Q 01/05

Which fruit gave its name to a colour that English speakers once simply called yellow-red?

A) Apricot

B) Orange

C) Mango

D) Melon

Answer · why

B) Orange

Orange was a fruit before it was a colour: the shade took its name from the ripe fruit, and until the late 15th century Europeans simply called it yel...

Q 02/05

Which fruit do Spaniards eat twelve of at midnight on New Year's Eve, one for each bell strike?

A) Lychees

B) Kumquats

C) Blackberries

D) Grapes

Answer · why

D) Grapes

Grapes are swallowed one per chime in Spain's 'twelve grapes of luck', each standing for a month of the coming year. The custom goes back to at least ...

Q 03/05

Which botanical fruit, usually sold as a vegetable, do revellers hurl at each other each August in Buñol, Spain?

A) Tomatoes

B) Peppers

C) Cucumbers

D) Aubergines

Answer · why

A) Tomatoes

Tomatoes fly at La Tomatina, a street battle that began in 1945 and became a ticketed event in 2013 to cap the crowd at 20,000.

Q 04/05

In American slang, a new car plagued by manufacturing defects is named after which fruit?

A) Melon

B) Kiwi

C) Lemon

D) Kumquat

Answer · why

C) Lemon

Lemon became the label for a faulty new car, and US 'lemon laws' can force the manufacturer to buy the vehicle back or exchange it.

Q 05/05

Which fruit lends its name to the rude sputtering noise also known in America as a Bronx cheer?

A) Raspberry

B) Gooseberry

C) Loganberry

D) Elderberry

Answer · why

A) Raspberry

Raspberry comes from Cockney rhyming slang, where 'raspberry tart' stood for 'fart', the sound the noise imitates.