Research and Content

Ajay Parasuraman

These quizzers are crazy

Originally from Middle Breton, what is theFrench word for ‘Long Stone’?

1

Menhir

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- Celtic ‘Sun God’- Band which performs its signature song‘Spicilege’ here:

- Germanic word for ‘tribe’- Rings dedicated to him (image) werediscovered all across Britain

Connect the two sets:

Belenos and Toutatis

One year after Caesar’s victory at Thapsus,he manages to mop up the survivors atMontilla, bringing the whole of Hispaniaunder Roman rule.

Before heading back to Rome, Caesarinspects his Tenth Legion in a certain way –that can be described using a phrasewrongly attributed in this book.

Give your answer in four words.

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‘Lent him their ears’

Relatively lesser known usages include thewords ‘Black’, ‘Cheap’, and ‘Green’preceding the titular holiday. The mostfamous one uses another colour, and isfeatured in an Academy Award winningmusical from more than 70 years ago.

Cacofonix, in Asterix in Spain, uses ‘solstice’instead of the holiday.

Identify the original song and its writer.

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‘I’m dreaming of a White Christmas’,Irving Berlin

Which episode is this from?Therefore, what mistake does Uderzo commitin this panel?No part points

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Asterix in BritainHence, they should be driving on the left

French: “Je suis, mon cher ami, tres heureuxde te voir”

English : “My dear old Getafix, I hope I findyou well”

These are a particular form of verse, namedafter the hero of a collection of romanceswritten in the 12th Cent.

What are they called?And what are they / How do they work?

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Alexandrine, after Alexander the Great

Each line is composed of 12 syllables

One of the methods by which the Gothsdecide to kill Asterix is dismembermentusing a certain animal.

The reference is to a man of science whothwarted said animal in the mid-17th centurywith nothing more than an object of radius 25cm.

What is the reference to?

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Magdeburg spheres experiment

Before the gladiatorial games commences,Caesar receives a thunderous ovation. Onlyone person doesn’t applaud.

How does Caesar command him to do so –which would become prophetic, in a way?

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Et tu brute

These symbols (pic) are pivotal to the workperformed by employees – who preferanonymity - of a certain publicationestablished, in 1900, by brothers.

Where are they used?

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Michelin Guide

A facet of humour in Asterix is the naming ofminor characters.

In French, the name is derived from aconcept in psychology to indicate prejudicedmindset, that which resists modification.

The English name is thus a double pun.

Give both - French and English - names.

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Idefix; Dogmatix

Although the proclamations are attributed tosomeone, the character is not modelled onsaid person.

Who? Give one of the three proclamations.

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Muhammad Ali

The phrase that has been blanked outoriginated during the English Civil War, andis a type of shunning.

The titular city was a stronghold of theRoundheads (Parliamentarians). It is,however, most famous for a curiosity.

What is the three-word phrase?

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(To) send to Coventry

Which character shares its name with thelarger of the two muscles shown here?

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Gluteus Maximus

News reaches Aquarium that GluteusMaximus has been selected to representRome at the Olympics.

The American version ‘reacts’ using thephrase “Semper Fidelis.” Whose motto wasAsterix honoring? (5)

The English version uses the title of a 1945song that is famous as an anthem. Which? (5)

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United States Marine Corps

You’ll Never Walk Alone

These panels are from The Olympic Games.

Identify the two people in the drawing.

The two words near their faces read out“despot”, and “tyrant.”

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Goscinny and Uderzo

1. Which test of endurace is being paidtribute to?

2. Which famous ‘windmill’, in the samecountry, are Asterix & Obelix asked if theywanted to visit?

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1

2

1. Le Mans2. Moulin Rouge

1. Asterix is marooned on an island, andObelix has built a heap of stones to signalfor help.

What gift lies in the panel after, as a tribute?

2. What does the Viking say when he jumpsout of his boat?

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1

2

1. Statue of Liberty2. One small step for man...

Contrary to what his name might suggest, hewas only chieftain of the Averni tribe, andunited the Gauls in a fight against Caesar.

