Sesquipedalius' C Words Quiz | Vocabulary

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. In "The Worm Ouroboros" (1922), by Eric R�cker Eddison (1882-1945), Jalcanaius Fostus describes Helteranius as colubrine. What does colubrine mean?

Answer: related to a snake, snakelike

Jalcanaius Fostus recalls an event nine years prior in which Helteranius meant to attack him from the rear. He describes this treachery as done "with cunning colubrine and malice viperine and sleights serpentine." He means that Heltreranius is a snake. The Modern English word "colubrine" derives from a Portuguese word imported from the Latin "colubra" meaning snake. Merriam Webster says it "slithered into the English language in the 16th century" for which observation they should be ashamed.

2. While studying the Dead Sea Scrolls, you read that "fragments of a letter in the Qumran caves describe how the end time can be foreseen by a particular concatenation of events." What is the meaning of concatenation?

Answer: linkage as in a chain

The linking together of any series of events, symbols or ideas can be referred to as a concatentation. There must be a demonstrable union to the series. Lemony Snicket's "A Series of Unfortunate Events" could be well described as a concatenation. The chain of command in the military is another example, as is the order of succession to a royal throne. The term has a very specialized meaning in the context of computer languages.

3. In Christopher Buckley's "Little Green Men" (1999), he wrote, "the porcelain on the sink was rusted through ... the faucet dripped, and emitted chthonic rumblings from the hotel's no doubt hellish bowels." What does chthonic mean?

Answer: a Lovecraftian subterranean realm

H.P. Lovecraft did not himself write about the Chthonians. Other authors expanding upon Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos did. Brian Lumley referred to them in his short story "Cement Surroundings". Other writers developed this part of the mythos. Chthonians are fictional creatures, burrowers under the Earth's surface.

The adjectival use of the term refers to things located underground, to subterranean creatures, to anything below the surface of the earth. [How on earth did Christopher Buckley know that!?]

4. John Adams commented upon Thomas Paine's "Common Sense" by calllng it a "poor, ignorant, malicious, crapulous mass." What does crapulous mean?

Answer: sick from drunken overeating

Crapulous and crapulent are synonymous adjectives meaning the negative effects of excessive eating and drinking. The alcoholic is crapulous from drinking too much liquor; the gourmand is crapulous from overeating. The term is very old. Compare the French "crapuleux" with the same meaning.

The Latin was "crapulentus" meaning sick from too much alcohol. The Greek was "kraipalē" meaning hungover, a stomach upset by overindulgence.

5. In geometry, to circumscribe is to draw a circle around an object. What does circumscribe mean in terms of one's liberties?

Answer: to limit, restrict, confine

In addition to its meaning in geometry, to circumscribe is a transitive verb meaning to limit, restrict or confine one's freedom, liberties, options and powers. In the US, the legislative power to punish crime is circumscribed by the prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment in the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

A parent who limits a child to one hour of video games per day is circumscribing that youngster's electronic entertainment. The Modern English word circumscribe comes from two Latin words: "circum" meaning around and "scribere" meaning to write.

6. People who confabulate may be said to chit-chat, shoot the breeze, chew the fat, yack, or claver. What does confabulate mean in terms of memory?

Answer: to mix fact with fantasy

When one can remember some but not all of the details of an event, it is human nature to unconsciously fill in the missing details by making them up. This is distinct from deliberately lying; the liar knows that the facts represented are untrue. Confabulated memories are fabricated to make a memory more complete without setting out to deceive.

The Modern English confabulate derives from the Latin "confabulari" which means to talk together. Compare with the English fable.

7. In "Bowers v. Hardwick" (1986), Justice Byron White wrote, "The Court is most vulnerable and comes nearest to illegitimacy when it deals with judge-made constitutional law having little or no cognizable roots in the language or design of the Constitution." What did he mean by cognizable?

Answer: recognizable, capable of being known

Cognizable means capable of being known or perceived. Perceptible has a very similar meaning. A person who is aware of something or who has knowledge of something is cognizant. The terms entered English in the middle 17th century, from the Latin "cognōscere" which means to know. Compare with it the words cognition and recognition.

8. In Harold Morton Kramer's "Gayle Langford: Being the Romance of a Tory Belle and a Patriot Captain" (1907), the captain of the guard says to the clergyman, "But when you see her you'll say, yourself, that she's superb, for even a preacher knows a comely wench when he sees here, eh, Parson?" What does comely mean?

Answer: lovely, becoming, attractive

There was an American thoroughbred horse name Comely who raced in the early 1900s after whom the Comely Stakes at Aqueduct Racetrack in Queens, New York is named. This unusual name for a horse was given to her because, in the eyes of her owner, she was becoming, pleasing to the eye, and of great beauty.

The Modern English adjective comely derives from the Old English "cymlic" meaning lovely, pleasing in appearance, or finely made. The term may have migrated from the West Germanic but this is debatable.

9. Kilroy J. Oldster wrote in "Dead Toad Scrolls" (2015), "No human is capable of measuring out or dispensing unqualified justice. Justice naturally seeks conciliation and demands compromise." What does conciliation mean?

Answer: the act of placating

To be conciliatory is to seek compromise. To act conciliatory is to be willing to accommodate the views and desires of the other. Flexibility is a key to conciliation, as is a willingness to make concessions. US Senator Howard Baker (1925-2014), Republican of Tennessee, was known as "the Great Conciliator" for his ability to bring sides together and enact legislation.

10. Quintus Fabius Maximus Verrucosus (d. 203) was known as "The Cunctator" and "The Shield of Rome" for his role in the Second Punic War. What is the meaning of cunctation?

Answer: delay

Fabius was called "The Cunctator" because of his cautious delaying tactics against Hannibal which allowed the Romans to recover their strength, supply and reinforcements. The words cunctator and cunctation entered English in the late 16th century from the Latin.

The Latin "cunctatio" (a delay) is related to "cunctari" (to delay, dawdle, tarry, linger, or hesitate). The modern term means to delay and sometimes to procrastinate. Fabius' tactics therefore earned him the cognomen "the delayer."

Source: Author FatherSteve

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Sesquipedalius' C Words Trivia Quiz

Uncle Sesquipedalius, who loves to impress others with his vocabulary, has posed numerous single questions in the New Question Game. He has a superfluity of highfalutin words beginning with the letter C. How many of them can you sort?

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