AUE: SDC 2006: Questions and Answers, 31-60

SDC 2006:

31-60

61-70

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Questions are shown on this page in this format:

Contributor's name

Qn. Title of question

Text of question

H. Hint (if any)

A. Answer (if any)

E. Explanation (if any)

Note 1: Click on the button to see the question's thread in Google Groups, in a new browser window.

Note 2: Hints, answers, and explanations are initially concealed. To reveal a single hint, answer, or explanation, click and drag over the area to the right of the "H" or "A" or "E". To reveal all answers and explanations, click here (and to reconceal, click again) (JavaScript required).

31 . 32 . 33 . 34 . 35 . 36 . 37 . 38 . 39 . 40 . 41 . 42 . 43 . 44 . 45
46 . 47 . 48 . 49 . 50 . 51 . 52 . 53 . 54 . 55 . 56 . 57 . 58 . 59 . 60

dadoctah

Q31. That's *Mrs* OT to you!

It's 1999. Holmes is pretending to be Watson. Watson is pretending to be
Churner. Who's either going to die or learn a lesson?

A. Mrs Tingle (or Helen Mirren).

E. The movie "Teaching Mrs Tingle" (working title "Killing Mrs Tingle" was
changed after the Columbine killings) starred Katie Holmes as Leigh Ann
Watson, and Brian Watson as Luke Churner, two students who decide to kill
one of their teachers.
"OT" in the suggested subject line stands for "Operating Thetan", a
Scientology degree to which Holmes's "husband" Tom Cruise has recently
ascended.

Garry Vass

Q32. Fruity

Where is this?
http://alt-usage-english.org/sdc2006/../sdc2006/pics/fruit.jpg

A. Tangier

Adrian

Q33. O-O-O-Oliver!

At 18 months, our daughter would exclaim "More!" At 24 months, she says
"M-M-M-More!" Why the change?

A. Because she's learned that people speak in sentences (usually with the key
word at the end) and she's mimicking them as best she can.

Paul Wolff

Q34. This may be annoying, even grating.

A Trappist monk, an ace London Borough, and self-fulfilling prophecy point
to an academic institution and a medi[a]eval computer cluster. Name the
four signposts and four nodes of the cluster.

A/E. Thomas Merton, US Trappist Monk
London Borough of Merton - location of Wimbledon tennis
Robert K Merton - coiner of 'self-fulfilling prophecy'
-> Merton College, Oxford.
The Oxford Calculators of Merton College:
Bradwardine, Heytesbury, Swineshead, Dumbleton
(These are the four names that are 'well' known)
The phrase
'computer cluster' for this group is lifted from the Oxford University
alumni magazine last winter, but will only be recognised by those who
completed (and remember) the cryptic crossword in it.

Adrian

Q35. Press

Which two words, when added to a product, are supposed to have created a
huge increase in profits for the companies that produce that product?

A. "and repeat"

E. on shampoo bottles

Adrian

Q36. Distant shores

In 1992, Clinton managed something in Arkansas and Mississippi that no
other presidential candidate has managed.

A. Best state neighboured main opponent's best state.

E. http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/

Adrian

Q37. Differentiation

Put the following words in order, according to the Aston Vocabulary Scale:
nonsense, priceless, rescue, brave, liberty, haste, skill, school, lecture

A. 6 school, 7 rescue, 8 brave, 9 nonsense, 10 lecture, 11 skill, 12 haste,
13 liberty, 14 priceless (Numbers are not required in the answer)

Adrian

Q38. Oulipo a la Carte (4)

Create a themed piece of poetry or prose where every line or
sentence conceals one of the numbers one to ten, in order.
eg. He came to London expecting to make a million.

A. Many answers are possible - see the thread in Google Groups.

Adrian

Q39. Home

Explain the following:
London: Bungay
Manchester: St Helens
Birmingham: Iver
Glasgow: Kirkliston
Liverpool: London E10
Bristol: Shaftesbury
Hull: Fleetwood
Leeds: Norwich
Sheffield: Southam
Nottingham: Bedford
Bradford: Exeter
York: Wellingborough
Cardiff: Liverpool
Oxford: Verwood
Cambridge: Cambridge
Leicester: Warrington
Chester: Doncaster

H. Newcastle and Norwich don't qualify.

A. On the left are surnames, on the right are the towns where they are most
commonly found.

E. http://www.spatial-literacy.org/UCLnames/Surnames.aspx

Adrian

Q40. Strange

Who might refer to the English in this way?
http://alt-usage-english.org/sdc2006/pics/parts.html

A. The Cornish

E. "Pow Sows" is the Cornish term for "England"
http://kw.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pow_Sows

Paul Wolff

Q41. Marry, 'tis a noble calling

Greek greeting Roman
Inclined to be heard
Insubstantial beyond
Can you score with this word?

H. (5)

A. grave

E. Marry is here an adjective formed from 'mar', by analogy with star -
starry. When the word is prefixed by 'mar', it's a noble title.
Greek = Gr, Roman greeting 'ave'.
Inclined/heard - as the accent mark
'Beyond the grave'
(En)grave = score, or thereabouts.

Adrian

Q42. Conquerors

Michael, Matthew and Peter got together in 1984 and produced... what?

