Crazy Vocabulary 2

Test your well-read audience to see if they know the more peculiar side of the English language in this trivia game series on vocabulary.

15 questions · Published August 22, 2022

Trivia questions (5 of 15)

Multiple Choice
1. Which precious metal would be described using the chemistry term "auric?"
The word "auric" comes from a Latin word meaning "gold."
Multiple Choice
2. What inclement weather staple is sometimes known as a "bumbershoot?"
The origins of "bumbershoot" are unclear, but it seems that the "bumber" is a modification of the "umbr" in umbrella and the shoot is an alteration of the "chute" in parachute (since an open parachute looks a little like an umbrella).
Multiple Choice
3. "Calefaction" refers to the state of being ______________.
From a Latin word meaning "warming," "calefaction" refers to the state of being heated.
Multiple Choice
4. Which of these words designates a person who clears the way for a procession?
A "whiffler" is a British term for someone who clears path through a crowd or for a procession.
Multiple Choice
5. What type of weapon is a "snickersnee?"
FUN FACT
The obsolete term "snick or snee" meant to engage in cut-and-thrust fighting, and large knives came to be known as "snickersnees."

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