Q 01/05

Oprah Winfrey's studio takes its name from 'Oprah' spelled backwards, matching which Marx brother's stage name?

A) Harpo

B) Groucho

C) Chico

D) Zeppo

Answer · why

A) Harpo

Harpo is 'Oprah' in reverse, and it was also the name of her on-screen husband in The Color Purple, the 1985 film that launched her acting career.

Q 02/05

The joke spelling 'ghoti' borrows sounds from 'enough', 'women' and 'nation' to spell which everyday word?

A) Goat

B) Fish

C) Ghost

D) Shoe

Answer · why

B) Fish

Fish is the reading: 'gh' as in enough, 'o' as in women, 'ti' as in nation. The gag is often credited to George Bernard Shaw, yet it appears nowhere i...

Q 03/05

Which comedy duo made famous 'Who's on First?', a routine about baseball players with names like Who and What?

A) Laurel and Hardy

B) The Smothers Brothers

C) Abbott and Costello

D) Burns and Allen

Answer · why

C) Abbott and Costello

Abbott and Costello built the sketch on one misunderstanding that never clears up. In 1999 Time named it the best comedy sketch of the 20th century.

Q 04/05

Which sweet course of a meal is spelled by reading the word 'stressed' backwards?

A) Puddings

B) Desserts

C) Pastries

D) Sweets

Answer · why

B) Desserts

Desserts and 'stressed' mirror each other letter for letter. Word fans call such a pair an anadrome or, as a joke, an emordnilap, which is 'palindrome...

Q 05/05

Which author had Humpty Dumpty describe blended words as a 'portmanteau', with two meanings packed into one?

A) Edward Lear

B) Rudyard Kipling

C) Dr. Seuss

D) Lewis Carroll

Answer · why

D) Lewis Carroll

Lewis Carroll borrowed the name of a two-part travelling case for the idea in Through the Looking-Glass. Blends such as 'brunch' and 'motel' have been...