Words Too Easily Confused, Set Five Quiz

Answer: Haggadah

The Hebrew word haggadah means "telling." It is the text which is read aloud at the Passover meal to fulfill the commandment to "tell your son" of the events which led Israel out of slavery in Egypt and into the Promised Land. The requirement to "tell your son" is found in Exodus 13:8.

Answer: Häagen-Dazs

The Häagen-Dazs ice cream company was founded in 1961 by Reuben and Rose Mattus. Although the company is not Danish, Reuben wanted a Danish-sounding name because of his sense that Denmark treated Jews well during the Second World War. Häagen-Dazs does not mean anything in Danish. There is no umlaut in Danish nor is the digraph "zs" used.

Answer: Haggard

H. Rider Haggard (1856-1925) wrote British adventure novels and Merle Haggard (1937-2016) sang a lot of country western songs. A person looks haggard if they seem to be worn out, worried and/or suffering pain.

Answer: Haggis

Haggis is a British dish; the best-known version is that made in Scotland. The recipe calls for sheep's pluck (heart, liver and lungs) to be minced with oatmeal, suet and alliums and stuffed inside a sheep's stomach to be boiled. The dish is celebrated in Robert Burns' poem "Address to a Haggis" (1787).

Answer: Hagrid

Rubeus Hagrid is a half-giant half-human character in J.K. Rowling's series. He is the gamekeeper in the first novel but progresses to become teacher at Hogwarts and in disclosed to be a member of the Order of the Phoenix. In the movies, he is played by Robbie Coltrane as an adult and by Martin Bayfield as a teenager.

Answer: Hagiography

Writing the lives of saints became an especially important genre of Christian literature after the canon of scripture was closed. Hagiographies were more popular than collections of sermons and theological treatises. The writing of these documents also supported the development of a church calendar in which saints were remembered on a particular day of the church year.

Answer: Haglund

Ivar Haglund (1905-1985) opened an aquarium and fish-and-chips bar on the Seattle waterfront in 1938. He expanded his restaurant endeavours to include three more sit-down restaurants and dozens of fish bars (called Ivar's Acres of Clams). He won a seat on the Seattle Port Commission for no other reason than that people loved him.

He was well known for singing (and playing guitar) to folk songs of his own composition.

Answer: Hagar

In the Book of Genesis, Hagar is identified as an Egyptian woman, the handmaid of Sarai (Sarah), who bears Abraham's firstborn son, Ishmael. She is respected in both the Jewish/Hebrew and Muslim/Islamic traditions.

Answer: Hagia Sophia

The Byzantine Emperor Justinian I ordered the construction of the Church of the Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Istanbul, Turkey, in 532 AD. It was completed in 537 and served as an Orthodox Christian cathedral until 1453, when it became an Ottoman mosque. Today it serves as a museum and is one of the best examples of Byzantine architecture on the planet.

Answer: Haggle

People who bargain assiduously and persistently are said to haggle. The word entered English in the 16th Century from the Old Norse where it meant to cut, chop or hew. Its use to describe an argument about price probably derived from the notion of hacking away, removing a bit at a time.