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Score Distribution
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Disquisition:
Answer: an elaborate essay or discussion
2. Epigone:
Answer: an inferior imitator of some distinguished writer or artist or musician
3. Eponym:
Answer: a word derived from the name of a person
Examples of eponyms are quisling, spoonerism, malapropism, quixotic, and sandwich.
4. Fissilingual:
Answer: having a forked tongue
'Fissi' is a combining form used in biology and anatomy to signify cleft, as in 'fissidactyl' and 'fissigemmation'.
5. Hegira:
Answer: a journey or flight
Often referring to the forced journey of Mohammed from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D.
6. Hyoid:
Answer: bone at the base of the tongue
It is a U-shaped bone at the base of the tongue that supports the tongue muscles.
7. Nabob:
Answer: a wealthy man
Given the meaning of the word, Spiro Agnew's characterization of Vietnam War protesters as 'nattering nabobs of negativism' seems an odd choice of words. But I guess Spiro was never known for his intellect.
8. Scrimshaw:
Answer: a carving
More specifically, an article carved or engraved from whalebone, whale ivory, walrus tusk, etc. Scrimshaw is one of only a few indigenous American crafts. Practiced for centuries by the Inuit and other native groups along the Northwest Coast, it was adopted by the Yankee whalemen of the early 1800's. Two to five year voyages quickly became monotonous, so the whalemen turned to working with baleen, whale teeth, and jawbones, all of which were in abundant supply. Common subjects included whaling scenes, ships, women, and scenes copied from magazines of the day.
The origin of the word is {obscure;} one interesting etymology is a Dutch phrase meaning 'to waste one's time!'
9. Solecism:
Answer: A violation of the rules of grammar or etiquette
The word solecism is derived from the Greek soloikos, meaning "speaking incorrectly". Interestingly, the literal meaning of "soloikos" is "an inhabitant of Soloi", which was a city in ancient Cilicia where a dialect regarded as substandard was spoken.
10. Solipsism:
Answer: the philosophical theory that the self is all that you know to exist
While no great philosopher has been a solipsist, it can be said that the 17th-century French philosopher and mathematician Rene Descartes ("I think, therefore I am") created the backdrop against which solipsism subsequently developed.
This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
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