Answers to Quiz - 50

1. Name the famous Roman statesman, orator and writer who has given two eponyms to English language, one for a tour guide and the other for ornate language.

Marcus Tullius Cicero and the eponyms are Cicerone and Ciceronian

2. A 19^th Century novel has provided two eponyms – one derived from the book’s title (and also the name of one of the main characters) for a man’s hat and the other derived from the name of another main character for a person who manipulates and exercises excessive control over another person. Name the author of this novel.

George du Maurier and the eponyms are Tilby and Svengali

3. Pierre Alexis, Viscount of Ponson du Terrail, the prolific French writer of 19^th Century, is best remembered for his fictional character, whose name has been adopted in English language as an adjective for fantastic or incredible. Name this character.

Rocambole and the eponym is rocambolesque

4. Which 19^th Century American soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas revolution has lent his name for a certain kind of knife?

James Bowie

5. Which word used to describe a loud booming voice is derived from the Greek herald in the Trojan War whose voice was said to be as powerful as the voices of 50 other men?

Stentorian after Stentor

6. After which mythical character is a phrase meaning a watery grave for sailors derived?

Davy Jones

7. Name the 17^th Century play written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher which has given us the word Abigail, from a character of the same name

The Scornful Lady

8. A stable owner living in Cambridge, England in the 16^th/17^th Century made his customers take the horse nearest to the door. His name today is associated with a choice that appears free but actually provides no alternative. What is his name?

Thomas Hobson, Hobson’s Choice

9. Which 20^th Century American banker has provided two eponyms – one for a rose coloured gem and the other for acquiring control over an entire industry for the sake of profit?

J.P. Morgan and the eponyms are Morganite and Morganize

10. The practice of filing down a horse’s teeth to make it look younger is derived from the name of the person who first employed this deception. What is the surprising term for this practice?

Bishop

QUIZ - 50

The 50^th edition of this Quiz is all about Eponyms, words derived from the names of people - real, fictional or mythical.

1. Name the famous Roman statesman, orator and writer who has given two eponyms to English language, one for a tour guide and the other for ornate language.

2. A 19^th Century novel has provided two eponyms – one derived from the book’s title (and also the name of one of the main characters) for a man’s hat and the other derived from the name of another main character for a person who manipulates and exercises excessive control over another person. Name the author of this novel.

3. Pierre Alexis, Viscount of Ponson du Terrail, the prolific French writer of 19^th Century, is best remembered for his fictional character, whose name has been adopted in English language as an adjective for fantastic or incredible. Name this character.

4. Which 19^th Century American soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas revolution has lent his name for a certain kind of knife?

5. Which word used to describe a loud booming voice is derived from the Greek herald in the Trojan War whose voice was said to be as powerful as the voices of 50 other men?

6. After which mythical character is a phrase meaning a watery grave for sailors derived?

7. Name the 17^th Century play written by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher which has given us the word Abigail, from a character of the same name

8. A stable owner living in Cambridge, England in the 16^th/17^th Century made his customers take the horse nearest to the door. His name today is associated with a choice that appears free but actually provides no alternative. What is his name?

9. Which 20^th Century American banker has provided two eponyms – one for a rose coloured gem and the other for acquiring control over an entire industry for the sake of profit?

10. The practice of filing down a horse’s teeth to make it look younger is derived from the name of the person who first employed this deception. What is the surprising term for this practice?

Answers to Quiz - 49

1. What are Tanngrisni and Tanngniost?

The two goats that draw the Thunder God Thor’s chariot.

2. If short sight is Myopia and long sight is Hyperopia, what is the progressive diminishing of the eye’s ability to focus on near objects, brought on by aging?

Presbyopia

3. What term coined by German art critic Franz Roh in mid 1920’s to describe the style of painters trying to show reality in a new way was subsequently extended to describe the literary style of a lot of Latin American literature?

Magical Realism

4. If Grammy is for music and Emmy is for television productions, what are Freddie awards given for?

Best Frequent Flyer Programmes

5. The El Rocio pilgrimage held every year in May in Spain involves the display and veneration of a statue of Virgin Mary discovered in a tree trunk by a hunter in the 15^th Century. By what popular name is the El Rocio Virgin known as?

Madonna of the Dew

6. What is the name of the supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago before breaking up into the continents as we know them today?

