorht'. In North America the word is used as a plural noun (brights) to refer to headlights on full beam.

In "The Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner" Samuel Taylor Coleridge writes "The sun came up on the left, / Out of the sea he came! / And he shone bright, and on the right, / Went down into the sea."