Phrases, words, and language trivia - Passing the Buck, Mayday, Mesosphere, nautical measure of speed, Gadgets, Hawaiian words, alphabet and more.
Trivia about words, phrases, and language.
What is the name of the layer of atmosphere between the
stratosphere and the ionosphere?
A: The mesosphere.
What letter was the last to be included in our alphabet?
A: The "j" which became the 26th letter during the fifteenth
century. Before then, the "i" represented both the "i" and "j"
sounds.
What is a funambulist?
A :A tight rope walker.
In computerese, what is the difference between a bit and a byte.
A: A bit is a single, basic unit of information; a byte is generally
eight bits.
How did the nautical measure of speed known as the knot get its
name?
A: From sixteenth century mariners who let out a line with knots
tied at regular intervals and then counted the number of knots
played out in a given time to determine their ship's approximate
speed.
What is the origin of "buck" in the phrase "passing the buck"?
A: A buckhorn-handled knife that was placed in front of the next
card dealer. A card player who didn't want to deal would pass
the knife--or buckhorn.
What is a gigaton?
A: The explosive force of a billion tons of TNT--or 1,000 megatons.
What is the origin of the word "radar".
A: It comes from radio detecting and ranging.
What were the very first items referred to as gadgets?
A: Miniatures of the Statue of Liberty sold in Europe in 1886 to
mark the statue's dedication. The word "gadget" came from the name
of the man--Gaget--who came up with the replica idea.
How many feet of fabric are there in a bolt of cloth?
A: One hundred and twenty feet.
What does "Erin go bragh" mean?
A: "Ireland forever."
What is the origin of Mayday, the international radiotelephonic
distress signal for ships and aircraft?
A: The French m'aidez--help me.
What is the longest word in the Oxford English Dictionary?
A: Floccinaucinibilipilifacation, which is defined as "the act or
habit of estimating as worthless."
How did the Blimp get named.
A: During World War II there were two categories of dirigibles:
A-rigid and B-limp.
What is the literal meaning of "aloha"--the Hawaiian word of
greeting and farewell?
A: Love.
What is a tittle?
A: The dot over the letters "i" and "j."
How did detectives come to be called private eyes?
A: From the unblinking-eye logo of Pinkerton's detective agency
which proclaimed "We Never Sleep."
Which is more, an American billion or a British billion?
A: A British billion. It's 1,000,000,000,000--which is a trillion in
the U.S. The American billion, 1,000,000,000 is known as a
milliard in England.
In computer slang, a byte is a group of bits. What do you calla
group of bytes?
A: A gulp.
What is the origin of the word "good-bye"?
A: It's a contraction of the sixteenth-century phrase "God be with
ye."
What is trinitrotolluene?
A: The chemical compound we know as TNT.
In the Middle Ages, when last names such as Baker and Taylor
reflected a person's occupation, what did "Webster" indicate?
A: A female weaver. A male weaver was called Webb.
The Sherpa tribesmen o Nepal call the creature we know as the
Abominable Snowman "Metohkangmi." What is the literal translation of
the name?
A: "the indescribably filthy man of the snow."
