Word Quiz - 2.21.6

Here's your brand new Reader's
Digest Word Power quiz. Today's
quiz features words from The
Complete Calvin and Hobbes.

1. veritable (adj.) - A: not false. B: cannot be proven.
C: imaginary. D: green in color.

2. cretin (n.) - A: shoehorn. B: clod. C: oily liquid.
D: clump.

3. assent (n.) - A: long climb upward. B: suggestion.
C: sentence fragment. D: agreement.

4. perpetrate (v.) - A: to commit. B: ponder. C: pass along.
D: pierce partially.

5. serene (adj.) - A: turbulent. B: calm. C: injectable, as
with medicine. D: ancient.

6. provocation (n.) - A: act of being dishonest. B: act of
showing sorrow. C: act of inciting. D: act of raising one
above another.

7. onslaught (n.) - A: sneak attack. B: air attack. C: fierce
attack. D: retreat.

8. harbinger (n.) - A: sign. B: warning. C: celebration.
D: carrying case.

9. trajectory (n.) - A: flying object. B: stationary object.
C: fixed point. D: path.

10. imminent (adj.) - A: first among many. B: ready to take
place. C: greatly delayed. D: innermost.

11. malign (v.) - A: to knock out of whack. B: to fake ill-
ness or injury. C: speak ill of. D: convert.

12. surmise (v.) - A: to infer. B: condense. C: remove
carefully. D: startle.

13. tripe (n.) - A: type of fish. B: leafy green vegetable.
C: worthless thing. D: treasured item.

14. calibrate (v.) - A: hide. B: adjust precisely. C: capture
the attention of. D: calculate.

15. spelunking (n.) - A: act of proving false. B: type of
cake frosting. C: boat part. D: hobby of exploring caves.

16. mandible (n.) - A: a sharp tooth. B: beggar. C: jaw.
D: unusual request.



ANSWERS BELOW:


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Here are the answers
(with quotes from Calvin and Hobbes):

1. veritable - A: Being in fact the thing named; not false
or imaginary. "Together, a veritable fist of defiance, we
stand immune to any onslaught."

2. cretin - B: Clod; stupid or vulgar person. "...and you
babble like a cretin until she leaves."

3. assent - D: Agreement, especially after thoughtful
consideration. "Dad will look at Mom and say,/'Too bad he
had to go that way.'/And Mom will look at Dad and nod
assent."

4. perpetrate - A: To commit, carry out. "By removing my
clothing, I can perpetrate any crime undetected."

5. serene - B: Calm; tranquil; free of storms. "Tragically,
this serene metropolis lies directly beneath the Hoover Dam."

6. provocation - C: Act of inciting, stirring up. "At the
slightest provocation, we'll let loose a merciless barrage
of stinging ice."

7. onslaught - C: An especially fierce attack; something
resembling such an attack. "...we stand immune to any
onslaught."

8. harbinger - A: Sign of things to come. "Comets are
harbingers of doom."

9. trajectory - D: Path; progression. "Houston, we have
a negative on that orbit trajectory."

10. imminent - B: Ready to take place. "The alien, being
unnaturally stupid, is blissfully ignorant of its imminent
doom."

11. malign - C: To speak ill of. "Ooh! An insult! I've been
maligned! I'll never speak to you again."

12. surmise - A: To infer on slight grounds. "Only then will
they surmise/the gruesomeness of my demise/and see that my
remains are in a heap."

13. tripe - C: Something poor, worthless, offensive. Also, a
cud-chewing animal's stomach lining, used as food. "When
you're old, you'll wish you had more than memories of this
tripe to look back on."

14. calibrate - B: To adjust precisely; to standardize by
correcting a deviation from the norm. "Spaceman Spiff, bold
interplanetary explorer, spies a Zarg. Spiff calibrates his
blaster. Ready...aim..."

15. spelunking - D: The hobby or practice of exploring caves.
"Want to go spelunking with me?" "Spelunking?" There aren't
any caves around here."

16. mandible - C: Jaw, especially a lower jaw made of a
single bone. "Ha! Beneath that soft exterior lie terrible
mandibles of bone-crushing death. He'll grind you into
hamburger."



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