A. Hit records for Divine, Hazell Dean and Dead Or Alive. (etc. etc. Full
list at their website)

E. They are record producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman.
http://www.stockaitkenwaterman.com/

Garry Vass

Q43. As "up" as possible

Where is this?
http://alt-usage-english.org/sdc2006/../sdc2006/pics/border.jpg

A. Passau

dadoctah

Q44. Looking for love in most of the right places

Correct the odd one out, even though no place belongs there:
1°18'N, 103°51'E
6°10'S, 39°12'E
34°03'N, 5°00'W
42°19'N, 85°11'W
22°55'S, 43°12'W
8°39'S, 115°13'E
22°17'N, 114°11'E

A. Change the fourth entry to "Utopia" (="no place")

E. In order, the places listed are Singapore, Zanzibar, Morocco (Fez), Battle
Creek, Rio (de Janeiro), Bali, and Hong Kong. Battle Creek was the setting
of the movie "Road to Wellville", *not* the fourth Hope & Crosby "Road"
picture "Road to Utopia". "Love" in the subject line alludes to the name of
the third co-star of the "Road" pictures, Dorothy Lamour.

Adrian

Q45. You little scum...

What cause of an ordinal complaint was discovered in 1975?

A. Fifth Disease (slapped-cheek syndrome) is caused by parvovirus B19.

Adrian

Q46. Graphic

"SHARON TO NYC" said the caption on the TV News. Funny thing was...what?

H. It's an anagram of two relevant synonyms.

A. "aston" and "chyron"

E. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lower_thirds

Adrian

Q47. Divided loyalties

Monmouthshire and the Vendee have the same what?

A. motto (Usque Fidelis)

Paul Wolff

Q48. Old Yams

Whose pony was inspired by which horse?

H. Whose tricky pony was inspired by which white horse?

A. Sam Loyd; not Uffington

E. http://www.2h.com/1000puzzles/SamLoyd/Pony.html
Although Loyd mentions the name "Uppington" (sic), it's highly unlikely that
the Uffington white horse was the one he saw.
Title is an anagram.

Adrian

Q49. C'est combien?

In French, how much higher is red sex than black sex?

H. In Nabokov's "Ada" Part 1 Chapter 3

A. 160 metres

E. mountains near Sion, Switzerland: Sex Rouge 2891m, Sex Noir 2731m

Adrian

Q50. Two English homophones

The .. in the ... was caused by the ... of the ... above.

A. The flaw in the ceiling was caused by the sealing of the floor above.

Adrian

Q51. And socialism, kinda.

What links a Julian Lennon hit, a Mozambican president and a Lincolnshire
town?

A. "Saltwater", Scunthorpe and Joaquim Chissano might all fall foul of word
traps in emails, blogs, etc.

E. Title: "socialism" contains Cialis.

Adrian

Q52. Question fifty-two

Which is the odd one out, and why?
short, English, sibilant, understandable, feminine, magyar

A. feminine (self-referent words)

Adrian

Q53. Search for the cure

Find a remedy for nuger.

H. If you've got it, what are you?

A. Any website that explains the "gry-" puzzle.

E. http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nugry
cf. hunger/hungry, anger/angry

Adrian

Q54. Farmer? Spring?

What started ten years earlier and an hour and a half later than 1984?

H. WS v GC

A. "Keep the Aspidistra Flying"

E. It was begun in 1935 and begins: "The clock struck half past two. In the
little office at the back of Mr.
McKechnie's bookshop, Gordon--Gordon Comstock, last member of the Comstock
family, aged twenty-nine and rather moth-eaten already--lounged across the
table, pushing a fourpenny packet of Player's Weights open and shut with his
thumb." cf. "Nineteen eighty-four"

Adrian

Q55. "Tuesdays"

How many days did Alex take to make $1,000,000?

A. 139

E. (26 Aug 05 - 11 Jan 06)
http://www.milliondollarhomepage.com/blog-archive.php

Adrian

Q56. Never forget

What have Britons continued doing since 1859 even though they don't have
to anymore?

A. Celebrating Guy Fawkes' Night

E. "An Act of Parliament (3 James I, cap 1) was passed to appoint 5th
November in each year as a day of thanksgiving for 'the joyful day of
deliverance'. The Act remained in force until 1859."
http://www.parliament.uk/faq/gunpowder_plot.cfm

Adrian

Q57. Class logic

The last six names on Mr Zeugma's class register were:
Smith
Taylor
West
Woodward
Young
Aaronson.
Why was Aaronson at the end?

A. Because (s)he arrived after the beginning of the term/semester.

Adrian

Q58. Scary dude

Why were they all afraid to go up to him?
http://alt-usage-english.org/sdc2006/../sdc2006/pics/plastic.jpg

A. The skin of his face shone. (or similar, depending on the translation)

E. "And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin
of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him." Exodus 34:30
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moses_(Michelangelo)

Adrian

Q59. Human statistics

"2 litres per minute"
"360 pints per day"
These figures were quoted in relation to what?

A. the human kidney(s)

Adrian

Q60. Trendsetting

Identify the items from their Google Trends graphs. (a) and (c) are single
words; (b) is a two-word-phrase.
http://alt-usage-english.org/sdc2006/pics/goot1.html

H. (4), (11,6), (9)

A. snow; intelligent design; gardening

SDC 2006:

31-60