Average Literature Trivia: Terry Pratchett's 'Soul Music' | 20 Questions

Answer: Miss Butts

Susan's headmistress has to write notes to herself to remember she was interviewing Susan Sto Helit, but she still forgets. Miss Cumber was one of the teachers that complained that Susan made herself invisible. I'm afraid that Miss Bumms and Miss Rears are my 'humorous' takes on the words 'Butts'.

Answer: blue

This is when Death goes to visit the holy man. We also learn the interesting fact that the sound of one hand clapping is 'CL' (the other hand makes the AP).

Answer: Tin Lid Alley

Apparently if the Guild find you playing without a licence, 'they take your instrument and they shove - ..it's not much fun if you're a piccolo player'. According to Wikipedia, 'Tin Pan Alley was originally a specific place, West 28th Street between Broadway and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan.' This was where a group of music publishers set up. Tin Lid Alley is obviously the Discworld equivalent.

Answer: Lias

Although you'd expect it to be Imp (Buddy), the original description of Lias (Cliff) is 'had two large squares of darkish glass in front of his eyes, supported by wire frames hooked around its ears'. Given trolls' sensibilities to sunlight, this is probably a good idea - after all, he wants to play rock - not become it.

Answer: Two hard-boilled eggs

They order four fried rats (without ketchup!), some dwarf bread (one of the things that convinced Glod that Imp wasn't elvish was that Imp liked dwarf bread), some coke (not the drink, the fuel) for Lias and then Imp asked for two hard-boilled eggs, which causes the others to give him an odd look. (This is not a typo, Imp comes from Llamedos, with its sing-song accent of double els in words).

Answer: 'My aunt's camel has fallen in the mirage'.

Isn't it amazing the stupid phrases you get taught when you learn a foreign language? I still remember from Latin 'Quid est agricola in aqua statam?' (apologies for mistakes) which I was told at school meant 'Why is the farmer standing in the water?' As Molesworth would say 'I neither kno nor care'. Nice to see it's the same in Discworld! Susan also thought Death of Rats wasn't real - merely the result of the cheese she'd eaten the night before.

Answer: Plaited it and tied it in ribbons in the school colours

She was still barred from sport for using 'her axe in a threatening manner'. When the girls go to the stables, Gloria is accused of salivating over the pony!

Answer: St. Michael

One joins the Klatchian Foreign Legion to forget - and this corporal has certainly managed! Rummaging in his vest, he tries 'Medium' and 'Hand Wash Only' before Death concedes 'Corporal Cotton' is feasible. 'St. Michael' is the British firm Marks & Spencer underwear mark, and there's a very silly joke about someone announcing 'St. Michael' was their name having consulted their vest. Because Death doesn't do a lot in the Legion, they christen him 'Beau Nidle', which works in several ways!

Answer: The Dean

Everyone else thought the Librarian was just making an 'unholy noise' but the Dean's eyes glazed over, his hair crackled and he wondered 'if he'd be allowed to paint his bedroom black'.

Answer: BORN IN ANKH-MORPOK

He'd started with 'DEAN', but it was a long coat. He went on with 'BORN TO', but wasn't quite sure what to put next (it eventually became 'BORN TO RUNE'). 'LIVE FATS DIE YO GNU' came about because it's very difficult to keep track of the direction you're going when you're working on the other side of the material. At seventy-two years old, the Dean feels seventeen.

Answer: Hide Park

C.M.O.T Dibbler allowed them to give a free concert as he realised there would be lots of marketing opportunities (food, posters, t-shirts etc. etc.) Hyde Park and Green Park are both parks in London.

Answer: Mr Scrub

Death found it very peaceful living with Foul Old Ron (and his dog and his Smell), Coffin Henry, Arnold Sideways and the Duck Man. Death was known as Bill Door in 'Reaper Man', and Keith and Leonard were mentioned in 'Soul Music' when Colon and Nobby were speculating about Death's first name.

Answer: The Jolly Cabbage

Scrote was in the Sto Plains, which are many miles of cabbages. The Jolly Cabbage was not a very merry place, though. The only way they don't finish up as spare ribs (or in Cliff's case, a rockery) is because they play. I made up the Amusing Boar and The Giggling Dwarf as suitably Discworld-ish. The Happpy Hamster is for my hamster, Hamish, who likes being in quizzes.

Answer: It was deaf

What would you expect in a book about 'Soul Music' other than a deaf leopard? (Note: Def Leppard is a famous British hard rock band). The owner had got rid of it cheap because it couldn't hear the lion-tamer, but Scum doesn't think it will matter to their band as 'Your trousers don't have to listen'.

When Noddy speculates about how to kill a leopard (which is in Crash's bedroom), Crash suggests they 'let it choke to death on Scum'.

Answer: Redecorated them

By Pseudopolis, Glod is painting the rooms and putting up curtains. Rock star excesses were not for him! Even though Glod knew the most famous horn player there ever was was Brother Charnel, who stole Offler's altar gold and played magical music on the horn he made from it, here and now the people would shout for Glod Glodsson and not remember some felonious monk. (This is one of my favourite Discworld puns).

Answer: The Beetles

The foursome had real problems thinking of a name and playing Music With Rocks In (especially after Crash was bitten by his putative trousers). At the free festival they thought they were probably in the small print - 'Ande Supporting Bands'.

Answer: Spent five minutes in the shower with a chamois leather on his head

The craftsman reckoned that was 'good enough for folk music'. Of the wrong answers, Lord Vetinari's garden was laid out by 'Bloody Stupid' Johnson, so his fountain would not be a safe place to be, no-one tramped to the Ramtops and with Cliff being a troll, silicon chips would not have been involved.

Answer: Johnny B. Goode

It can't be the one we in Roundworld know, though, as it's sad and soft and beautiful and even makes Dibbler think of 'things you couldn't sell and shouldn't pay for...' Before I was given the translation, I thought of it as 'True Love Ways', as that song was so different from the rest of the Roundworld Buddy's oeuvre.

Answer: A world of hertz

Unhygienic is one of the Archchancellor's favourite words of condemnation and this 'pune or play on words' is quite unlike him.

Answer: The fish and chip shop in Three Roses Alley

Susan was told by her grandfather that she'd see Buddy again, so she's very interested when Gloria tells her that there's a new boy working in the chip shop and 'I'd swear he's elvish'...With that tribute to the late, great Kirsty McColl, the quiz has finished. I hope you enjoyed it.