Christmas Quiz - please read post 1 before replying!

[Winterkoning]

Roy

Well thought out well composed in other words Excellent for all those Quiz Wizzards here and out there

A lot of work Im sure appreciated by many....good luck to all who try......unfortunately Im not a Quiz Person but do applaude the Time and effort thats gone into this.....Well done Mate..... I will be looking forward to your replies and answers at the End Jan 2012

[RoyW__]

Answers for anyone who might have had a go (whether they post on the forum or not):




Christmas Quiz Answers


Round 1.

1. LAPPET (‘Pal’ backwards followed by ‘pet’).
2. STOAT (raising a glass and saying a few words is a ‘toast’, and with the ‘S’, which can be used to represent a compass point, moved to the start you end up with this predatory animal).
3. Siskin (‘Si’ is the accepted abbreviation for Silicon, and a covering can be known as a ‘skin’).
4. SMALL HEATH (A request for silence can be written as ‘Sh’, which is placed around ‘mall heat’ which represents the temperature of a shopping precinct).
5. CHARLOCK (to partially burn something is to ‘char’ it, and secure can be used in place of ‘lock’).
6. LITTLE EGRET (The in French is ‘Le’ which gives the initials of one of the species that used to be commonly hunted for Victorian ladies fashion. This clue didn’t really fit in with the style of most of the others - and yes I know that it assumes the masculine form of ‘the’!).
7. DEATH CAP (mix up the letters in hated, and then follow them with the abbreviated form of ‘Common agricultural policy’ which uses only the initial letters).
8. WASP SPIDER (mix ‘pa’ up with ‘W’ and ‘S’, which are two compass directions, and follow this with ‘Spiderman’, Peter Parkers alter ego, but with the ‘man’ part removed, or ‘lost’).
9. JACK SNIPE (Esox lucius is the scientific name for Pike, with a young Pike known as a ‘Jack Pike’ or ‘Jack’ – without a weapon suggests that the pike part should be left off. This is followed, or ‘tailed’ by Snipe - a marksman, or ‘sniper’ with the end letter left off).
10. VIPER (An honoured guest is a VIP, and our queen is Elizabeth Regina, or ER. The resulting word being a name that can be used for a malicious person, as well as a reptile, which is commonly thought of as cold blooded).
11. BLOODY-NOSED BEETLE (Perhaps not enough in the clue to make this one easy, but if Ringo or Paul had been hit in the face during a brawl the result could have been a ‘Beatle with a bloody nose!).
12. STONECHAT (‘stoat’ is the mustelid that is wanted, with Ne and CH ‘taken in’. ‘Ne’ is the abbreviation for Neon, one of the noble gases, and methane, which is CH4, gives us the CH when most of the hydrogen is removed, or ‘exhaled’).

One point for each correct answer (and I would give ½ point for partially correct answers – such as ‘snipe’ for number 9, or ‘beetle’ for number 11).




Round 2.

1. BANDED DEMOISELLE.
2. SCOTS PINE.
3. COMMON GREEN GRASSHOPPER.
4. WATER SHREW.
5. RED-BACKED SHRIKE.
6. FIELD SCABIOUS
7. FLAME SHOULDER (a moth)
8. GREAT CRESTED NEWT
9. STINGING NETTLE.
10. FARNE ISLANDS
11. NORTHERN WHEATEAR
12. BEADLET ANEMONE (I’ll also allow BALEEN NEMATODE which one person came up with – there are apparently a number of species of nematode that live in baleen, and some of these are likely to have occurred in British waters with their hosts!).

One point for each correct answer.




Round 3.

