Q 01/05

What is a truck called in British English?

A) A coach

B) A carrier

C) A lorry

D) A hauler

Answer · why

C) A lorry

A lorry is what British English calls a truck; the heaviest are licensed as HGVs, heavy goods vehicles, while a coach is a long-distance bus.

Q 02/05

The word 'truck' was first used in 1611 to mean what?

A) A covered market stall

B) A two-wheeled country cart

C) A wagonload of coal

D) Small wheels on gun carriages

Answer · why

D) Small wheels on gun carriages

Small wheels on gun carriages: in 1611 'truck' meant the solid little wheels under a ship's cannon carriage; the sense of a cart for heavy loads follo...

Q 03/05

From which language does the root of the word 'truck' come?

A) Dutch

B) Old Norse

C) Old French

D) Greek

Answer · why

D) Greek

Greek is the root: trokhos, meaning wheel, from trekhein, to run; English picked it up through Latin trochus, an iron hoop, before 'truck' meant any c...

Q 04/05

Where does the British word 'lorry' probably come from?

A) French coachbuilding

B) The Royal Navy

C) The railway industry

D) Cornish mining

Answer · why

C) The railway industry

It shows up in 1838 for a large flat goods wagon, possibly from the old verb 'lurry', to drag along.

Q 05/05

What are pickups called in Australia and New Zealand?

A) Haulers

B) Utes

C) Trays

D) Runabouts

Answer · why

B) Utes

Utes is the Australian and New Zealand word, short for utility vehicle; it covers car-based coupe utilities such as the Holden Ute as well as true pic...