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Words with the prefix 'Para' Trivia Quiz

A quiz on words beginning with Para... some easy, some not-so-easy. Either way, enjoy!

A multiple-choice quiz by heatherlois. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
heatherlois

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
338,124

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
6 / 10

Plays
566

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. I'm part of a rock band and I'm doing some paradiddling. What exactly am I doing? Hint

I'm bashing a cymbal

I'm going for a drink after band practice

I'm very lightly stroking my violin strings

I'm executing a drumroll

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Question 2 of 10

2. Leaving the rockband (because I've decided I'm not that good at paradiddling), I decide to see a bit of the world. I arrive in Spain, and realise I really need a parador, because I'm feeling exhausted. What is it I need to find? Hint

A chair with rounded arms

A hostelry

An alcoholic drink with lots of vodka - that will wake me up!

A love seat

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. Next on my world trip is Malaysia, where someone approaches me waving a 'parang'. What's my reaction to this? Hint

I say 'thank you', accept it, and eat it

I run as fast as my little legs will carry me

I gasp in horror, it has six legs, is hairy and looks like it's ready to sting me

I tell them 'no thank you, I don't want to buy a teapot

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. A bit dubious about Malaysia now, I rush into a travel agent and ask the lovely lady behind the desk to get me out of the country - asap. To finish my booking, she passes a form to me, and as I pass the form back, she comments on my nice 'paraph'. What is she commenting on? Hint

My cheery, sunny nature

The collar of my blouse, which is round and made of lace

The flourish at the end of my signature

The ring on my finger, it's made of twelve diamonds in a circular pattern.

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Question 5 of 10

5. The only way I can get out of Malaysia is by boat. While on the deck I see an unusual sight: a ship towing a torpedo-shaped device with serrated teeth. As I'm watching, an old mine bobs up to the surface of the sea. I ask a fellow passenger what the torpedo-shaped device is; what does he reply? Hint

What on earth makes you think I'd know?

Oh that's a paracleaver

Oh, that's a paravane

Oh, that's a parasate

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Question 6 of 10

6. So, by a very circuitous route, we arrive in Greece (and incidentally do a bit of time travel back a few hundred years). A man suddenly bumps into me on the pavement. He seems to be in a bit of a hurry and garbles an apology that he's a 'paranymph' at a wedding. What's his job? Hint

He's responsible for organising the doves

A friend of the groom, he's going with the groom to fetch home the new bride

He's a man who initially beds the bride to make sure she was 'pure'

He's organising the honeymoon

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Question 7 of 10

7. Well, I'm really criss-crossing the world now and I'm in South America. I go on a river cruise and the guide looks down and tells me red-bellied piranhas live in the water. He then tells me the red-bellied piranha has the reputation of being one of the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. As I step smartly away from the railing of the boat and ask which river we are on, how does he answer? Hint

Parana

Paraquao

Paradontfallin

Para Del Rio

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. A bit sick of travelling extensively, I stay in South America, and head for the chief port of Suriname. I glance over the rail and see a sign that says we have landed where? Hint

Parasol

Parasuri

Paramaribo

Paramanta

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. My last action while in South America is to go parachuting. Can you name the person who sketched the first design for a parachute? Hint

Leonardo Da Vinci

Albert Einstein

Benjamin Franklin

The Wright Brothers

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Question 10 of 10

10. OK, so lastly, we should look at the prefix 'para' itself. What does it actually mean? Hint

Belong, alongside, position

Above, over, high

Prior, before, earlier

Near, close, face-to-face

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. I'm part of a rock band and I'm doing some paradiddling. What exactly am I doing?

Answer: I'm executing a drumroll

I'm executing a drumroll in a quick succession and doing it in an alternate pattern - e.g. L R L L, R L R R.

Answer: A hostelry

A parador is a government-operated hostelry in Spain. The word comes from the Spanish word 'parar', meaning to stop.

3. Next on my world trip is Malaysia, where someone approaches me waving a 'parang'. What's my reaction to this?

Answer: I run as fast as my little legs will carry me

Yep, since a parang is a short sword or machete common in Malaysia, I'm definitely going to run away from anyone brandishing one!

Answer: The flourish at the end of my signature

A paraph is the flourish at the end of your signature. Whilst I don't have one, I'm always envious of people who do! The word is derived from French and comes from paragraph. It was first used in 1584.

Answer: Oh, that's a paravane

A paravane is a device used for severing the moorings of mines. It was initially developed to destroy naval mines and essentially works by being dragged from the bow of the towing ship until it snags a cable attached to a mine. The serrated teeth cut the cable anchoring the mine, allowing the mine to float harmlessly to the surface where it can then be destroyed by gunfire.

Answer: A friend of the groom, he's going with the groom to fetch home the new bride

Yes, a paranymph was a friend of the groom, responsible for going with the groom to fetch the wife home. It can also mean a bridesmaid conducting the bride to the bridegroom. Its first known use was in 1600. (Oh, and 'nymph' incidentally means 'bride' in Greek).

Answer: Parana

This amuses me - that piranhas are found in the River Parana. (Small things and all that!) Anyway, back to red-bellied piranhas - they have a set of razor sharp teeth which are capable of stripping flesh from prey and dead animals. They have a reddish brown tinge to their tummy and are not very big at a maximum length of 13 inches.

8. A bit sick of travelling extensively, I stay in South America, and head for the chief port of Suriname. I glance over the rail and see a sign that says we have landed where?

Answer: Paramaribo

And the correct answer, of course, was Paramaribo. It was originally an Indian village that became a French settlement in 1640. It lies on the Suriname River and is 15 km from the Atlantic Ocean. Access from the ocean is limited, though, by a sandbar which allows a depth of only 6 metres.

9. My last action while in South America is to go parachuting. Can you name the person who sketched the first design for a parachute?

Answer: Leonardo Da Vinci

Yes, it was Da Vinci and way back in 1485. Just over five hundred years later - on June 26, 2000 - a man named Adrian Nicholas jumped an exact replica of it...and, unbelievably, it worked! The chute was made of wood, canvas and rope. It was jumped from a balloon at 10,000 feet, but just to be on the safe side, Nicholas rode it to 7,000 feet where he cut away from it and used a traditional parachute for landing. Sensible man.

10. OK, so lastly, we should look at the prefix 'para' itself. What does it actually mean?

Answer: Belong, alongside, position

'Para' comes from Greece (circa 1000) and means belong, alongside, position. (It becomes slightly more obvious when you think about more common words, such as parallel, paradromic (meaning running parallel), paragogue, etc). The prefix more recently has been used in the naming of occupational roles which are considered to be ancillary to roles requiring more training, i.e. paraprofessional, paralegal, paralibrarian; parapolice etc.

Source: Author heatherlois

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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