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Words by Decade 1951- 1960 Trivia Quiz

This decade marked the beginning of the consumer boom in both the U.S.A. and Great Britain.In the background lurked the dangers of the Cold War. However, the new words kept on arriving in the dictionary.

A multiple-choice quiz by Philian. Estimated time: 4 mins.

Author
Philian

Time
4 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
156,591

Updated
Dec 28 22

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
7 / 10

Plays
5293

Awards
Top 10% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. A "Frisbee" is the name for a concave plastic disc used for throwing and catching. From which industry did the Frisbee get its name? Hint

The tool-making industry - it came from aerodynamic circular saw blades.

The automobile industry - it came from aerodynamic hub caps.

The bakery industry - it came from aerodynamic pie tins.

The lumber industry - it came from aerodynamic log offcuts.

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Question 2 of 10

2. In 1955 Vladmir Nabokov in his novel "Lolita" introduced a new word into the language. Which of the following was it? Hint

nymphet

witchlet

wifelet

maidlet

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Question 3 of 10

3. Which of the following meanings of the word "dock" first came into use during the 1950s? Hint

to remove wages from an employee for some infringement

to cut the tail off an animal

to dab with a dock leaf to take away the sting

to join a space vehicle to another in space

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Question 4 of 10

4. The abbreviation ECT was first used in 1953. What do the initials stand for? Hint

A European communications satellite.

A form of electric shock therapy

A trade agreement between the U.S.A. and Europe

A regular meeting of the Soviet Communist party.

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Question 5 of 10

5. To which area of life was the word "funky" first most commonly applied from the 1950s onwards? Hint

fashionable clothes

expensive cars

narcotic drugs

jazz and popular music

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Question 6 of 10

6. What was a "Windsor knot"? Hint

a new kind of suburban intersection

a complicated marital arrangement

a new system of speed measurement

a large loose knot in a tie

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Question 7 of 10

7. What was the nationality of the inventor of the hovercraft whose patent was first registered in 1955? Hint

British

French

American

German

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Question 8 of 10

8. The abbreviation ICBM was first recorded in 1955. What sort of device did these initials represent? Hint

a large computer system

a long range missile

a new type of radar system

a new type of amphibious tank

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Question 9 of 10

9. Which of the following meanings of the word "gas" was first developed during the 1950s? Hint

to kill by means of using poison gas in a death chamber

a lot of empty talk or frothy eloquence

something that is very pleasing, exciting, impressive or admirable

to subject to the action of burning in order to free fibres

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Question 10 of 10

10. Which of the following is the name of a mainly British form of pop music that developed in the 1950s? Hint

snuffle

shuffle

skuffle

skiffle

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. A "Frisbee" is the name for a concave plastic disc used for throwing and catching. From which industry did the Frisbee get its name?

Answer: The bakery industry - it came from aerodynamic pie tins.

The disc was actually invented by Fred Morrison who got the idea and its name from the pie tins of the Frisbie bakery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In the U.S.A. "Frisbee" is the proprietary or brand name.

2. In 1955 Vladmir Nabokov in his novel "Lolita" introduced a new word into the language. Which of the following was it?

Answer: nymphet

It was the word that he used for a sexually attractive young girl, Nabokov's anti-hero Humbert Humbert lusts after pre-adolescent girls. Nabokov declared that nymphets were between the ages of nine and fourteen and were demonic in nature rather than human as they were capable of bewitching men many times older than they were.

3. Which of the following meanings of the word "dock" first came into use during the 1950s?

Answer: to join a space vehicle to another in space

John Ayto in "20th Century Words" notes that a British Journal in 1951 declared that "The idea of 'docking' a space ship inside a space station is suicidal lunacy." By the time of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin in 1969 the world had got used to the idea of "docking" with the command module.

4. The abbreviation ECT was first used in 1953. What do the initials stand for?

Answer: A form of electric shock therapy

It is really the abbreviation for electro-convulsive therapy. A shock is given to the central nervous system in order to try to cure severe depression and even schizophrenia. Doctors and scientists are still discussing the relative merits and hazards of this therapy.

5. To which area of life was the word "funky" first most commonly applied from the 1950s onwards?

Answer: jazz and popular music

Its meaning as defined in the 1950s is down to earth and uncomplicated, emotional and having the quality of blues music. It was probably originally derived from funky meaning "musty or foul-smelling."

6. What was a "Windsor knot"?

Answer: a large loose knot in a tie

It was a knot in a tie as favoured by Edward VIII during his time as Duke of Windsor after the abdication. It enjoyed a brief period of fashionable popularity and is first recorded in written language in 1953.

7. What was the nationality of the inventor of the hovercraft whose patent was first registered in 1955?

Answer: British

A hovercraft is, of course, a vehicle that can be supported by a cushion of air ejected downwards against a surface close below it. It was invented by the British engineer Sir Christopher Cockerell. The alternative names for this included "the air cushion vehicle" or "sea saucer".

8. The abbreviation ICBM was first recorded in 1955. What sort of device did these initials represent?

Answer: a long range missile

The initials actually stand for "Intercontinental ballistic missile". The typical cargo of such a missile was a nuclear bomb. This was one of the products of Werner von Braun's work for the American government.

9. Which of the following meanings of the word "gas" was first developed during the 1950s?

Answer: something that is very pleasing, exciting, impressive or admirable

Ths was originally U.S.A. jazz slang and could be applied to people as well as things. It is believed to have derived from the 1940s word "gasser" which means exactly the same thing. John Ayto in "20th Century Words" quotes James Baldwin : "Brand-new pianos certainly were a gas."

10. Which of the following is the name of a mainly British form of pop music that developed in the 1950s?

Answer: skiffle

Back in the 1920s in the U.S.A. this was a form of jazz played on improvised instruments. The British music of the 1950s had the vocal part supported by guitars or banjos and other less conventional instruments such as washboards which would be played with thimbles.

Source: Author Philian

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