Words Too Easily Confused, Set Two Quiz

Answer: Naknek

There are actually two villages named Naknek, one on each side of the Naknek River where it empties into Kvichak Bay, which is an extension of Bristol Bay, Alaska. The one on the south side is called South Naknek. Before the Alaska Purchase, there was an Imperial Russian fort and a Russian Orthodox Church there.

Answer: Nick Nack

Diminutive actor Hervé Villechaize play Nick Nack, the henchman to Francisco Scaramanga, an assassin, in 1974's "The Man with the Golden Gun". This was the ninth film in the James Bond canon. Villechaize is the same actor who played Tattoo, the sidekick to Mister Roarke, played by Ricardo Montalbán, on the TV series "Fantasy Island" (1977 to 1984).

Answer: Knickknack

"Knickknack" has been used in English since the 16th Century to describe a toy or a trinket. It is thought to have come from a reduplication of the noun "knack" meaning a trick. "Knack" may have come from the German.

"We are all human beings with our own little knick-knacks and ways of doing things." ~Bernhard Langer, German professional golfer (b. 1957)

Answer: Nik Naks

In the United Kingdom and in South Africa, competing brands of Nik Naks are produced, sold and enjoyed. They are similar to the American snack food Cheetos. Both companies have added a variety of other flavours, e.g. scampi and lemon, pickle and onion, fruit chutney, and spicy beef.

Answer: Crevasse

As stresses in various directions build up in a sheet of ice, shear stress causes cracks (sometimes violently) to relieve that stress. The result is a deep fracture called a crevasse. From 1823, the noun has been borrowed from the French.

"I am hell-bent for the South Pole -- God willing and crevasses permitting." ~Sir Edmund Hillary (1919-2008).

Answer: Crevice

Fractures divide rock into two or more pieces. Such fissures in rock are called crevices. The more crevices, the more water, hydrocarbons or other liquids which can pass through the rock structure. From the 14th Century, the term has migrated into English from the French and gradually expanded in meaning to include separations or divisions in other substances.

"I took a shower washing every body part with actual soap; including all my major crevices; including in between my toes and in my belly button, which I never did before but sort of enjoyed. I washed my hair with adult formula shampoo and used cream rinse for that just-washed shine. I can't seem to find my toothbrush, so I'll pick one up when I go out today. Other than that, I'm in good shape." ~"Home Alone" (1990)

Answer: Cravat

A cravat precedes the modern necktie and bow tie in fashion history. It is derived from an article of military uniform worn by Croats in the 17th Century. The English noun "cravat" is a French corruption of the Croatian pronunciation of Croat.

"A cravat is the apotheosis of all neckwear. A cravat desigeshes (sic) a man of refinement from the merely ordinary. It sneers at the severity of the stock. It is the only item of dress the expresses true individuality. And whether it be made of lace or silk or the finest loom it thrives on ingenuity, on originality, and above all on personality down to the last skilled twist of bow or knot." ~The Scarlet Pimpernel, TV series, season 1, episode 1 (1999).

Answer: Gelatine

"Gelatine" (or gelatin) is an edible food product, flavourless and colourless, which is made from various animal parts. It is used to thicken foods or to cause them to "gel". The word derives from the Latin gelatus which means stiff or frozen. It appears in odd spots, e.g. ice cream and marshmallows. Vegans eschew it because it is made from the bones and skins of several animals.

"This girl at school told me that gelatin is made from ground-up cows' feet, and that if you eat Jell-O there's some cows out limping with no feet." ~Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series) "Listening to Fear" (2000).

Answer: Gallantine

"Gallantine" (or galantine) is a classic European dish, dating from at least 1725. It is made by boning meat or fish, rolling and wrapping it in its own skin, poaching it in its own reduced stock and chilling it in its own gelatine.

A gallantine figured in an episode (30 Jan 78) of "Columbo" on American television entitled "Murder under Glass." Lieutenant Columbo, himself a gourmet chef, was investigating the murder of a restaurant owner. Part of the case turned on a duck gallantine stuffed with truffles and pistachios.

Answer: Guillotine

The guillotine was made famous by its use during the French Revolution but it was certainly not invented by Dr. Joseph-Ignace Guillotin who urged its adoption as a quick, certain and merciful method of execution. Similar devices had been in use in Europe for several hundred years. The guillotine remained the official method of capital punishment in France until 1981.

"Baby proofing a guillotine? So you cut your finger off. It's part of the fun." ~"Hotel Transylvania 2" (2015).