People Who Became Words - 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: It is kisstomary to cuss the bride

William Archibald Spooner (1844-1930) was the warden of New College, Oxford who used to get his words in a tangle. He would switch consonants or vowels unintentionally, which would lead to hilarious statements. An example being 'It is kisstomary to cuss the bride' instead of 'It is customary to kiss the bride'.

The statement 'He is the very pineapple of politeness' is an example for malapropism; here the word pineapple is used instead of pinnacle. 'She sells sea shells by the sea shore' is an example of a tongue twister and the "Round the rugged rock ..."is an example for both alliteration and tongue twister.

Answer: A French finance minister

Etienne de Silhouette was the finance minister of King Louis XV in 1759, who imposed such harsh economic demands on the people of France that people started equating his name with anything done very cheaply. A silhouette was an inexpensive portrait that had only the person's profile in black.

Answer: Sideburns

Ambrose Everett Burnside (1824-1881) was an American General in the Civil war. He had a unique facial hair style, where strips of hair in front of his ears were joined to his moustache. This style was named initially as burnsides after the General. Later on it was renamed as Sideburn. This hair style can be connected with a moustache (eg : Burnside) or without (eg : Elvis).

Answer: He was Minister President of Norway

Vidkun Quisling (1887-1945) was a Norwegian politician. He was the founder of the 'Nasjonal Samling' party and he supported Nazi Germany during the Second World War. He was named as Minister President of Norway by the Nazis. The word quisling is thus used to refer to a traitor, some one who betrays his own country/side by collaborating with the enemies. On the conclusion of the war, he was executed after being convicted of treason.

Answer: A weakness

Achilles was a Greek mythological character who appeared in the Trojan War. According to legend, his mother had dipped him (as a child) in special waters which made him invulnerable. But one part was left out, the heel by which she held him. As a result the heel was his weakness and he was killed in the war by an arrow at his heel.

The term 'Achilles heel' is used to refer to a weakness, weak area or vulnerable spot.

Answer: False

Gian Giacomo Girolamo Casanova was not a fictional character. Casanova (1725-1798) was an adventurer and writer in Venice. He was known as a womanizer and a master in the art of seduction. The word Casanova which means 'a womanizer' is derived from his name. Don Juan was a fictional character who was also a womanizer and libertine.

The word 'Don Juan' is thus used to refer to a 'womanizer'. The only difference in the two words is that Don Juan was a fictional character whereas Casanova was a real person.

Answer: AK-47 gun

Mikhail Kalashnikov (born 1919) was a Russian tank commander injured in the Second World War. During his recuperation from injury, he started work on developing a submachine gun, which later was improvised to become AK-47 (Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947).

The AK-47 gun has become a popular weapon of terrorists. Mikhail Kalashnikov reportedly said that he was sad that the weapon was used by terrorists and that he would rather have invented something useful to farmers like a lawnmower.

Answer: Extrajudicial punishment

Charles Lynch (1736-1796) was a planter in Virginia and an American revolutionary. He reportedly had his own court where he punished loyalist supporters. The word 'lynch' refers to 'hanging or punishment meted out by a mob which is extrajudicial in nature'. Lynching was popular in the United States where mobs would take the law into their own hands by usually hanging a suspected criminal without a trial. Lynching was also used by the Ku Klax Klan to kill their victims. Even though lynching is banned by law, there are some instances reported even in the 21st century in some places.

Answer: An Italian politician

Niccolo Machiavelli (1469-1527) was an Italian politician, diplomat and writer. He was a Secretary of the Republic of Florence. He was known for his political treatises. His best known work was 'The Prince' where he outlines his political philosophies. The word 'Machiavellian' is used to denote a political strategy that is devious or cunning.

Answer: True

The word hooligan refers to a thug, hoodlum or ruffian. This word is reportedly derived from the name of one Patrick Hooligan who was a small-time thief. Several sources indicate that the word may have been named after an Irish family name called Hoolihan or Hooligan. One of the first persons to use this word in a literary work was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who used the word in a Sherlock Holmes story called 'The Adventure of the Six Napoleons'.