Are you in love with words? Most writers I know are. Many readers are. So for this month’s fun quiz, let’s test our word knowledge. How many do you know?
You’re on your honor—answer to the best of your knowledge. Scroll down the page to find the answers. Don’t cheat and look the answer up.
Quiz Questions
- A manzanilla is what?
- What is entomophobia?
- An arctophile collects what?
- What do philatelists collect?
- An irrational fear of trees is called?
- What is the blob of toothpaste on your toothbrush called?
- How long is a zeptosecond?
- What are fulgurites?
- Do you know what mondegreen means?
- What is Tenebrescence?
Bonus Questions
Three of eight 2019 Spelling Bee Champions spelled these words correctly. Do you know what they mean?
- Auslaut is the word for what sound?
- Pendeloque describes what?
- What is an aiguillette?
Answers
- A manzanilla is what? A light sherry.
- What is entomophobia? An irrational fear of insects.
- An arctophile collects what? Teddy Bears
- What do philatelists collect? Stamps
- The word for an irrational fear of trees is? Dendrophobia.
- What is the blob of toothpaste on your toothbrush called? Nurdle
- How long is a zeptosecond? A trillionth of a billionth of a second. Read more: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/physicists-record-smallest-slice-time-yet-180961085/#YlLeCb9oMA2tIfKZ.99
- What are Fulgurites? Fulgurites (from the Latin fulgur meaning thunderbolt) are a variety of the mineraloid lechatelierite. They are natural hollow glass tubes formed in quartzose sand, silica, or soil by lightning strikes. They form when lightning with a temperature of at least 1,800 °C (3,270 °F) instantaneously melts silica on a conductive surface and fuses grains together; the fulgurite tube is the cooled product. This process occurs over a period of around one second, and leaves evidence of the lightning path and its dispersion over the surface. They are also called petrified lightning. . Read more here.
- Do you know what mondegreen means? A mondegreen is a word or phrase that results from misheard language or a made-up lyric or line that replaces as song’s real words.
- What is Tenebrescence? Tenebrescence, also known as reversible photochromism, is the ability of minerals to change color when exposed to light. Thanks to this reddit entry for introducing me to this word.
Definitions for Bonus Words
- Auslaut is the word for what sound? Auslaut is the final sound in a word or syllable : end position of a sound in a word or syllable
- Pendeloque describes what? A Pendeloque is a pear-shaped modification of the round brilliant cut used for diamonds and other gemstones.
- What is an aiguillette? Designated military aides wear an aiguillette which is a shoulder cord.
Are you in love with words?
I love to participate in quizzes on the meaning of words. But they always stump me . I knew none of these words before I “collected” them. Did you know any of these?
If you enjoyed this quiz, you might enjoy last month’s quiz: Are You A Bad-Ass Reader?
Are you in love with words? Do you collect them? Or am I the only weird word warrior in this crowd?