Free Quiz Questions on words - where they come from and what they mean.
Please note that some of the questions which were here before have been moved to new sub pages for technical terms and slang.
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What is the collective noun for horses: Team, Squad or Host?
Team
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What do you call a large group of rhinos: A crash, a bang or a wallop?
Crash
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What political word is used to describe a group of owls?
Parliament
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What is the singular of the word `graffiti`?
Graffito
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Inflammable means easily set on fire, what does Flammable mean
The same
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Taken literally what should you see in a Hippodrome?
Horses
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What animals would be studied by a hippologist?
Horses
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What is Pachisi: An Italian pasta dish, an Indian board game or an Islamic festival?
Indian board game
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What do cartographers make?
maps
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Triskaidekaphobia is the fear of what?
Number 13
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Where are the islands of Langerhans: in the North Sea, In your body or on the moon?
Body- pancreas
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If you has 'caries' who would you consult?
Dentist - its tooth decay
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Who would you fancy the most if you were a nanophiliac: Nicole Kidman or Dolly Parton?
Dolly Parton (short)
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What would a Scotsman do with a spurtle?
Eat porridge (it’s a spoon)
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In Japan – what would you do with a koto: play it, eat it or throw it around a field?
Play it (musical instrument)
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What colour is vermilion a shade of?
Red
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The words of the song Waltzing Matilda mention a jumbuck - but what is a Jumbuck?
Sheep
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What job does a cordwainer do?
Shoemaker
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What turns you on if you’re a nanophiliac: sex with short people, sex with people who sweat a lot or sex with people who have long hair?
Short people
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What do you do with an Ottoman: eat it, wear it, sit on it?
Sit on it (type of chair)
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What would you do with a Yashmak
Wear it - it's an Arab veil
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What would you do with a 'maris piper'?
Eat it - it’s a potato
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What would you do with a carambola: eat it, play it or cook in it?
Eat it (it’s the other name for a star fruit)
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What device was known in Victorian times as a ‘servant regulator’?
Alarm Clock
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What is an 'Ulster Chieftain': a type of sheep, a type of potato, or a type of bondage equipment?
potato
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During WW2 the Jitterbug was popular, what was it?
A dance
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What kind of musical instrument is a marimba: a kind of drum, a trumpet or a xylophone?
A kind of xylophone
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In Australia – what is a billabong? Is it a water-hole, a tree or a weapon?
A water-hole
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A dipsomaniac would be obsessed with what?
Alcohol
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What would an antiquarian collect?
antiques
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What is Orchesis - either professional or amateur?
Art of Dancing
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What does a pognologist study: Monkeys, cheese or beards?
Beards
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Which Ology is the art of ringing bells?
Campanology
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From which activity do we get the word “crestfallen”?
Cockfighting
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What does the first name "Brian" mean: Strength, Wisdom or Hairy?
Strength
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Mensa is the gang for smart-asses. What does Latin word MENSA mean? table, brain or temple?
table
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What word invented by Sir Thomas More means a world in which everything and everyone works in perfect harmony?
Utopia
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What does the name 'William' mean: 'Helmet of Resolution', 'Dweller in The Valley' or 'Master of The Treasure'?
Helmet of resolution
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During which decade did the phrase “lager lout” enter the dictionary?
1980s
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During which decade did the phrase “world wide web” enter the Oxford English Dictionary?
1990s
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Are canary birds named after the canary islands or are the islands named after the birds?
Birds after the islands
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What is pantophobia? Fear of colour, fear of pants or fear of everything?
Everything
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What is barophobia: Is it the fear of chickens, the fear of gravity or the fear of going to the bar and spending money on a round of drinks?
fear of gravity!
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What is musophobia: The fear of music, fear of mice or fear of metal?
Fear of Mice
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Mysophobia, is the fear of what? Dirt and Germs or Spending money?
fear of dirt and germs
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What is paediaphobia the fear of?
Children
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What is bogyphobia? The fear of demons and goblins, the fear of roads and paths or the fear of apples and pears?
Demons and Goblins
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What is Potophobia: is it the fear of alcoholic drinks, the fear of marijuana or fear of flying insects?
Drinking
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What is hippophobia: fear of hippos, fear of horses, or fear of hips?
Horses
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What is brontophobia: a fear of vegetables, a fear of dinosaurs or a fear of thunderstorms?
Thunderstorms
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If you had pogonophobia what would you be afraid of?
Beards
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According to a new survey of offensive words: which of these words causes offense to the most people: shit or bollocks?
Bollocks
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According to a recent survey, which word do British people fin more offensive: cunt or motherfucker?
Cunt
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According to a recent study, which of these words is most offensive to members of the UK public: Prick or Whore?
Prick
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Linguistically, where did we get the word cunt from: The Vikings, the Romans or the Germans?
Vikings
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What is the only day of the week to be able to be made into an anagram of another English word and what is the anagram?
Monday – dynamo
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Which alcoholic drink has a name that means 'strange' or 'peculiar'?
rum
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What word is something you would find on a dinner table and golfing terminology for a No 3 wood?
Spoon