This fun quiz is all about strange but elegant English words. Sometimes I’ll give you a definition, and let you choose the right word; and sometimes I’ll give you a word and let you choose the definition. Let us know how you get on! ?
If you like this quiz, be sure to check out my 150+ Fun & Challenging Quizzes! – “Guaranteed to make you smarter!”
Data correct per Oxford Dictionaries. Cover image: Public domain.
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Question of
What is an ariel?
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a type of gazelle
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an implement used for sprinkling holy water in religious ceremonies
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refined, incisive wit
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Question of
Another word for “additional” is
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absquatulate
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adscititious
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anfractuous
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Question of
What does “aa” mean?
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a kind of eel whose meat is fermented for over a year before being eaten in Iceland
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a Dutch palace or fortress
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a kind of volcanic lava with a light frothy texture
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Question of
Which word means “an ignorant or unsophisticated person”?
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argle-bargle
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apple-knocker
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astrobleme
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Question of
What does “badmash” mean?
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a hooligan
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a dish made of many different leftovers
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a drink made from fermented rye bread, popular in Sweden and Finland
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Question of
Which word is a sticky preparation used for setting hair?
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barmecide
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aspergillum
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bandoline
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Question of
Benthos is…
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flora and fauna on the bottom of a lake
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a coin of low value
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an iron bar with shackles, used to fasten prisoners’ ankles
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Question of
Which term means “a great deal of fuss or trouble”?
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bindlestiff
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bingle
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bobsy-die
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Question of
What is the meaning of “cerulean”?
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the study or investigation of crop circles
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melodious or resonant
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a deep sky blue
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Question of
Which word means a military attack carried out at night?
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camisado
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bruxism
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chanticleer
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Question of
What is a concinnity?
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a fit of rage or hysterics
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the involuntary repetitive use of obscene language
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elegance or neatness of literary or artistic style
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Question of
Which word means ten million?
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crottle
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crore
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croze
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Question of
What is a chad?
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a piece of waste paper produced by punching a hole
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a sticky lump of potter’s clay
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a convulsive or involuntary movement
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Very tough quiz. Managed 8 with a few guesses.
There are a number of very tough words here, Grace!
You got 8 out of 13 right!
Great
Ouch! Didn’t do too well but definitely entertaining and informative. Badmash and crore were easier ones for me 🙂
I got just 11 right, trying it again myself, now 🙂 I never heard ‘badmash’ before setting up the quiz, and never heard crore before visiting the subcontinent. There are some very unusual words here!
Four? Wow, that was hard, but really good.
From the results it seems I made an extremely tough quiz! Thanks for participating, Kim 🙂
You did, I never see these words used.. Good thing huh? giggles.
6 out of 13 and quite surprised I got any at all.
A lot of these words are obscure, GD, so you didn’t do bad with 6 🙂
got 4/13…im really at poor at highfalutin words..that’s why i need to feed new words everyday haha…but alas ur quiz is great i had enjoyed and learned a lot from it Norman..good job!
Thanks Traf, for taking the quiz in the spirit it was intended 🙂 Most native speakers don’t know most of these words anyway!
…it’s alright..what matters most was that I learned something new and it’s still interesting.. 🙂
My uncle used to say highfalutin lol. I would like to hear you say that in your best southern accent! grins..
I’ve heard it here in an Irish accent (maybe even used it once or twice) But I fancy I can imagine hearing it with a nice Mississippi drawl. (I watched ‘Oh Brother where art thou’ recently 😀 )
I got five. Not bad actually, since I have never heard of these words and english is not my native language.
Not bad at all, Lejla, and just as good as many native speakers! Thanks for taking the quiz 🙂
i got 9 right and my name suggests whether it is my native or otherwise wise
Well done, Muhammad! I’m guessing from your comment that English is not your mother tongue, but you should know that there are plenty of guys named Muhammad who do have English as their first language 🙂
I only got seven right. I guess I don’t read the right books.
LOL Barbara, I don’t think anyone reads any books containing most of these words! It was on the basis of their unusualness that I selected them 🙂
Didn’t do badly, but you definitely got me on concinnity. Thanks for the introduction to this word!
It’s a good word, isn’t it! Thanks for taking the quiz, Roberta 🙂
Never heard of a lot of these words.
They are all definitely unusual, Lena 🙂
7 correct out of 13, not bad! 🙂
That’s a pass, Nela! Thank you for playing 🙂
Well I got 6 correct but still a great quiz
6 is quite respectable for such a hard quiz, LaJenna! Thank you for taking the quiz 🙂
Great to see some Hindi words here! How do you study all this? Great!
I think everyone who visits India knows lakh and crore! Thanks for p[laying, Abhijit 🙂
Hahaha… that’s so true! So, you had been here anytime earlier?
Several times, Abhijit! I am very fond of your country 🙂
Little tough.But I guessed some of them correctly.I enjoyed playing.
I’m really glad you enjoyed it, BS. Thanks for playing 🙂
This was the toughest quiz you’ve done (at least for me). I struggled with a number of the words. Still, as always it was a blast, Thanks Norman~
Glad you enjoyed it, Scott. I made it real hard on purpose, for no special reason. Maybe I was feeling sadistic 😀
congrats, it worked! It was hard. Lots of fun, but really really hard…
Never think “aa” is a word, haha!
Yes, I know! It is the first entry in the Oxford English Dictionary 🙂
Five out of 13 on this quiz.
Thanks for playing, Deep – it sure was a tough one 🙂
The tougher the quizzes the better I get in the learning scale.
That’s a real good attitude 😀
This life is not a rehearsal. I like that message.
Got 11 out of 13. Most of them I just guessed or used my little imagination and brain. But some of these words are not really “elegant”, for example the word crore which resembles a bit the French word “crote” which means a bowel movement….As for strange, you are right on that description.
Well, without the ‘crote’ connection, I still find crore elegant, especially when combined with ‘lakh’ (one hundred thousand, in Indian English), so that one lakh crore means 1 trillion, but is notated like: 10,00,00,00,00,000
And look how elegantly crore is written in Hindi: करोड़ 😀
Sorry Norman. I certainly did not mean to insult you or any other words. I think that sometimes I am just too French.
Absolutely nothing to say sorry for, HG! Misreading the tone is easy in plain text, n’est-ce pas? Pas de problème – restes française, stp 🙂
Eh bien merci beaucoup Norman. Tu écris et parles le français, si je vois bien? Maybe I should comment in French on your post too. Ha! Ha! All kidding aside, thank you for your understanding and nice reply.
I try my best, mon amie 🙂
Ten of thirteen. That was a tricky one. I had to look at the structure of words to clue me in. Mostly, it worked. Brilliant alternatives and that faint scent of Darlingtonacious humour.
You rock.
Thank you so much 😀 You took the right approach, as evidenced by your score!
Yikes only got 5 correct. Good to see you Norman. 🙂
Good to see you too, Carol 🙂 This was a hard one, for sure!
Yes but I am always up for a good challenge.
You got 5 out of 13 right!
Could be better
Quiz: Strange but Elegant English words A – C
You got 7 out of 13 right!
That’s over 50%, Branka! Definitely a pass – thanks for playing 🙂