Words

Scrabble Quiz – How much would the following words score in a game of Scrabble, assuming that none of the letters were placed over a double or triple letter or word score and no blank tiles are used?

1. Bed

6 (B=3, E=1, D=2)

2. Joker

16 (J=8, O=1, K=5, E=1, R=1)

3. Words

9 (W=4, O=1, R=1, D=2, S=1)

4. Cork

10 (C=3, O=1, R=1, K=5)

5. Butterfly

17 (B=3, U=1, T=1, E=1, R=1, F=4, L=1, Y=4)

6. Motorway

16 (M=3, O=1, T=1, R=1, W=4, A=1, Y=4)

7. Lazy

16 (L=1, A=1, Z=10, Y=4)

8. Quit

13 (Q=10, U=1, I=1, T=1)

9. Variety

13 (V=4, A=1, R=1, I=1, E=1, T=1, Y=4)

10. Xylophone

24 (X=8, Y=4, L=1, O=1, P=3, H=4, O=1, N=1, E=1)

To download the Scrabble Quiz as a PDF contestant question paper, with questions only plus spaces for contestant answers, please click on the grey box below:

Word Links – We will give you a list of three words – you tell us what they have in common.

1. Trouble, take and Dutch

They can all follow the word ‘double’ to make phrases

2. Band, stamp and plant

They can all follow ‘rubber’ to make new phrases

3. Crawley, Bates and Grantham

They are all surnames of characters in Downton Abbey

4. Caboc, Tintern and Tesyn

They are all types of British soft cheese

5. Ballot, passage and agent

They all things that can be ‘secret’

6. Ball, Cash and Vegas

They are all famous people called Johnny

7. Inheritance, council and road

They are all types of tax

8. Beam, throttle and up

They are all words that can follow ‘full’

9. Stirling, Glamis and Spynie

They are all Scottish castles

10. Broad, kidney and green

They are all types of bean

To download the word links quiz as a PDF contestant question paper, please click on the link below:

Which is the correct definition?

1. What is hagiology, is it..?

A – The study of saints

B – The study of witches

C – A system used when determining the physical strength of animals

A – The study of saints

2. If something is napiform, is it..?

A – Shaped like a nappy

B – Able to fit inside a circle

C – Shaped like a turnip

C – Shaped like a turnip

3. What is qigong, is it..?

A – A name for an acupuncturist’s needle

B – A type of Chinese meditational exercise

C – An ancient type of spear

B – A type of Chinese meditational exercise

4. If someone is ulotrichous, do they…?

A – Have woolly or very curly hair

B – Know how to unicycle

C – Often bother neighbours

A – Have woolly or very curly hair

5. What is abasia, is it..?

A – A rudimentary knowledge of mathematics

B – The inability to walk due to lack of muscular coordination

C – A patronising tone of voice

B – The inability to walk due to lack of muscular coordination

6. If something is ramiferous, does it..?

A – Have branches

B – Eat sheep

C – Get ravenously hungry with ease

A – Have branches

7. What are lamboys, are they…?

A – The children of shepherds

B – Platelets inserted into fingers in order to strengthen them after injury

C – Armour in the shape of a skirt, made from metal strips

C – Armour in the shape of a skirt, made from metal strips

8. What is a gabelle, is it..?

A – A tax, originating from a tax on salt in France

B – A small button, such at those used to hold epaulettes

C – A small reindeer-like creature

A – A tax, originating from a tax on salt in France

9. If something is tabescent, is it..?

A – Wasting away, shrivelling

B – With an orange hue

C – Lumpy

A – Wasting away, shrivelling

10. What does an opisometer measure?

A – The potency of drugs

B – The distance an individual can see

C – The length of curved lines

C – The length of curved lines

What is the proper definition of the word?

