Back late last night from Jura (fabulous time despite constant rain, gales and all the rest of it) so 2012 blogging will begin soon. Hurrah for that. Here, then, are the results of the 2011 edition of the Annual Quiz. Hope those of you who had a crack at it enjoyed yourselves. There were some very fine entries this year though none, or none sent to me, that were wholly correct. Anyway, the answers:
1. Where, arguably, might Whittier’s most famous son, a great American evangelist and an Anglo-American poet have ridden with a man on the moon? And in which Faulkner novel could they have appeared?
The Faulkner Novel is “The Reivers” and these are all names of old Reiving families on the Anglo-Scottish border. Richard Nixon is Whittier’s most-famous son; Billy Graham the evangelist and TS Elliot the poet. The man on the moon is Neil Armstrong.
2. In the beginning, 46 fled but lost his foolish wife; 39 was Eric Blair’s island, 18 simply means expensive, 86 is on the Danube and one half of Glasgow is 32. Identify these and then determine what 75 must be worth.
In the beginning (ie, Genesis), Lot saw his wife turned into a pillar of salt. Eric Blair was George Orwell and he wrote “1984” on Jura. Lot and Jura are also Departments of France. So is Cher (18) which means expensive in English. Vienne (86) sits on the Danube and half of Glasgow are Gers (ie, supporters of Rangers FC). Henry IV famously said Paris – ie, the Ile de France, Department 75 – is worth a Mass.
3. Where do the Nile, Ganges, Danube and River Plate meet?
Bernini’s Statue of the Four Rivers in Piazza Navona, Rome.
4. In what way are a Roman poet’s real name, the author of a historic compromise, a Catalan artist and the Chilean name for Chilean Sea Bass literally quite alike?
Publius Virgilius Maro (Virgil), Aldo Moro (murdered Italian statesman), Miro (Catalan artist) and Mero (the Chilean for Chilean Sea Bass) are alike but for the vowel.
5. On the face of it, 1 is 1 and 5 is 16, 20 is 7 and 50 is 18; 500 was 25 but 1000 was 24 (and 22). How so? And why are 10 and 100 different?
American bank notes! “On the face of it” was designed as a small clue.) George Washington, the first President, appears on the $1 bill. Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President is on the $5. Andrew Jackson is on the $20 and Ulysees S Grant is on the $50. President McKinley was on the $500 (no longer in circulation) and Grover Cleveland appeared on the $1000. 10 and 100 are different because neither Alexander Hamilton ($10) nor Benjamin Franklin ($100) were President.
6. What flower would be sported by the namesakes of: a bunny-boiler, a most unpopular officer in Mayo, a Missouri haberdasher, a titan of the imperial era and the onetime face of Revlon?
Glenn Close boiled a rabbit in “Fatal Attraction”; Captain Boycott inspired the original boycott, Harry Truman was a Missouri haberdasher, Cecil Rhodes a great imperial figure and Lauren Hutton the model who once fronted campaigns for Revlon. Close, Boycott, Trueman, Rhodes and Hutton are each famous names in Yorkshire cricket so they would sport the White Rose.
7. How are Lord Marchmain’s heir and a horse ridden by Elizabeth Taylor related to a tin-miner’s luncheon?
Pastry snacks. Lord Marchmain’s heir in “Brideshead Revisited” is known as Bridie, a Scottish meat pastry. Elizabeth Taylor’s horse in “National Velvet” was called Pie and a tin-miner’s luncheon in Cornwall was traditionally a Pastie.
8. One deceived by Nobody, Achilles’ colossal cousin, the conquerer of the Chimera and a Greek Commander-in-Chief all did their duty. For whom?
England expects every man to do his duty. And all his ships. Polyphemus was the cyclops deceived by Nobody- ie, Odysseus; Ajax was Achilles’ huge and mighty cousin, Bellerophon slew the Chimera and Agamemnon commanded the Greek forces at Troy. Polyphemus, Ajax, Bellerophon and Agamemnon were members of Nelson’s fleet at Trafalgar.
