Flush by Carl Hiaasen
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40 free Flush by Carl Hiaasen trivia questions with answers — literature quiz, new questions added Oct 2026.
Carl Hiaasen's Flush drops a family fight, a crooked businessman and a very dirty secret into one hot Florida summer. Noah Underwood's dad is in jail for taking the law into his own hands, his mom is running out of patience, and the only way to prove Dad right is for Noah and his little sister Abbey to catch a polluter in the act. This quiz walks through the whole book: how the trouble starts, who helps and who gets in the way, what each character is like, the plan the kids come up with, and how it all turns out. A few questions cover the author and where the novel sits among his other books for young readers. It works as a chapter-by-chapter check for a class reading the novel, as revision before a test on plot and character traits, or simply as a challenge for anyone who has just finished the last page.
30 of 40 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01How does Paine Underwood put the casino boat Coral Queen out of action at the start of Flush?
He sank it
He sank it and was in jail by Father's Day, but the stunt backfired: the Coral Queen was refloated and back in business within days.
Q 02Which long-lost relative turns out to be the scarred old pirate who rescues Noah and Abbey in Flush?
Their grandfather
Their grandfather, Bobby, had been presumed dead for a decade after vanishing in South America, where he was hunting the men who stole his boat.
Q 03What do Noah Underwood and Shelly send down the Coral Queen's toilets to make its sewage traceable?
Food coloring
Food coloring was Noah's idea: squeezed into the toilets, it tinted the sewage so the next illegal dump left a visible trail back to the boat.
Q 04Which elusive natural sight does the Underwood family finally witness at the very end of Flush?
The green flash
The green flash is a real optical effect seen just as the sun slips below the horizon, usually lasting no more than two seconds, and the family had never managed to catch it before.
Q 05How does little Abbey Underwood fight off the guard who grabs her on the Coral Queen's dock?
She bites him
She bites him hard enough to make him scream, a habit left over from babyhood, when Abbey bit nearly everyone who came near.
Q 06What job does Shelly take aboard the Coral Queen so she can spy on Dusty Muleman in Flush?
Bartender
Bartender was her old post on the boat, and Dusty, her ex, handed it straight back when she asked.
Q 07In Flush, Abbey overhears her mother Donna Underwood discussing which drastic step with a lawyer?
Filing for divorce
Filing for divorce is Donna's last resort after years of Paine's arrests, and the threat is what finally makes him promise to act more responsibly.
Q 08Which Newbery Honor novel was Carl Hiaasen's first book for young readers, published before Flush?
Hoot
Hoot, about kids protecting burrowing owls from a pancake-house developer, came out in 2002; Flush shares its Florida setting but is not a sequel.
Q 09Carl Hiaasen's Flush, the story of a polluting casino boat, is set in which part of Florida?
The Keys
The Keys are a chain of coral islands off Florida's southern coast, and the waters around them are protected as a national marine sanctuary.
Q 10How does Noah Underwood escape the two bouncers who corner him on the Coral Queen's upper deck?
He jumps overboard
He jumps overboard from the railing into the dark bay, where Abbey is waiting in a small getaway boat to pick him up.
Q 11Why does Dusty Muleman dump the Coral Queen's sewage in the bay rather than have it hauled away?
To save money
To save money: Dusty is simply too cheap to pay for proper disposal, so the waste drifts onto a shore where local children swim.
Q 12Which trait of Paine Underwood's keeps landing him in trouble with the law in Carl Hiaasen's Flush?
Impulsiveness
Impulsiveness is Paine's flaw: he cares so much about wildlife that he acts first and thinks later, and his wife and children carry the stress.
Q 13Which favorite swimming spot of Noah and Abbey Underwood is fouled by the Coral Queen's sewage?
Thunder Beach
Q 21Billy Babcock tips off Dusty Muleman about coming inspections; who employs Babcock in Flush?
