What is the Right Word for Such People? Part II Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. You are seeing a counselor about a problem you've had in your work-place. After only two sessions, the counselor has understood the nature of the issue, and has assisted you in anticipating how to deal with it in the future. What is the right word for this counselor?

Answer: Perspicacious

"Perspicacious", the Latin root of which "perspico", meaning to look through, means that your counsellor has keen mental perception or discernment, which is why he/she was able to assist you with your problem in so short a time. We need often to ally ourselves with perspicacious people, they are good for us!

2. You're a high school teacher who is having problems with a pupil who has been disciplined and/or suspended repeatedly for anti-social behaviours, but without any improvement. You're letting the principal know that something more professionally effective needs to be done by social workers or police. What is the right word to describe this pupil?

Answer: Recidivist

A "recidivist" is a person who repeatedly lapses back into crime or anti-social behaviour, in spite of whatever societal supports or restrictions have been applied to him or her. Recidivists often do not respond to mainstream means or methods, so clearly this pupil needs a different kind of help.

But, you used the right word, and it helped you to get the job done.

3. You're listening to a political candidate on the radio. He is speaking about his opposition, trying to convince you that you should not vote for this person. He says some pretty nasty things. What is the right word for this negative campaigner?

Answer: Pejorative

Pejorative describes any words, spoken or written, that have the intention of belittling, disparaging or otherwise indicating contempt or scorn. Too many politicians seem to be falling into the pejorative trap these days, or at least, that's how it seems to me.

So let's not be pejorative ourselves: but also let's always correctly label such speech when we hear it.

4. You have a friend who is always keen to point out who last bought the coffee, or whose turn it is to drive to the movies, or which of you should be having the last piece of pie - usually it's her. If you told her she was killing your affection for her by being poultry, would this be the right word to use?

Answer: No

The correct word is "paltry" and not "poultry". Being paltry is not generally a positive trait, but if one is trying to maintain a friendship, it can be a fatal trait. Paltry means to be petty over trivial matters, with the emphasis also on being cheap over issues which should come naturally among good friends who do not keep balance shets of their generosity and affections.

5. Your new neighbours completely rebuilt the house next door. Clearly they have plenty of money because everything seems to be ornate, gilded, and ostentatiously expensive, but pretty much in questionable taste. They are also keen to let you know how costly their renovations were. Which of these is the right word for these neighbours?

Answer: Vulgarians

"Vulgarian" comes from the Latin word for "vulgus", meaning the common people. In English the word means a wealthy individual with coarse taste or manners. Please let me know as soon as they set out the pink flamingos made of pink marble with diamond eyes.

While your vulgarian neighbours might be "royal pains in the rear-end", that is not the correct answer, since the question asked for the "right word", not the right phrase!

6. You are waiting for a girl-friend in a pub and a man sidles up to you. He begins to utter the most crass, insincere pick-up lines you have ever heard. You ask him to leave you alone and because you use the right adjective for him, he does. What is the right word for this man?

Answer: Unctuous

In addition to unction's literal meaning of grease or oil, hence Extreme Unction in the Roman Catholic Church where one gets anointed during the Last Rites at death, it has a wider, less religious meaning.

It can mean smug, self-satisfied, ingratiating, falsely earnest in demeanour and behaviour. I imagine that when used in this sense, unctuous comes from the idea of being left greasy or oily from all that behavioural slickness. That sleazo at the bar definitely sounds unctuous to me.

7. You belong to an organization that has a set code of behaviours and standards. However, one of the members consistently evades practicing these standards and, sometimes, behaves in ways that are counter to your organizational beliefs. What is the right word for this member?

Answer: Heretical

Heretical is a well-known word to students of eras such as the Spanish Inquisition or King Henry VIII's separation from the Roman Catholic Church when he made himself Head of the Church of England.

However, the word has come to have a broader, more secular, meaning today. Heretical can now mean one who departs from standard beliefs or norms that are widely accepted by any group or organization.

Even in Dickens's "A Christmas Carol", he observes how small the Cratchit's Christmas pudding is, but notes that no one commented because "it would have been flat heresy to do so." In other words, only heretics complain about holiday cooking!

8. In warm weather the couple in the apartment next to you spend a lot of time out on their patio. Their conversation is intrusively loud and hard to block out. However, what is most annoying is that they complain a lot about people of other races, religions and those with different ideas from theirs. What is the right word for such people?

