Silliness Quiz - Page 872

issybird · 03-12-2014, 02:27 PM

I guess Eliot for #3, assuming that born in the US rather than "American" is clue to one of them.

Glorfindel · 03-12-2014, 03:10 PM

oops should have looked at earlier posts

Shayne Parkinson · 03-12-2014, 04:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I'll steal the point! 2 was Harold Bloom.

Well snatched.

Yes, Bloom it was.

Shayne Parkinson · 03-12-2014, 04:35 PM

Comments on various works of literature. One point each for the work and the commenter.

1. "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing." Oscar Wilde on The Old Curiosity Shop. Bookpossum, Bilbo 1 point each.

2. "How to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone? Why, very quickly, to begin with, and perhaps also to make an end. Why read it? Presumably, if you cannot be persuaded to read anything better, Rowling will have to do." Harold Bloom on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Pdurrant, Poohbear, 1 point each.

3. "In form no more than a glorified anecdote, and not too probable at that". H. L. Mencken on The Great Gatsby. Hamlet53, Poohbear, 1 point each.

4. "It really won't do, you know! I mean to say: 'Nymphs and their Ways, The Love-Life of a Faun'. Doesn't he know what he's talking about?" J. R. R. Tolkien on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Issybird, pdurrant, 1 point each.

5. "One of the few English novels written for grown-up people." Virginia Woolf on Middlemarch. Bookpossum, 2 points.

6. "Juvenile trash". Edmund Wilson on The Fellowship of the Ring. Glorfindel, 1 point.

7. "I would not have had that reference made to the Queen's preposterous book (I have read it) for any money. I blush to join the Shameful lick-spittle Chorus." Charles Dickens on Queen Victoria's Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands. Issybird, 2 points.

8. "Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron; here is a book that will break your heart". C. S. Lewis on The Lord of the Rings. Glorfindel, 2 points.

9. "An accurate daguerreotyped portrait of a common-place face; a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers—but no glance of a bright vivid physiognomy—no open country—no fresh air—no blue hill—no bonny beck." Charlotte Bronte on Pride and Prejudice. Billi, Issybird 1 point each.

10. "The work of a queasy undergraduate scratching his pimples.” Virginia Woolf on Ulysses. Poohbear, Orlok, 1 point each.

Final points:
Issybird 4 points
Bookpossum, Glorfindel, Poohbear 3 points
Pdurrant 2 points
Bilbo, Billi, Hamlet53, Orlok 1 point

Shayne Parkinson · 03-12-2014, 04:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I guess Eliot for #3, assuming that born in the US rather than "American" is clue to one of them.

Not Eliot, no.

Hamlet53 · 03-12-2014, 05:36 PM

3 H. L. Mencken Reference to the Scopes "Monkey Trial" gives that away.

Shayne Parkinson · 03-12-2014, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hamlet53

3 H. L. Mencken Reference to the Scopes "Monkey Trial" gives that away.

H. L. Mencken it is. Well done, Hamlet.

Shayne Parkinson · 03-12-2014, 09:10 PM

The critic in #6 was Edmund Wilson, who seems to have been too obscure for even this erudite crowd. Tolkien has the last word.

Issybird is the winner, with 4 points. Thanks for playing, everyone!

issybird · 03-13-2014, 08:46 AM

So we've got a common tongue, more or less, but spelling is a different matter. What are the pesky words that are spelled differently in US English and British English? Not the words that fall into an accepted pattern, i.e., or/our, ize/ise, er/re, æ/e, ence/ense, ll/l, g/gue and so forth, but the quirks.

I came up with about 15 off the top of my head, but there must be many more. Current usage only and the decision of the judge will be final.

pdurrant · 03-13-2014, 10:43 AM

Aluminium (GB) vs Aluminum (US)

pdurrant · 03-13-2014, 10:44 AM

Through (GB) / Thru (US)

pdurrant · 03-13-2014, 10:47 AM

Plough (GB) vs Plow (US)

HomeInMyShoes · 03-13-2014, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Through (GB) / Thru (US)

Really, they spell it Thru?

pdurrant · 03-13-2014, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Really, they spell it Thru?

