Weird Words Born in the USA Trivia Quiz

Answer: absquatulate

Absquatulate means to depart in a hurry, often taking something along, or to abscond. It came from a trend in America in the 1830s when people decided to put words together to sound like they came from Latin origins; so added to the word 'squat' or stay, was the prefix 'ab-' meaning off or away and the verb ending '-ulate' suggesting a quick departure.

It is rarely used nowadays, but I find it quite expressive and am hoping for a comeback.

Answer: to bamboozle

From the Northern and Western United States, we get the verb 'hornswoggle' which can be defined as to deceive, cheat, swindle or hoodwink. In fact, our language has so many words with this meaning, you'd think it was an everyday occurrence, as in: looks like we've been hornswoggled by the politicians again.

Answer: discombobulate

'Discombobulate' is a great word since it means exactly what it sounds like - you can't be in full possession of your faculties if you are discombobulated (it's even fun to say!). The word itself started out as 'discombobracate', then 'discomboobulate' before it evolved into its current form. You might be befuddled or bewildered, puzzled perplexed or dumbfounded, but, whatever you are, you are not in your normal state of mind. Somehow, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam come to mind.

Answer: offensively self-assertive

The first known use of bumptious was as far back as 1803 when they might have used 'uppity' or 'highfalutin' as synonyms. Nowadays they might call this person imperious, presumptuous or supercilious, but whichever word you use, this person seems to have a sense of entitlement that alienates everyone in his/her path.

Answer: a garter belt

'Sockdolager' is another of those American words of the 1800s mixing Latin roots with slang. Partially from sock, meaning to punch, and doxology, the end of a church service, they combined to mean a final blow or cutting remark; it has also been used to mean a 'whopper' (but not of the 'fast food' kind) or in fishing. I include this word only for the historical possibility that it may have been one of the last words Lincoln heard before his assassination.

Answer: granular igneous rock

A grifter can mean someone who practices confidence scams, a hustler who runs a sideshow at a carnival or the superhero name of the fictional comic book character known as Cole Cash (how very appropriate!). The word can also refer to an indie rock band, a novel or a film starring John Cusack. What it definitely does not describe is gabbro, a granular igneous rock; hope you didn't get flim-flammed which, by the way, is of Scandanavian origin.

Answer: lollapalooza

'Lollapalooza' is a US slang term broadly defined as something excellent. In recent years (dating back to 1991), it has also come to mean a North American alternative pop music concert or festival. In case you're interested (or even if you're not), a latibule is a hiding place; lulibub is an archaic word for a lollipop, and lubberwort can be defined as junk food.

Answer: foofaraw

'Foofaraw' is a term from the American West and its first usage is listed as around 1934. The derivation of the word seems to come from the Spanish word 'fanfaron' which means show-off. It implies a great fuss over something insignificant or, alternatively, an excessive amount of decoration; it even sounds like a big fuss.

As for the incorrect choices, a fanion is a small flag used for surveying or a cloth worn on a priest's arm for handling holy vessels; fantod is a state of irritability or tension; farrago is a disorderly mixture. So I guess a foofaraw could create a fantod or lead to a farrago...

Answer: catawampus

'Catawampus' seems to have originated in the South or Midwest in the 1840s, and may have some relation to catty-cornered, on a bias or crooked, and perhaps 'wampish', a Scottish word to wiggle or twist. It was originally used as an adverb, i.e., catawampusly, and simply added to the intensity, e.g., utterly or completely. Additionally, 'catawampus' was used as a noun in 1843 as a name for an imaginary hobgoblin or bogeyman; personally, I'd rather be chased by a bogeyman than a catawampus - the stuff of nightmares.

Answer: ordinary

'Ornery' is an adjective first used around 1816 and implies having an irritable disposition. Somehow I picture an old Western town with a saloon and an ornery guy disrupting the peace. It is often associated with advanced age, as in "an ornery old man who always yells at the neighborhood kids to keep off his lawn" (but he's just lonely and misunderstood, right?).