Answer: Insensate

"Insensate" comes from the Latin, "sensus", meaning sense, and so in English the word means to be without sense or reason or normal humane feelings; in other words, ignorant fools. Sounds exactly like these neighbours described in the question.

9. You are walking your four year-old daughter to play-school. Even though you do not have much time, she proceeds slowly, stopping to examine leaves on the ground, or kicking at stones, and making little detours onto people's lawns to pet their cats. What is the right word for your daughter?

Answer: Lollygagger

"Lollygagging" means to waste time by doing things that are neither serious nor particularly useful.

Of course, in the world of a four-year old, usefulness is a relative concept. When I was a child and mother walked me to school, she often had to tell me to stop lollygagging. What I learned from lollygagging can now be found in my quizzes, LOL.

10. You volunteer by reading to visually impaired seniors at a retirement home. One of the men is not easy. He interrupts while you are reading, complains about the book, complains about where you are sitting, complains that he is too warm or too cold. He neither greets you nor thanks you. What is the right word for this man?

Answer: Cantankerous

"Cantankerous" means grumpy, quarrelsome and filled with ill-will. While it might seem like a stereotype to characterize someone elderly in this way, I have a friend who works in Social Services. He reminded me that someone who is cantankerous when they are elderly was, in all probability, cantankerous when they were younger. This trait just manifested itself differently back then because the person was more mobile and less dependent. Interesting.

11. You have just witnessed a hit-and run accident on a rainy evening. The police are interested in what you saw and are asking many questions. You are feeling a little anxious. However, you are relieved when a woman who was out walking her dog steps up and begins to describe what she witnessed, which is exactly what you saw. What is the right word for this woman?

Answer: Corroborator

A corroborator is one who helps support or prove a statement or theory by providing information or evidence, thus in terms of accident witnesses, making observations seem more certain.

The word's Latin root is "robor" which means strength. Combined with "co", we therefore have the meaning, "with strength".

12. You recently dined at a new restaurant where you had an excellent meal. Your visit was based on favourable comments from family and friends. You learned that the restaurant was going to be written up by a picky food critic. However, you were surprised and delighted to read such a witty, accurate and entertaining review. What is the right word for this critic?

Answer: Coruscating

"Coruscate" has its roots in the Latin word "corusco", to flash. In English, the word also means "to flash", but additionally means to lighten, to gleam or glitter, which follows that the word can be used to mean "a flash of wit".

One sometimes hears the word used incorrectly to mean the opposite. In other words, the critic's review was scathing and unkind. Be sure to use the word correctly and wisely. It is precious.

13. You are a member of the parent association of your children's school. You have learned that one particular teacher is verbally abusive. The other members of the association are fearful of retaliation and legal action. You decide to speak out. You meet with the principal, together with this teacher, and you set out your evidence. What is the right word for you?

Answer: Denunciator

Denunciate has its roots in the Latin word which means the same as it does in English, namely to make a public accusation or condemnation of an act.

In any type of repressive regime, a denunciation can be a fearful thing, but in a healthy democracy with freedom of expression, it is the right thing to do, especially in a situation such as that conveyed in the question.

14. When you were a boy, your grand-mother always worried about whether you had enough to eat, whether or not you would catch a cold, whether you should play on the side-walk, what time you would be coming home, and so on. What is the right word to describe your boyish self?

Answer: Mollycoddled

What your grand-mother was doing, no doubt out of extreme love, was mollycoddling; her actions produced a mollycoddled son. Mollycoddle (the noun) means a man or boy used to being coddled in an extreme way, a way which might make him grow up to be a milksop - another apt word, BTW. I hope by now this boy is no longer a mollycoddle and is manning up at every opportunity during his adult years!

15. You are forever hearing in the news about a country whose rival factions are constantly battling for supremacy in culture, language and religion. You feel that the problems will never be solved while the opposing groups are destroying each other with violence. What is the right word for this country's struggles?

Answer: Internecine

"Internecine" means strife that occurs between members of the same country, group or organization. At its best, although not accurate usage, internecine can characterize quarrels which build up between factions in politics or at work-places. At its worst, and in correct usage, internecine means deadly conflict between two or more groups within a country or global region to the point of mutual destruction.

The word's origins are from the Latin "internecare", to destroy through violence.

Source: Author smeone

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

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