However, at the Battle of Alesia, he wasdefeated and captured by Roman forces. Hewas held prisoner for nearly five years afterwhich he was executed.

Identify him.

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Vercingetorix

At the very start of Chieftain’s Shield,Vitalstatistix is shown to be taken ill. A caseof liver trouble, Getafix declares.

The druid suggests that he go to a healthfarm – aqua calidae – for treatment. Althoughthere are several famous ones acrossEurope, this refers to a famous resort town inAuvergne.

Which town?

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Vichy

The second panel, taken from Caeser’s Gift,refers to two fictional characters.

Fill in the blanks with the last words of afamous Prince of Denmark to get the firstreference.

What does Asterix carve onto the man’schest – which is the second reference?

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Hamlet’s last words, “The rest is silence”Zorro

The waitress is serving Calvados, the‘national’ drink of a particular region inFrance.

Which region? (3)Which fruit is used to make Calvados? (4)What does Calva mean in Latin, which effectsthe pun (visual)? (3)

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Normandy; Apple; “skull”

Who is this, from Black Gold, a caricature of?

Possibly because his “actual name” wouldnot fit the usual syntax of the comics, what isthe character called instead?

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Sean Connery; Dubbelosix

Which 17th-18th Century Irishman popularizedthis format in ‘On Poetry: A Rhapsody’? (4)

Lewis Richardson created these lines to explainhis theory of fractal currents:

Big whorls have little whorlsThat feed on their _______;And little whorls have lesser whorlsAnd so on to ________.

Fill up the blanks. (6)

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Jonathan Swift;velocity, viscosity

Refers to:

1. Connection of switches and circuits within atelephone exchange

2. A method of providing network access byusing a shared set of frequencies

3. Link aggregation, in computer networking4. The type which is typically long distance

Alternatively, you can fill the pun in the visual.

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Trunk call

1. The protagonist of Secret Weapon gets hisname from an Italian word which refers to a styleof music intended to show off the skill of aperformer.

Which word?

2. Fill up the blanks with a frequently referencedpart of a Shakespearean work which implies theimmateriality of proper nouns.

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1. Bravura

2. What’s in a name? That which we call arose by any other name would smell as

sweet – Romeo and Juliet

Shown on the next slide are panels from TheActress. The name of the actress receiving theaward is the same as that of an opera from the1850’s.

What is her name?

Which award – first given exactly 4 decades ago– is it supposed to represent?

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1. La Traviata

2. Cesar Awards

Asterix’s first journey to the British Isles was inBritain.

Named for a group of tribal people who livednorth of the Forth-Clyde isthmus, which was hissecond journey?

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Asterix and the Picts

In Laurel Wreath, an actor impersonates threeworks of art. Identify the following:

1. Art and artist (3)2. Art (3)3. Art and artist (4)

The name of the third artist (5 letters) is oneletter away from a celebrated poet, and might beconsidered profanity in these parts.

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12

3

1. The Thinker, by Rodin2. Laocoon

3. The Discus Thrower, by Myron

Falling Sky, a rare instance of aliens whoresemble some common superheroes, is atribute to comics in general.

1. ‘Tadsilweny’ (a character) anagrams to thename of someone from the Western worldwho inspired Uderzo

2. The alien race is named in tribute to theEastern world. It is an anagram for a style ofcomics, and shares its name with a once-popular South Indian actress

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1. Walt Disney2. Nagma, (anagram of Manga)

A dagger (also called X) is a common typographicsymbol used to indicate critical points in printedmaterial. While X is used for corrective deletions, Y isused for corrective additions.

Give ‘Y’ and ‘X’, in that order. (6)

When used in conjunction, particularly seen in theBible, they indicate a breath mark during chanting ofPsalms. Their other purpose is to remind them of anaction.

What?

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Asterisk and Obelisk

A reminder to make the sign of the Cross