There was a C19 spelling reform movement in the US. That's when many of the common differences in spelling happened. Noah Webster is chiefly to blame, I think.

pdurrant · 03-13-2014, 11:30 AM

Aeroplane (GB) vs Airplane (US)

03-12-2014, 04:35 PM	#13069
Shayne Parkinson Author Posts: 1,532 Karma: 5447804 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New Zealand Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab	Comments on various works of literature. One point each for the work and the commenter. 1. "One must have a heart of stone to read the death of Little Nell without laughing." Oscar Wilde on The Old Curiosity Shop. Bookpossum, Bilbo 1 point each. 2. "How to read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone? Why, very quickly, to begin with, and perhaps also to make an end. Why read it? Presumably, if you cannot be persuaded to read anything better, Rowling will have to do." Harold Bloom on Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Pdurrant, Poohbear, 1 point each. 3. "In form no more than a glorified anecdote, and not too probable at that". H. L. Mencken on The Great Gatsby. Hamlet53, Poohbear, 1 point each. 4. "It really won't do, you know! I mean to say: 'Nymphs and their Ways, The Love-Life of a Faun'. Doesn't he know what he's talking about?" J. R. R. Tolkien on The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Issybird, pdurrant, 1 point each. 5. "One of the few English novels written for grown-up people." Virginia Woolf on Middlemarch. Bookpossum, 2 points. 6. "Juvenile trash". Edmund Wilson on The Fellowship of the Ring. Glorfindel, 1 point. 7. "I would not have had that reference made to the Queen's preposterous book (I have read it) for any money. I blush to join the Shameful lick-spittle Chorus." Charles Dickens on Queen Victoria's Leaves from the Journal of Our Life in the Highlands. Issybird, 2 points. 8. "Here are beauties which pierce like swords or burn like cold iron; here is a book that will break your heart". C. S. Lewis on The Lord of the Rings. Glorfindel, 2 points. 9. "An accurate daguerreotyped portrait of a common-place face; a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers—but no glance of a bright vivid physiognomy—no open country—no fresh air—no blue hill—no bonny beck." Charlotte Bronte on Pride and Prejudice. Billi, Issybird 1 point each. 10. "The work of a queasy undergraduate scratching his pimples.” Virginia Woolf on Ulysses. Poohbear, Orlok, 1 point each. Final points: Issybird 4 points Bookpossum, Glorfindel, Poohbear 3 points Pdurrant 2 points Bilbo, Billi, Hamlet53, Orlok 1 point Last edited by Shayne Parkinson; 03-12-2014 at 09:11 PM.

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03-12-2014, 02:27 PM	#13066
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,366 Karma: 235166015 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	I guess Eliot for #3, assuming that born in the US rather than "American" is clue to one of them.

03-12-2014, 03:10 PM	#13067
Glorfindel Force-Aware Elf Posts: 4,762 Karma: 11557898 Join Date: Feb 2014 Location: Valinor Device: Kindle 4 w/SO	oops should have looked at earlier posts

03-12-2014, 05:36 PM	#13071
Hamlet53 Nameless Being	3 H. L. Mencken Reference to the Scopes "Monkey Trial" gives that away.

03-12-2014, 09:10 PM	#13073
Shayne Parkinson Author Posts: 1,532 Karma: 5447804 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: New Zealand Device: Samsung Galaxy Tab	The critic in #6 was Edmund Wilson, who seems to have been too obscure for even this erudite crowd. Tolkien has the last word. Issybird is the winner, with 4 points. Thanks for playing, everyone!

03-13-2014, 08:46 AM	#13074
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,366 Karma: 235166015 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	So we've got a common tongue, more or less, but spelling is a different matter. What are the pesky words that are spelled differently in US English and British English? Not the words that fall into an accepted pattern, i.e., or/our, ize/ise, er/re, æ/e, ence/ense, ll/l, g/gue and so forth, but the quirks. I came up with about 15 off the top of my head, but there must be many more. Current usage only and the decision of the judge will be final.

03-13-2014, 10:43 AM	#13075
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,095 Karma: 315558332 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Aluminium (GB) vs Aluminum (US)

03-13-2014, 10:44 AM	#13076
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,095 Karma: 315558332 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Through (GB) / Thru (US)

03-13-2014, 10:47 AM	#13077
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,095 Karma: 315558332 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Plough (GB) vs Plow (US)

03-13-2014, 11:30 AM	#13080
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,095 Karma: 315558332 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Aeroplane (GB) vs Airplane (US)