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Quiz of the year 2018: Round four

Take Chris Maume’s quiz and test your general knowledge

Tuesday 18 December 2018 17:19 GMT
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1. Who are the above, what’s the link and who’s the odd one out?

2. “Nil desperandum”; “carpe diem”; “Dulce et decorum pro patria mori”: what’s the link?

3. What did the Puritans consider to be “the trappings of popery”, the “rags of the Beast”?

4. Which words did Robert Nivelle utter during the Battle of Verdun in 1916 that are usually credited to the man he succeeded as commander of the Second Army during the nine-month battle, Marshal Philippe Pétain?

5. Who was the first US secretary of the Treasury?

6. What links an actor born in 1920 who appeared in more than 300 films in a 90-year career; a footballer born in 1985 who has won every honour available at club level apart from the European Super Cup; and an actress best known for playing a computer hacker? (And for an extra imaginary point, which former teammate does the footballer share his record with?)

7. What did Georges Perec dispense with when he wrote La Disparition?

8. An Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean; a small community in Nova Scotia; a granite island off the coast of Tasmania; Kiritimati in the Republic of Kiribati: what’s the link?

9. In October 1814, a flood in Tottenham Court Road, London, killed eight people and destroyed two houses. What did the flood consist of?

10. Identify the songs from which the following lyrics are taken: a) “Got on a lucky one / Came in 18 to one / I’ve got a feeling / This year’s for me and you”; b) “Once bitten and twice shy / I keep my distance / But you still catch my eye / Tell me, baby / Do you recognise me?” c) “Does your granny always tell you / That the old songs are the best?”

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1. Max von Sydow; Robert Powell; Willem Dafoe; Paul Nicholas and Kenneth Colley, who all played Jesus Christ on film, television or the stage, in The Greatest Story Ever Told, Jesus Christ, The Last Temptation of Christ, Jesus Christ Superstar and The Life of Brian respectively. Graham Chapman didn’t play Jesus but he did play Brian Cohen, who was born in the stable next door.

2. They are all quotations from the works of Horace.

3. The celebration of Christmas. In 1647 there were pro-Christmas riots; rioters took control of Canterbury for several weeks, decorating doorways with holly and royalist slogans.

4. “Ils ne passeront!” – “They shall not pass!”

5. Alexander Hamilton, subject of Hamilton: An American Musical.

6. Mickey Rooney; Wayne Rooney; Rooney Mara, Lisbeth Salander in the David Fincher adaptation of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

7. The letter “e”. Gilbert Adair heroically translated it into English as A Void.

8. They’re all called Christmas Island.

9. Beer. A ruptured vat at Meux’s Brewery caused other vats to burst, releasing nearly 1.5 million litres of beer. Most of the dead were members of families living in basements.

10. a) The Pogues and Kirsty McColl, “Fairytale of New York”; b) George Michael, “Last Christmas”; c) Slade, “Merry Christmas Everybody”.

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