The Coast Guard
The Coast Guard pays Babcock's wages, but he owes the casino so much that Dusty cancels his gambling debts in return for the warnings.
Q 22What were Dusty Muleman's son and his pal Bull smoking when they wrecked the Coral Queen?
Cuban cigars
Cuban cigars from Dusty's own prized stash did it: the boys lit up in the hold beside several boxes of fireworks, and the boat burned.
Q 23After the Coral Queen is destroyed in Flush, what do Dusty Muleman's business partners sue him for?
Embezzlement
Thunder Beach is where local kids swim, and finding it fouled with sewage is what makes the pollution personal for Noah and Abbey.
Q 14What code name do Noah, Abbey and Shelly give their plan to expose the Coral Queen's dumping?
Operation Royal Flush
Operation Royal Flush borrows the name of poker's best hand, a fitting joke for a scheme carried out in the toilets of a casino boat.
Q 15After Noah and Shelly's toilet scheme, what color is the telltale trail behind the Coral Queen?
Fuchsia
Fuchsia showed up as a bright streak when the water was checked from the air the next morning, tying the spill to the boat at last.
Q 16When the Coral Queen is destroyed in Flush, what alibi clears Paine Underwood of arson?
Casts on both hands
Casts on both hands meant Paine could not even strike a match: he had broken them with furious punches at home after hearing Dusty was back in business.
Q 17What does Abbey Underwood sneak out with to catch the Coral Queen dumping at night in Flush?
A video camera
A video camera from home let Abbey film the dumping on her own, but the picture came out too dark and blurry to prove anything.
Q 18What really happened to Lice Peeking, whom Shelly feared Dusty Muleman had killed, in Flush?
He ran away scared
He ran away scared after a visit from Dusty's bald enforcer, taking Shelly's Jeep and her cash, and stayed out of sight until the boat was shut down.
Q 19Where aboard the Coral Queen does Shelly hide Noah Underwood for hours on the night of the sting?
A ladies' room
A ladies' room gave Noah toilets of his own to work on, and Shelly hung an Out of Order sign on the door to keep gamblers out.
Q 20Why does Paine Underwood refuse bail and choose to stay behind bars early in Flush?
To draw public attention
To draw public attention to the dumping, Paine treats his cell as a stage, even giving a television interview from jail.
Embezzlement came to light in the wreckage, where investigators found proof that Dusty had been skimming the takings, and the IRS audited him as well.
Q 24What does Paine Underwood offer Lice Peeking in return for a signed statement against Dusty?
His fishing skiff
His fishing skiff, a bonefish boat worth about ten thousand dollars, was Lice's price for talking: he refused to help for nothing.
Q 25What job does former fishing guide Paine Underwood hold when Carl Hiaasen's Flush begins?
Taxi driver
Taxi driver is a comedown for Paine, whose environmental protests got him into so much legal trouble that he could no longer work as a skipper.
Q 26Carl Hiaasen, the author of Flush, spent decades as a columnist for which Florida newspaper?
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald hired him as a reporter in 1976 and ran his column from 1985 until he retired in 2021, by which time he was also a bestselling novelist.
Q 27What do Noah and Abbey sabotage so their mother misses Paine's TV interview in Flush?
The satellite dish
The satellite dish was put out of action, but the trick failed: neighbors phoned Donna as soon as the segment aired.
Q 28How does Paine Underwood get out of jail midway through Flush, to the sheriff's quiet relief?
His cell was left unlocked
His cell was left unlocked on purpose: after the TV interview the sheriff wanted his noisy prisoner gone, and Paine turned up at home still in his orange jumpsuit.
Q 29After being caught polluting, what lets Dusty Muleman reopen the Coral Queen about a month later?
A small fine
A small fine settled the pollution case, and Dusty marked the reopening with a big party.
Q 30What leaves Noah and Abbey Underwood drifting helplessly overnight after their escape in Flush?
A dead outboard motor
A dead outboard motor let the current carry their little boat away from shore, and they were not found until the next morning.