9. Why might a former head of MI6, the creator of a bookmaker who impersonated a detective at Blandings Castle and the impersonator himself be some of the usual suspects at a country house party? Who else should be interrogated?
Cluedo! John Scarlett was head of MI6; PG Wodehouse was known as ‘Plum’ and Claude ‘Mustard’ Pott often appeared at Blandings. Scarlett, Plum and Mustard are three of the Cluedo suspects. White, Green and Peacock are the others to be interrogated.
10. The Crimson came first. Who are they and who are their Bulldog rivals? Also: who are the Lions and the Tigers and the Bears, what amicable group is the furthest south and which other two complete this elite octet?
Ivy League universities and their sporting mascots/nicknames: the Harvard Crimson, Yale Bulldogs, Columbia Lions, Princeton Tigers, Brown Bears. The Quakers from the University of Pennsylvania are the furthest south. Dartmouth (Big Green) and Cornell (Big Red) complete the set.
11. What do Robert Markham, Benjamin Black and Dan Kavanagh have in common?
Pseudonyms used by Booker Prize winners: Kingsley Amis, John Banville and Julian Barnes.
12. Identify the man who called for Watson, Johnson’s successor, a notable clipper and a Glaswegian merchant who favoured credit more than honour. Why might they be considered mongrels?
Alexander Graham Bell called for Watson to come into the next room: this was the first ever telephone call; President Andrew Johnson was succeeded by Ulysees S Grant; the Cutty Sark was the most famous tea clipper and, in Rob Roy, Baillie Nicol Jarvie was a merchant keener on credit than honour. Bells’ Grants’, Cutty Sark and Baillie Nicol Jarvie are brands of blended – hence mongrel – Scotch whisky.
13. Hannibal and Cicero each triumphed in Surrey. How?
They won the Derby. In 1805 and 1906 respectively.
14. What dubious distinction is shared by a notorious Scottish speculator, a Jacobean playwright and the most disgraced Vice-President of them all? And why are the authors of A Hero of Our Time and Eugene Onegin notable for precisely the opposite reason?
John Law is the Speculator; Ben Johnson the playwright and Aaron Burr the American politician. Each killed a man in a duel. By contrast, Lermontov and Pushkin were killed in duels.
15. What was taken from the Isle of Wight to New York City in 1851 where it stayed until 1983? To which three countries has it since been taken?
The America’s Cup. Held by the New York Yacht Club until 1983; since won by clubs from Australia, New Zealand and, improbably, Switzerland.
16. What links Henry VIII, Sir Thomas More, Idi Amin, Claus von Bulow, Benjamin Disraeli and King George VI?
Parts played by the winners of the Oscar for Best Actor.
17. One who though, figuratively speaking, born in a stable was not a horse, his later title, a great victory for the Grand Alliance and major cities in New Hampshire and Nova Scotia all earned their wings, so to speak. Which county town is more famous than any of these?
Arthur Wellesley was born in Ireland but not an Irishman (being born in a stable does not make a man a horse); he was later Duke of Wellington. The Grand Alliance won a great victory at Blenheim. The cities are Manchester and Halifax. Wellesley, Wellington, Blenheim, Manchester and Halifax were British bombers in the Second World War. The Lancaster is now more famous than all the others.
18. In which mountains might you have seen the Badger, the Heron, the Little Elephant and the Eagle of Toledo?
Either the Alps or the Pyrenees is an acceptable answer. These are cycling nicknames: Hinault, Coppi, Pantani and Bahamontes.
19. One sounds as though it should be Mitt’s slogan, another assisted one of the most famous Belgians, a third is where “the sea is calm tonight” while a fourth is known for its golf. Can you name the fifth?
Mitt should be running for President as “New Romney”; Hastings was Poirot’s slow-witted assistant; “The sea is calm tonight” is from “Dover Beach” and Sandwich is famous for its golf course. New Romney, Hastings, Dover, and Sandwich are four of the Cinque Ports on the Kent coast. Hythe is the other.
20. Elinor was the first and Anne the sixth and last. In between came Elizabeth, Fanny and Catherine. Which eponymous heroine completes the set?
Emma. These are the heroines, in order, of Jane Austen’s six novels.
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