Word Trivia

Fun With Words Game

This word trivia was created to bring some older, little used words back to life. Have fun deciding on their meanings. Have even more fun working them into your everyday vocabulary!

Some people collect antiques. The items are loved for their ‘old-worldliness’ and displayed with pride and pleasure. I think it’s high time old words got the same sort of reverence. Imagine being a ‘fine word’ dealer, a purveyor of words from the past.

To get you enthused and inspired, here’s a collection of words long passed their use-by date, but delightful all the same. Use these words and their definitions to quiz yourself and your friends. Use them to play a homemade game of balderdash. Use them the next time you want to impress someone with knowledge of the English language.

Word Trivia Questions

01. basiation (verb)
a. to prostrate oneself in front of a man
b. to bask in glory
c. the act of putting things into a basin
d. to kiss

02. pickthank (noun)
a. a person who collects many thanks for having done good deeds
b. a person who having been thanked finds fault with the person thanking him
c. a person who is poor about remembering to thank people
d. a person who flatters in order to receive thanks

03. bloviate (verb)
a. to lie around idly
b. to blubber uncontrollably
c. to speak pompously and overbearingly
d. to forget things

04. drazel (noun)
a. the past tense of drizzle
b. a vagabond slut
c. a particular type of painting technique
d. a vegetable found in the South Pacific

05. bedswerver (noun)
a. a bed on castors for easy moving
b. a nurse on skates
c. an unfaithful spouse
d. a crank handle for turning a bed around

06. windlestraw (noun)
a. a type of machine for baling straw
b. a light breeze
c. a lightweight or feeble person
d. a spinning wheel

07. morkin (noun)
a. an animal killed by accident
b. a person prone to extreme sentimentality
c. the partner of Mindy
d. a small owl native to New Zealand

08. gallooon (noun)
a. an ancient sailing ship
b. a lace trim or binding material
c. an obsolete measure of fluids
d. a small gallows

09. quackle (verb)
a. to choke or suffocate
b. to laugh loudly
c. to test toffee to see if it is set
d. to eat the crackling from a roast of pork

10. crapulous (adjective)
a. an old smelly person
b. a drunken person
c. a person who talks nonsense
d. something that is untrue

11. quiddle (noun)
a. a small measure of tobacco
b. an ancient folk dance from Bulgaria
c. another word for riddle
d. a fastidious person

12. milquetoast (noun)
a. toasted bread soaked in milk
b. salute or toast for a dairyman
c. a very timid person
d. pale or lightly done toast

13. nithing (noun)
a. an old form of the word ‘nothing’
b. a person who knits
c. the name for the space between the underside of the floorboards and the ground
d. a contemptible or cowardly person

14. piscation (noun)
a. the name for the male sport of seeing how high and far one can urinate
b. fishing
c. the name given to one who is drawn to people born under the Pisces star sign
d. the name given to the act of teasing

15. knubble (verb)
a. to deliberately cause harm to someone
b. to knead bread vigorously
c. to beat with closed fists
d. to announce the birth of a child

16. palaver (verb)
a. to lay paving stones
b. to talk profusely and foolishly
c. to dance very slowly
d. to bend at the knees while bowing

17. jobation (noun)
a. tediously scold someone
b. the state of being on probation for a job
c. the name given for having a job
d. the collective noun for followers of Job

18. poculent (adjective)
a. to describe someone suffering from pox
b. to describe liquid fit for drinking
c. to describe a garment with many pockets
d. to describe someone good at picking pockets

19. hornwork (noun)
a. the ancient art of inscribing on cow or deer horns
b. the name given for the role a bugler plays in a band
c. an alternative word for cuckoldry
d. the word for separating fighting bulls

20. deglutition (noun)
a. to specialize in separating items that have been glued together
b. to describe the act of swallowing
c. to describe losing weight rapidly
d. to describe stemming the flow or overproduction of manufactured goods

WORD TRIVIA BONUS WORDS:

Blow the cobwebs off these next few words, then pop with pride into your mouth and out again to dazzle your friends.

Honeyfugle: to swindle or cheat
Mackabroin: an old hag
Limbeck: to wear yourself out trying to come up with new ideas

BONUS WORD AND SPEECH TUTORIALS:
1. How to Write a Memorable Eulogy
2. How to Write a Successful Speech
3. How to Rehearse a Speech

Word Trivia Answers

01. d. to kiss / 02. d. a sychophant or flatterer / 03. c. to speak pompously or overbearingly / 04. b. a vagabond slut / 05. c. an unfaithful spouse / 06. c. a lightweight or feeble person / 07. a. an animal killed by accident / 08.b. a lace trim or binding material / 09. a. to choke or suffocate / 10. b. drunken / 11. d. a fastidious person / 12.c. a very timid person / 13. d. a contemptible cowardly person / 14. b. fishing / 15. c. to beat with closed fists /16. b. to talk profusely and foolishly / 17. a. tediously scold someone / 18. b. to describe liquid fit for drinking /19. c. an alternative word for cuckoldry / 20. b. to describe the act of swallowing