You May Not Know Me Trivia Quiz

Answer: Floccinaucinihilipilification

I have never seen this word actually used - it is only familiar from lists of longest words in the English language. Like most of those words, it is compiled from smaller bits that lead to the overall meaning. The first four ('flocccī-', 'naucī-', 'nihilī-' and 'pilī-') are all Latin words describing something of little value; using all four really makes the point! The '-fication' indicates an action, although it is more commonly used to describe the act of creating the state indicated by the earlier part of the word, rather than the act of judging it to be appropriate.

Answer: Dégringolade

Dégringolade is a French term describing an event to which the verb 'dégringoler', to tumble down, could be applied. In English, it is usually used (albeit rarely) to describe a metaphorical downfall rather than a physical one, a fall from grace or loss of prestige.

Answer: Equanimity

The Latin phrase 'aequo animo', meaning with even mind, originally applied to the impartial use of one's judgment. In the 17th century English speakers used it in this sense, but it quickly came to indicate the ability to retain that level-headed approach in a range of circumstances, especially when under pressure.

It eventually became used to describe an overall temperament, not just the behaviour in a specific situation.

Answer: Protactinium

'Proto-' is a prefix meaning first or before. Protactinium has a number of isotopes, all highly radioactive, so extremely rare to find in the earth's crust. Most protactinium is found in nuclear fuel waste, as it is formed when uranium decays. (Actually, there are a number of decay pathways, but let's leave it at the simplest for this vocabulary quiz!) The most common isotope of protactinium emits alpha radiation as it transforms into the element actinium.

The discovery of protactinium in the early years of the 20th century filled in one of the last gaps in Mendeleev's periodic table.

Answer: Durchkomponiert

Strophic is the opposite - a song that uses the same music for each verse. Durchkomponiert songs are also called through-composed songs, indicating that the piece is progressive, without repetition. In classical music, many of Schubert's 'Lieder' (poems set to music) use this technique.

The term through-composed can also be applied to operas or musicals which are completely sung, with no recitative or spoken segments to break up the flow.

Answer: Schadenfreude

This lovely word combines the German for harm ('Schaden') and joy ('freude') to produce a single word that describes a sense of pleasure experienced when someone else is seen to suffer some form of harm, physical or (more commonly) social/emotional. If you prefer to use a term of Greek origins, try epicaricacy (from the Greek 'epichairekakia', first used by Aristotle) which combines words meaning upon ('epi'), joy ('chara') and evil ('kakon').

Answer: psychology

Both words use the suffix -ology, meaning the study of something. Psychology is the study of the psyche, which is the Greek word for soul. In English, it is used to refer to all the conscious and unconscious feelings and thought processes one experiences. Physiology, on the other hand, studies the physical aspects of life, how the corporeal body functions.

Answer: poinsettia

This plant, whose distinctive red and green foliage has led to its association with Christmas, derives its common name not from the botanist who first identified it as a new species, but from the first US Minister to Mexico, who introduced the plant to the US market in the 1820s.

As for a pointrel, that is a tool (a small chisel), also called a graver, used by engravers. Pointrels come with a range of tip shapes and sizes, selected according to whether the desire is to dig a fine line, or clear a larger area.

Answer: maraschino

Maraschino is produced by fermenting Marasca cherries, a cultivar of sour cherry with a distinctive taste and aroma. The liqueur was used to preserve Marasca cherries, producing Maraschino cherries. When the process spread to the rest of Europe in the 19th century, it became common practice to substitute other types of cherry to be preserved in the Maraschino, as Marasca cherries were so difficult to obtain.

In the United States, in 1940 the FDA defined a maraschino cherry as "cherries which have been dyed red, impregnated with sugar, and packed in a sugar syrup flavored with oil of bitter almonds or a similar flavor." A far cry from the Dalmatian original!

Answer: bazaar

The word bazaar was originally a Persian term for the town's market area; the Arabic term souk has the same meaning. There is evidence for the existence of market stalls over 5,000 years ago along trading routes, although they were then built outside the city, providing for trade with passers by.

As cities grew larger, they moved into the city proper, and became its commercial hub. Nothing really bizarre about that!