Pangaea

7. What term describes the extra electric power made available through the use of energy efficient electric appliances?

Negawatt Power

8. What traditional method of fishing practiced in Japan for 1300 years uses the cormorant bird to catch the fish?

Ukai

9. The term Wonk is believed by some to be the reverse of Know and some others expand it to WithOut Normal Knowledge. What does Wonk mean?

An expert who studies a subject or issue thoroughly and excessively.

10. In 1790 Abraham Louis Breguet, regarded as the greatest watch maker of all times, invented a device which became the forerunner of all shock protection systems used in wristwatches. What is this device called?

Pare-Chute

QUIZ - 49

1. What are Tanngrisni and Tanngniost?

2. If short sight is Myopia and long sight is Hyperopia, what is the progressive diminishing of the eye’s ability to focus on near objects, brought on by aging?

3. What term coined by German art critic Franz Roh in mid 1920’s to describe the style of painters trying to show reality in a new way was subsequently extended to describe the literary style of a lot of Latin American literature?

4. If Grammy is for music and Emmy is for television productions, what are Freddie awards given for?

5. The El Rocio pilgrimage held every year in May in Spain involves the display and veneration of a statue of Virgin Mary discovered in a tree trunk by a hunter in the 15^th Century. By what popular name is the El Rocio Virgin known as?

6. What is the name of the supercontinent that existed 250 million years ago before breaking up into the continents as we know them today?

7. What term describes the extra electric power made available through the use of energy efficient electric appliances?

8. What traditional method of fishing practiced in Japan for 1300 years uses the cormorant bird to catch the fish?

9. The term Wonk is believed by some to be the reverse of Know and some others expand it to WithOut Normal Knowledge. What does Wonk mean?

10. In 1790 Abraham Louis Breguet, regarded as the greatest watch maker of all times, invented a device which became the forerunner of all shock protection systems used in wristwatches. What is this device called?

Answers to Quiz - 48

1. She published her first novel Delphine in 1802. Napoleon had her exiled in 1804. Name her.

Anne Louise Germaine de Staël

2. Name the grape known as Spain’s Noble Grape used for making red wines, so named because it ripens earlier than the other traditional varieties.

Tempranilo (Spanish word Temprano for early)

3. Name Spain’s best known cheese that is produced from sheep’s milk from a specified region on the La Mancha plateau.

Manchego

4. Worn by those taking part in outdoor winter sports and also race drivers, it covers the whole head exposing only the upper part of the face. It derives its name from a Crimean town, where it was used by the British troops during the Crimean war. What is it?

Balaclava

5. Coined by the newspaper Sunday Telegraph, YAWN is an acronym for people who are rich but who live frugally below their means and are socially committed. Expand YAWN.

Young And Wealthy but Normal

6. What is the name of the infamous medical experiment conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the US Government on 399 black men suffering from advanced stage of syphilis?

Tuskegee Experiment

7. What style of Italian opera, realistically depicting contemporary everyday life, which was started in the late 19^th Century, is also the brand name of Starbucks espresso machine?

Verismo

8. What literary device, widely used in children’s books, attributes human like qualities to animals and other inanimate objects?

Anthromorphism

9. What is the Case-Shiller index a measure of?

The housing market in USA

10. What pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in Arabic music is often considered as the predecessor of the western Lute?

Oud

QUIZ - 48

1. She published her first novel Delphine in 1802. Napoleon had her exiled in 1804. Name her.

2. Name the grape known as Spain’s Noble Grape used for making red wines, so named because it ripens earlier than the other traditional varieties.

3. Name Spain’s best known cheese that is produced from sheep’s milk from a specified region on the La Mancha plateau.

4. Worn by those taking part in outdoor winter sports and also race drivers, it covers the whole head exposing only the upper part of the face. It derives its name from a Crimean town, where it was used by the British troops during the Crimean war. What is it?

5. Coined by the newspaper Sunday Telegraph, YAWN is an acronym for people who are rich but who live frugally below their means and are socially committed. Expand YAWN.

6. What is the name of the infamous medical experiment conducted between 1932 and 1972 by the US Government on 399 black men suffering from advanced stage of syphilis?

7. What style of Italian opera, realistically depicting contemporary everyday life, which was started in the late 19^th Century, is also the brand name of Starbucks espresso machine?