1. What is an agelast, is it…?

A – A person who never laughs

B – A wise Indian man

C – A person who appears to age more slowly than normal expectations

A – A person who never laughs

2. If someone is ventripotent, are they…?

A – Able to walk on a tightrope

B – Very gluttonous or have a large stomach

C – Scared of the open air

B – Very gluttonous or have a large stomach

3. What is quiddany, is it…?

A – A jelly or syrup made from fruit

B – The desire to make more and more money

C – An ancient sport similar to polo

A – A jelly or syrup made from fruit

4. What is terrazzo, is it…?

A – A type of earthenware pot

B – A style of painting with interlocking geometric shapes

C – A type of flooring

C – A type of flooring

5. What is xerophagy, is it…?

A – An x-ray process, whereby the camera must be partially inserted

B – A strict Christian fast, when only dry food (usually bread) may be eaten

C – The study of mathematical graphs

B – A strict Christian fast, when only dry food (usually bread) may be eaten

6. If something is cariogenic, does it…?

A – Provide calcium

B – Have many circles within

C – Cause tooth decay

C – Cause tooth decay

7. What is a yakow, is it…?

A – A cross between a yak and a cow

B – A rare type of bird related to the kestrel

C – A writing style originating from central Europe

A – A cross between a yak and a cow

8. What is a yad, is it…?

A – A pointer used by a reader of the Torah to follow text

B – An Old English word for a rogue

C – A small rodent, similar to a gerbil but native to Australasia

A – A pointer used by a reader of the Torah to follow text

9. What is narcolepsy, is it…?

A – A brain disorder causing sufferers to fall asleep and/or feel excessively drowsy

B – A foot disorder where sufferers often cannot feel their feet

C – A disorder whereby sufferers cannot tell the difference between day and night

A – A brain disorder causing sufferers to fall asleep and/or feel excessively drowsy

10. If someone is palamate, are they…?

A – Literate (another word for the same meaning)

B – Able to read palms

C – web-footed

C – web-footed

This round is all about compound words and phrases. Which word can either precede or follow the given words to make new words or phrases? E.g. house, fingers and bowling – can all go with green (greenhouse, green fingers and bowling green)

1. Light, check and hot?

Spot

2. Soil, hat, big, crop and table

Top

3. Pot, good, rotten and tough

Luck

4. Hard, dead, touch and work

Wood

5. Cuff, chain, up and weak

Link

6. Stop, supply, change and sell

Short

7. Hand, motion, down and going

Slow

8. Wind, nature, thoughts and split

Second

9. Ball, stool, set, hold and loose

Foot

10. Back, brush and breast

Stroke

What are the meanings of the following strange words? Select the correct option from those given.

1. What is a collop, is it..?

A – A large dollop of a substance, such as cream

B – A term for ham and eggs

C – A fatty tissue growth often treated by vets

B – It is an old term for ham and eggs/bacon and eggs

2. What is dactylonomy, is it..?

A – The art of counting on fingers, often including knuckles, joints and bones

B – The study of patterns in fingerprints

C – Making decorative shapes with the use of dials, such as in a Spirograph

A – It is an art of counting using hands, often using a complex method, allowing the person to count higher than the assumed ten.

3. What is a jackalope, is it..?

A – A mythical beast

B – A cross between a jackal and an antelope

C – A specific type of envelope, using a mechanical seal

A – A mythical beast

4. What is a williwaw, is it..?

A – A old English term for a pot belly

B – A type of oven glove with woollen padding

C – A sudden blast of wind from a mountainous area

C – A sudden blast of wind blowing to the sea from a mountainous coast 

5. If you were to tripudiate, what would you be doing?

A – Dancing

B – Arguing

C – Trying to be better than someone else

A – Dancing

6. What is a lipogrammatist?

A – Someone who calculates exactly what proportion of body fat is safe to extract during liposuction

B – Someone who writes poems using 25 of the alphabet’s 26 letters

C – A mathematician involved in the calculation of BMI (Body Mass Index)

B – Someone who writes poems using 25 of the alphabet’s 26 letters.

7. If something is described as badious, is it ..?

A – Chestnut-coloured

B – Able to be submersed in water

C – With the capability to act in a sly or evil manner

A – Chestnut-coloured

8. What is a gablock?

A – A large block used as a step to reach the shutters in Elizabethan houses

B – A spur attached to the heel of a gamecock

C – A simple locking device, the precursor of the padlock

B – A false spur or staff attached to the heel of a gamecock

9. If someone is described as mabsoot, are they ..?

A – Sullen

B – Sly

C – Happy

C – Happy

10. What is thalposis? Is it..?

A – A sensation of warmth

B – The study of heatwaves

C – An ancient disease with similar symptoms to smallpox

A – A sensation of warmth

We’ll give you a word and three possible definitions – you need to choose which is the correct meaning of the word.