1. SANDWICH – this is the only place that has a bird/insect named after it in both the common and scientific names (SANDWICH TERN, Sterna sandwicensis – the other towns having DARTFORD WARBLER, CAMBERWELL BEAUTY, and LEWES WAVE named after them).
2. CAPERCAILLIE – All of the listed species have been the subject of reintroduction schemes in the UK, but Capercaillie is the only one that was extinct before the scheme was started.
3. SMALL RED DAMSELFLY – both sexes are highly variable in appearance in all the other species, but in Small Red Damselfly it is only the female that is found indifferent colour forms.
COMMON BUZZARD is one I accepted as an alternative answer (the only one that has the same generic and specific names in the scientific name – Buteo buteo).
4. Two possible answers again Oak is in Order Fagales all the others are in Rosales.
Alternatively , HAWTHORN is the only one that is not the food plant of any of the British Hairstreak Butterflies.
5. GRASS SNAKE is the only one that is at home in water for any length of time, and will actively enter this environment.
Also accepted: SMOOTH SNAKE is the only truly viviparous species that always produces ‘live young’ (some populations of Common Lizard outside of the UK lay eggs, and thin shelled eggs that hatch on laying may be found in the UK).
6. SKOMER – the only one of the four localities that does not have a colony of breeding Gannets.
7. HOUSE MOUSE – The others all have alternative names that they are regularly known by (Atlantic Seal, Ship Rat, and Harbour Seal).
Also accepted: COMMON SEAL – these can breed in the intertidal zone because the young can swim very soon after birth (all of the others must have areas that remain dry in which to breed), or BLACK RAT – the only one with the same generic and specific names (Rattus rattus).

8. ALDER – all of the others have long hairs on their seeds which help them to be spread by the wind. The seeds of alder have ‘wings’, but are principally spread by water. Alder is also the only one which has Nitrogen fixing bacteria in root nodules the others are Mycorrhizal.
9. SIX-SPOT BURNET – all of the others survive through the winter in an adult form.
Also accepted: SMALL TORTOISESHELL – the others all have a chemical defence that they can use to discourage predation/attack from other creatures.
10. Two potential answers. COMMON SEA SQUIRT is the only one that cannot reproduce asexually (although they are hermaphrodite).
Alternatively, LILY-OF-THE-VALLEY is the only one that does not have a symbiotic relationship with another organism.
11. HONEY-BEE – all of the others are eaten by humans, but we only eat the honey that is produced by the bees, not the bees themselves.
12. ALDERFLY – alderflies have a complete metamorphosis with a pupal stage, all of the others have an incomplete metamorphosis emerging as adults in their final moult.

1 point available for each question ( ½ point for the odd one out, ½ point for a valid reason).



Round 4

1. CUCKOOS MATE (as well as other names associating Wryneck and Cuckoo). The name was applied because the arrival dates of Wryneck and Cuckoo were very similar – as if they travelled together.
2. (a) RED-VEINED DARTER. (b) The first photo showing the blue underside to the eyes would be diagnostic if only dragonflies regularly recorded in Britain were considered (but other features may be needed to eliminate vagrants or other foreign species).
3. JACKDAW and SILVER BIRCH (remember it’s a wildlife quiz so all species visible in the photo count!).
4. WASP BEETLE – the larvae live in decaying wood.
5. Number one is the odd one out, with the reason being that it is one of the North American Sparrows – which are actually buntings (Emberizidae), not sparrows (Passeridae).
(The actual names of the species weren’t asked for in the question, but a bonus point for anyone who correctly named all four: White-crowned Sparrow, House Sparrow, Rock Sparrow, and Tree Sparrow.)
6. Red Squirrel – found naturally in Europe/Asia.
7. ½ point for ‘A slug’ and ½ point for suggesting at least the genus (Arion).
8. (a) Gadwall. (b) There is no photo that doesn’t fit – all were taken from a series of photos that I took of a bathing male Gadwall.

The final four photos were all ‘messed about with’ in photoshop:
9. (a) Foxglove (b) Usually pinkish-purple, but occasionally white (never blue!).
10. Pyramidal Orchid – found in grassland, often on calcareous soils.
11. (a) Comma (b) Typically the larvae feed on Stinging Nettles, but they have been found on other species like Hops and Elm.
12. Mandarin Duck – a species that nests in holes in trees.

This round had two parts to each question – with ½ point available for each.



Round 5.

