Sunday, October 26, 2008

Of words and phrases 1

1. This phrase came into existence in the US Air Force test pilot program of 1940’s which meant flying an aircraft at, or even beyond, its known or recommended limits. Which phrase?

2. In 18th and 19th century English literati started covering opium users extensively in their works. The opium users used to smoke opium through thin tubes. After this smoking they used to revel in neurotic delusions.
A word in English captures this situation. Which word (or phrase)?

3. Which phrase originates from the British Military practice of playing the drums when someone was court marshaled?

4. This word originates from a means of punishment in use in 16th century, by which people were tortured or ridiculed. Victims were held by having their ankles, and occasionally the wrists too, trapped in holes between two sliding boards. The punishment, although not as harsh as the pillory, in which people were confined by the neck, was severe and certainly not intended to be humorous.
Over the time this term has taken a humorous connotation. Which word (or phrase)?

Saturday, October 25, 2008

Twisted Identities 1

1. Identify the cricket enthusiast


2. Identify the boxer in left


3. Identify the band


4. Identify the band

Bibliophile’s Delight 2

1. In World War I, X joined the British Army as a soldier, refusing a commission. More than once he returned to the battlefield when officially still too sick or injured to fight. He was sheltering in a shell crater near Beaumont-Hamel, France in November 1916 when he was killed by a German sniper. His last words, according to several sources, were "Put that bloody cigarette out!" After his death, his sister destroyed most of his papers and wrote her own account of their childhood.
Who’s X?

2. On 4 May 1951, X then the managing director of the ___ Brewery, went on a shooting party. He became involved in an argument over which was the fastest game bird in Europe out of the koshin golden plover and the grouse. That evening at Castlebridge House he realized that it was impossible to confirm in reference books whether or not the golden plover was Europe's fastest game bird.
What came out as a result?

3. Some say the character of Gail Wynand in The Fountainhead is based on this newspaper magnate. One of the greatest movies of all time has been inspired from this person’s life.
Who is this person? What is the movie?

Quiz 3

1. X was established as a university when two students from University Y were accused of killing a woman and thus hanged by the town authorities. To protest the decision, University Y went into voluntary suspension and the students migrated to different locations. This incident eventually led to the formation of X as a university. Identify X and Y.

2. X had sent a letter to Y in 1939 warning that nuclear chain reactions could be used to make destructive bombs that can destroy whole cities. The letter also stated that before Nazi Germany succeeds in making a nuclear bomb Y’s country should build one of its own. X had originally not written that letter, but had just signed it and regretted later that he should not have signed it. Identify X and Y.

3. Connect

Friday, October 24, 2008

Bibliophile's Delight 1

1. X is an allegorical novel which discusses how culture created by man fails, using as an example a group of British school-boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves with disastrous results. Published in 1954, X was not a great success at the time — selling fewer than three thousand copies in the United States during 1955 before going out of print — it soon went on to become a bestseller, and by the early 1960s was required reading in many schools and colleges. The ABC television show Lost has also shown loose similarities to the book.
Identify the book X and its Nobel Prize winning author.

2. First published in the United States in 1951, this novel has been a frequently challenged book in its home country for its liberal use of profanity and portrayal of sexuality and teenage angst.
Mark David Chapman, who murdered John Lennon in 1980, was carrying the book when he was arrested immediately after the murder and referred to it in his statement to police shortly thereafter. He also read a passage from the book at his sentencing. John Hinckley, Jr., who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, was also reported to have been obsessed with the book.
Which book?

3. Renowned author X was once a Pilot Officer assigned to fly obsolete Gloster Gladiators. On 19 September 1940, X was ordered to fly his Gladiator from Abu Sueir in Egypt, on to Amiriya to refuel, and again to Fouka in Libya for a second refuelling. From there he would fly to 80 Squadron's forward airstrip 30 miles (48 km) south of Mersa Matruh. On the final leg, he could not find the airstrip and, running low on fuel and with night approaching, he was forced to attempt a landing in the desert. Unfortunately, the undercarriage hit a boulder and the plane crashed, fracturing his skull, smashing his nose, and blinding him. He managed to drag himself away from the blazing wreckage and passed out. Later, he wrote about the crash for his first published work.
Which author?

Quiz 2

Connect these images

Quiz 1

Connect these images

Quizzes every now and then...



Xquizzite starts this blog with a regular series of nerve-wracking quizzes.
Quiz 24x7

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The countdown begins...

Xquizzite is the Quizzing Society of Xavier Institute of Management, Bhubaneswar, one of the premier management institutes of India.

Quizzing has been a ritual at XIMB for years. And now it's getting bigger.

This blog showcases a new season of quizzing mania at XIMB.

Xquizzite
2008, the annual quiz war of XIMB is coming soon....