8. What literary device, widely used in children’s books, attributes human like qualities to animals and other inanimate objects?

9. What is the Case-Shiller index a measure of?

10. What pear-shaped stringed instrument commonly used in Arabic music is often considered as the predecessor of the western Lute?

Answers to Quiz - 47

1. Named after the patron saint of sailors, what term describes the bright bluish glow that is seen on top of the masts of ships during thunderstorms?

St. Elmo’s Fire

2. What does the Flanker Test assess?

Attention in the presence of distracting information

3. What is the process of growing plants in air without the use of soil called?

Aeroponics

4. Name the Swiss scientist who synthesized LSD in 1938 while working for Sandoz and serendipitously discovered its hallucinogenic effect in 1943

Albert Hofmann

5. What is the name given to the medical disorder which is characterized by an abnormal appetite for non-nutritive substances like soil, chalk, paper etc?

Pica

6. The astrophysicist and cosmologist Brandon Carter put forward the theory in 1973 that the fundamental constants of physics and chemistry are precisely the values you need if you want to have a universe capable of producing life. What is this theory called?

The Anthropic Principle

7. Edward de Bono, who pioneered the concept of Lateral Thinking, also coined a term PO to propagate this concept. What does PO stand for?

Provocation Operation

8. What word was coined by the famous economist philosopher Jeremy Bentham from the Latin phrase for ‘he himself said’ to describe non-utilitarian political arguments?

ipsedixitism

9. Proposed by the psychologist Claude Steele, what term describes the fear that a person’s behaviour will confirm an existing stereotype of the group with which that person is identified?

Stereotype Threat

10. First described by Colette Dowling, who wrote a book on women's fear of independence, what term describes as an unconscious desire to be taken care of by others, based primarily on a fear of being independent?

The Cinderella Complex

QUIZ - 47

1. Named after the patron saint of sailors, what term describes the bright bluish glow that is seen on top of the masts of ships during thunderstorms?

2. What does the Flanker Test assess?

3. What is the process of growing plants in air without the use of soil called?

4. Name the Swiss scientist who synthesized LSD in 1938 while working for Sandoz and serendipitously discovered its hallucinogenic effect in 1943

5. What is the name given to the medical disorder which is characterized by an abnormal appetite for non-nutritive substances like soil, chalk, paper etc?

6. The astrophysicist and cosmologist Brandon Carter put forward the theory in 1973 that the fundamental constants of physics and chemistry are precisely the values you need if you want to have a universe capable of producing life. What is this theory called?

7. Edward de Bono, who pioneered the concept of Lateral Thinking, also coined a term PO to propagate this concept. What does PO stand for?

8. What word was coined by the famous economist philosopher Jeremy Bentham from the Latin phrase for ‘he himself said’ to describe non-utilitarian political arguments?

9. Proposed by the psychologist Claude Steele, what term describes the fear that a person’s behaviour will confirm an existing stereotype of the group with which that person is identified?

10. First described by Colette Dowling, who wrote a book on women's fear of independence, what term describes as an unconscious desire to be taken care of by others, based primarily on a fear of being independent?

Answers to Quiz - 46

1. An important but controversial economic concept postulates that happiness and income are not correlated. Name the American Professor of Economics who presented this concept in a 1974 paper and who has lent his name to it.

Richard Easterlin, Easterlin Paradox

2. Who in 1996 invented Palm Pilot, the first hand-held computer?

Jeff Hawkins

3. Name the Wikipedia style knowledge repository being built by Google

Knol

4. What is the name given to phrases in a piece of writing that that merely promotes the subject instead of imparting real information?

Peacock Terms

5. ‘The Tragedy of the Commons’ is a term to describe the economic conflict between individual interests and the common good of the society. Who popularized this term in 1968 with an essay of the same title?

Garrett Hardin

6. What is the name of the psychometric questionnaire for personality assessment based on the theory of Carl Jung?

Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

7. Who invented a type of lens that is named after him, for use originally in lighthouses?

Augustin-Jean Fresnel

8. What term describes a fake online identity used for the purpose of deception within an Internet community?

Sock Puppet

9. What martial art cum dance form was developed in Brazil during the 16^th Century by slaves brought in from Africa?

Capoeira

10. What is the name given to the woman who lived about 140,000 years ago in Africa and to whom all the currently living humans can trace their descent?

Mitochondrial Eve