1. GOLDCREST (Gold was one of the gifts brought by the wise men, ‘C’ is the first letter of Christ, and ‘rest’ is sleep. The scientific name of Goldcrest Regulus regulus means ‘a little king’ –repeated twice).
2. HOLLY (An association with god is ‘holy’, and a novice is a learner – ‘L’).
3. SATIN BEAUTY (An anagram of ‘santa’ mingled with ‘I bet you’, but with the ‘o’, or ‘nothing’ lost. I take it that everyone read the last word as “moth-ers”, ie. Those who trap moths, instead of female parents!).
4. NINE-SPINED STICKLEBACKS.
5. BOTTLE-NOSED WHALE. (apparently this name is still acceptable, as is BOTTLENOSE WHALE. Both should really have ‘NORTHERN’ in front of them).
6. STAR-OF-BETHLEHEM.
7. AMERICAN ROBIN – this is the only one that is in the thrush family (Turdidae), all of the others, along with the European Robin are now put in the flycatcher family (Muscicapidae).
8. CRAKES – the other three all feature in the song the twelve days of Christmas.
9. Two possible answers:
NORWAY SPRUCE is the only one that does not have berries.
MISTLETOE is the only one that is parasitic.
All four are sometimes used for Christmas decoration.
10. REINDEER, which may be found in a semi wild state in the Cairngorms as a tended flock.
11. GREYLAG GEESE
12. A trick question – if you said “don’t know”, “you can’t tell”, or “yes” for the first part you score ½ point. The other ½ point could be gained by saying that you can tell if you witness certain breeding behaviours.

One point for each question.

[RoyW__]

Bonus questions:
1. One point each for Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Shepherds (number and names not specified), three wise men (or three points if you give them the names of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazaar – or any or the many similar variants that are sometimes used). Also acceptable: Inn keeper and his wife (one point because these seem like a reasonable inclusion), but minus one point for anyone else mentioned (Angels aren’t people, and I’ve never understood why some people feel the need to include people like Noah in nativity scenes – even the wise men shouldn’t really have been there).
2. One point each for: “I love you” (1960 with The Shadows), “Mistletoe and Wine” (1988), “Do they Know it’s Christmas” (1989, Band Aid II), and “Saviours Day” (1990).
I did receive a suggestion that it should be one point deducted for everyone that anyone knew!

4. There are surprisingly few possibilities; FLY AGARIC is the best fit, but sticking with fungi there are also several RUSSULA species. SCARLET/COMMON ROSEFINCH seems to be the only bird species that really fits the bill, and there are also a few invertebrates (I’d allow BEADLET ANEMONE, and perhaps also some ladybirds – despite them being more orange than red). A few flowering plants might also fit, but most are either red or white and not red with some white. (One point for each).

5. One point each for ADVOCAAT and LEMONADE, or for more points, instead of Advocaat you could have had EGG YOLKS, SUGAR, and BRANDY (the main ingredients of Advocaat).
Other ingredients that can be added according to personal taste apparently include, LIME and VANILLA – but no points for these as they aren’t the main ingredience. (minus one point for anything else!).

7. WHITE-TAILED ROBIN, EUROPEAN ROBIN (or Robin, or Robin Red-Breast), HEATH ROBIN (Stonechat), and BLUE-THROATED ROBIN (Bluethroat).
One point for each of these four. (and one point for check for anyone who tried to claim more than one name for European Robin!).

8. One point each for . SINGING BIRDS, HENS, and TURTLE DOVES (the other birds mentioned in the Twelve days of Christmas).

10. The lack of a red nose rules out Rudolf (minus one point if you suggested this name). Any of the other names are possibilities, so one point each for CUPID, COMET, DANCER, PRANCER, DASHER, BLITZEN (or Blixem), VIXEN and DONNER (or Donder, Dunder or Donna).

11. One point each for any of the following:
SNOW GOOSE, SNOW BUNTING, SNOWY OWL, SUMMER SNOWFLAKE, SPRING SNOWFLAKE, SNOWDROP (one point only – I won’t allow different varieties), SNOWBERRY, SNOW-IN-SUMMER

[astafjevs]

Great quiz Roy, most of it was way too difficult for me but I enjoyed it. Not sure why it took me until the 4th January to find it though!