Norman Darlo
This is the latest in our occasional series of quizzes 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!
Earlier quizzes in this series: Strange but Elegant Words A–C, D–E, F–K, L–M, N–O, P.
If you like this quiz, be sure to check out my 160 Fun & Challenging Quizzes! – “Guaranteed to make you smarter!”
Data correct per Oxford Dictionaries. Cover image: Public domain.
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Question of
What does the term ‘ratite’ refer to?
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A class of flightless birds
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A class of rodents
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An unidentified mineral mentioned in the Bible
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Question of
What is a razzia?
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A style of haircut popularised by punks in the 1970s
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A raid
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A breed of longhorn cattle
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Question of
Rhinoplasty
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An imitation diamond
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Inflammation of the facial mucous membranes
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Surgery on the nose
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Question of
Redd
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The liquid run-off from a wormery
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A fish nest
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To rescue from the sea
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Question of
Reticulate
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Grid-like in form
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Constructed with one or more pivoted joints
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Skilled in public speaking
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Question of
Reeve
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To abduct
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To make love in the daytime
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To pass rope through a hole
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Question of
Resurrection man
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One who digs up cadavers and sells them
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A Siberian shaman
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A pejorative term for a stock-market trader
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Question of
Rebus
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An unintelligent yokel
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A word puzzle
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A kind of monkey
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Question of
Rubricate
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to illuminate a manuscript
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To repay in kind
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To apply whale fat to ropes
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Question of
Rheostat
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An X-ray machine
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A satellite which remains stationary relative to earth
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A dimmer switch
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Question of
Recondite
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Difficult to grasp
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Soft and easily styled (of hair)
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Restore to a functional state
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Question of
Rubiginose
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A swollen red nose associated with alcohol consumption
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Rose-water
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Rust-coloured
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Not going to post my score…..slinking away red-faced………..
I am sure your face has returned to its normal colour by now. And I bet if you tried again you’d ace the quiz 🙂
I have never heard any of the words in the quiz. My guessing kicked in and I scored 2.
Guessing is great when it works ? Most of these words were deeply obscure, Intro, so don’t feel bad! Thanks for taking the quiz ?
Woah Norman. That wasn’t easy for me. I managed to get five of them correct.
Well the answers were chosen for their hardness – you did well enough 🙂
missed two, but in fairness, i had to miss one of the two. i had to select the geostationary Satellite for Rheostat.
i couldn’t help myself!
Well you did impressively well. And I know that feeling, when you just have to choose an answer even if you’re sure it’s wrong 🙂
you often, Kim often create quizzes with answers that are so funny i have to honor the comic and pick funny!
I got 2/12. Terrible score! And I got those right because I got lucky. Don’t know any of these words.
Oh, Lena, never mind the score. Those were very hard words 🙂
7 out of 12 right, Not so bad
it was ok.
That’s not bad at all, for such a challenging quiz! Thanks for playing 🙂
I got 9 out of 12 right! Some of them( 2, 3, 5, 8, 10, 12) sound similar to the Romanian words with the same meaning. ?
Well done, Ileana. You had an advantage, as you point out, since many of the longer and more difficult English words are borrowed from Latin (which of course is the parent of Romanian). Thanks for taking the quiz 🙂
Very difficult for me. My result 3 out of 12
Definitely a tricky quiz, Alberto! Thanks for trying 🙂
My pleasure. Thanks for doing it.
I got 8 of 12. thanks this is so fun!
Hey, Mavic, I’m glad you enjoyed! And you got a good score too 🙂
I got 7 out of 12. I learned interesting facts.
Not bad, LaJenna! Thanks for playing 🙂
Awesome quiz. By just instinct and guesses I got 6 right.
You have good instincts then, Rasma! Thanks for taking the challenge 🙂
It would have been just guessing. And I thought I was good in English!!!!!
Nobody gets a good score in this kind of quiz, Grace!
Guessed and got #7 (who knew somebody does that !), missed 10 & 12.
Great quiz as always Norman.
Oh you did very well then! Yes, who knew 😮