1. If someone is capernoited, are they..?

A – Big-nosed

B – Slightly drunk

C – Bald

B – Slightly drunk

2. If something is fabiform, is it..?

A – Shaped like a bean

B – A pleasing shape

C – Triangular

A – Shaped like a bean

3. What is a yaffingale?

A – A type of antique furniture

B – A green woodpecker

C – A member of the National Trust for Scotland

B – A green woodpecker

4. If something is jentacular, is it..?

A – Almost perpendicular

B – Belonging to the human jaw

C – Relating to breakfast

C – Relating to breakfast

5. What is a brach?

A – A female hunting hound

B – A type of hair braid

C – A small, smoked herring

A – A female hunting hound

6. If something is saccular, is it..?

A – The shape of a human ear

B – Artificial

C – Sack-like

C – Sack-like

7. What is a skippet?

A – A small, round box to preserve a document or seal

B – A crossbreed of dog, half greyhound and half whippet

C – A tiny fish from the same family as the guppy

A – A small, round box to preserve a document or seal

8. Of what is mariology the study?

A – Tidal levels

B – The Virgin Mary

C – The behaviour of young people who have grown up playing computer games

B – The Virgin Mary

9. What is a pabouche?

A – A servant

B – A French slang word for a stupid person

C – A slipper or soft shoe

C – A slipper or soft shoe

10. What is a quacksalver?

A – Someone who falsely claims to have medical skills

B – Someone who rescues birds for a living

C – A deep-sea diver who salvages ancient artefacts

A – Someone who falsely claims to have medical skills

1. In computing terminology, what does HTML stand for?

Hyper Text Markup Language

2. And what does SCUBA stand for?

Self-contained underwater breathing apparatus

3. Opus Dei is an institution of the Catholic Church – how does it translate into English?

The Work of God

4. Which word is used for the practice of studying bumps on the head in order to determine aspects of a person’s personality and character?

Phrenology

5. Fish is to water, as bird is to… what?

Air

6. What connects the words ‘Wise’, ‘Large’, ‘Ball’, ‘Herring’ and ‘French’?

They are all the 2nd names of one half of a UK comedy double act – Ernie Wise (Morecambe and Wise), Eddie Large (Little and Large), Bobby Ball (Cannon and Ball), Richard Herring (Lee and Herring) and Dawn French (French and Saunders).

7. Birmingham hosts sporting and entertainment events a venue formerly known as the N.I.A (National Indoor Arena) – How is it now known?

Barclaycard Arena

8. What animal lives in a ‘lodge’?

A beaver

9. What can you measure in ‘bundles’, ‘bales’ and ‘quires’?

Paper quantity

10. Correctly spell ‘bureaucratic’?

Bureaucratic

This week’s words round is all about words borrowed from other languages. We will give you a description of the word, including the country it comes from – you tell us which word is being described.

1. An ancient Greek word meaning ‘glory’ or ‘renown’.

Kudos

2. A Hindi word meaning ‘dusty’ or ‘earth’ and which we use as a colour in English.

Khaki

3. An Italian word meaning ‘candy’, which we use  to describe something you often see at weddings.

Confetti

4. A German word meaning ‘lightning’, which we use to describe a rapid action.

Blitz

5. A French phrase to describe a social blunder.

Faux pas

6. A German word meaning a counterpart or double – literally a ‘false step’.

Doppelgänger

7. An Arabic word which literally means ‘prince of the sea’. We use it to describe a naval rank.

Admiral

8. A Chinese word meaning ‘body energy waves’.

Chi

9. A German word meaning ‘fear’, ‘anxiety’ or ‘depression’.

Angst

10. A Japanese word to describe a food of fermented soybean paste, made from soya beans, salt and koji.

Mizo

Free Words Quiz

1. What is the name for a word or phrase which is spelled the same forwards as it is backwards?

A palindrome

2. What is the only word in the English language which ends with the letters ‘mt’?

dreamt (undreamt is also a word, but we are counting it as an extension of dreamt)

3. I have no feet but I can run. I give you health and also fun. What am I?

water

4. What do the following words have in common; rhythm, crypt, lynx and fly?

They are all words which do not contain any vowels

The last 6 questions all describe phobias. For each question you are given the name of the phobia, as the answer you need to say what each word is a fear of.

5. Ablutophobia

A fear of washing or bathing

6. Arachnophobia

A fear of spiders

7. Equinophobia

A fear of horses

8. Somniphobia

A fear of sleep

9. Mastigophobia

A fear of punishment

10. Taurophobia

A fear of bulls/cows

To download the free words quiz as a PDF question paper for contestants (questions therefore do not need to be read aloud), please click on the link below: