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Usenet Posted 22 years ago
Usage

Foreign words quiz

If you'd like to take a quiz, here's one suggested by "Schott's Original Miscellany" by Ben Schott.
Identify the language that the starred words came from. Contributions and improvements welcomed.
1. Fetch me my *bamboo *caddy!
2. The *admiral in his *alcove should fear the *assassin.
3. Don't hand me any more *blarney about *Tory *colleens.
4. *Tycoons and *geishas eat *sushi while watching *judo.
5. My *parka is too thin for *kayaking today.
6. This *kiosk at the *bazaar sells *azure *shawls.
7. Someone chipped the *crimson *lacquer on the *chintz.
8. I apologize for spilling my *coffee all over the *turquoise *divan.
9. The *robot is armed with a *pistol.
10. *Commandos like nothing better than trekking across the *veldt.
11. Our *ombudsman was dazzled by the *tungsten lights.
12. Wrap the *corgi in *flannel and put him in the *coracle.
13. All this *palaver makes me hungry for *marmalade.
14. It was an error to *ski in the *slalom.
15. Too much *paprika ruins the *goulash.
16. A *saga about a *geyser?
17. We sell *plaid *trousers to *tourists.
18. Ship the *ylang-ylang to the *boondocks.
19. Feed the *avocados and the *chocolates to the *coyote.
20. The *commissar ordered the *mammoth *samovar filled with *vodka.
21. The *angry *oaf covered himself in *glitter.
  

Top answer

[/nq] The others didn't interest me, but I like this one. [nq:1]Identify the language that the starred words came from. [/nq] To make it interesting, no Googling, or looking things up!

  • [/nq] The others didn't interest me, but I like this one.
  • [nq:1]Identify the language that the starred words came from.
  • [/nq] To make it interesting, no Googling, or looking things up!
  • [nq:1]1.
  • [/nq] Chinese [nq:1]2.
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28 Answers
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[nq:1]If you'd like to take a quiz, here's one suggested by "Schott's Original Miscellany" by Ben Schott.[/nq]
The others didn't interest me, but I like this one.
[nq:1]Identify the language that the starred words came from. Contributions and improvements welcomed.[/nq]
To make it interesting, no Googling, or looking things up!
[nq:1]1. Fetch me my *bamboo *caddy![/nq]
Chinese
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[nq:1]To make it interesting, no Googling, or looking things up![/nq]
[nq:2]6. This *kiosk at the *bazaar sells *azure *shawls.[/nq]
[nq:1]Hindi?[/nq]
"Kiosk" is often said to be Turkish but I think it is Persian, I think all these words are Persian.
[nq:2]8. I apologize for spilling my *coffee all over the *turquoise *divan.[/nq]
[nq:1]Turkish[/nq]
Hmm, "coffee" is probabl
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[nq:2]If you'd like to take a quiz, here's one suggested ... Schott. 5. My *parka is too thin for *kayaking today.[/nq]
[nq:1]Inuit[/nq]
'kayak' may be Inuktitut but 'parka' is Russian.

John Dean
Oxford
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It sort of depends on how many steps back you take it. According to AHD, 'kiosk' is most recently from French, and Turk can be traced to Turkish.

john
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[nq:2]"Kiosk" is often said to be Turkish but I think ... word but I think it is the same in Persian.[/nq]
[nq:1]It sort of depends on how many steps back you take it. According to AHD, 'kiosk' is most recently from French, and Turk can be traced to Turkish.[/nq]
Sorry I don't know what AHD is. And your last phrase "Turk can be traced to Turkish" is presumably a typo but I can't work out w
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[nq:2]It sort of depends on how many steps back you ... recently from French, and Turk can be traced to Turkish.[/nq]
[nq:1]Sorry I don't know what AHD is. And your last phrase "Turk can be traced to Turkish" is presumably a typo but I can't work out what you meant :-)[/nq]
Sorry; AHD means American Heritage Dictionary.
No typo, I was trying to say that 'Turk' comes from the Turkish la
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English, I would think, of "blarney". It was Queen Elizabeth I that coined Lord Blarney's technique of appearing to be loyal but not really promising anything "blarney". And, no, I didn't Google. I've kissed the stone (by legend, part of the Stone of Scone and therefore Scottish) and listened to the guide's lecture.
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[nq:1]The Turkish language has a verb ending which means "supposedly", or "apparently" or which is used for rumour, hearsay, or reporting. Somtimes I wish we had one too.[/nq]
We do: the words "I saw it on the Internet."

Ross Howard
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[nq:2]13. All this *palaver makes me hungry for *marmalade.[/nq]
[nq:1]Romany?[/nq]
Spanish: from palabra and mermelada. I believe marmalade originated when English ships returning from Valencia packed oranges in barrels. Didn't they do something similar to Horation Nelson?

John Varela
(Trade "OLD" lamps for "NEW" for email.)
I apologize for munging the address but the spa
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[nq:2]Irish[/nq]
[nq:1]English, I would think, of "blarney". It was Queen Elizabeth I that coined Lord Blarney's technique of appearing to be ... kissed the stone (by legend, part of the Stone of Scone and therefore Scottish) and listened to the guide's lecture.[/nq]
Oh dear. I presume he didn't tell you about the standing local dare to visit the stone at dead of night and *** over it?

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