ROUND 1 - 'The Paper Round'

One of the words in each answer can be preceded or followed by the word ‘paper' to make a well known word or phrase.  Homophones may be used.

1.

Which famous lyricist is also a co-founder of the Guinness Book of Hit Singles?

2.

Which ex-model and ex-Emmerdale actress played Dolly Clothes Peg in TV’s Worzel Gummidge?

3.

What was the name of Michael J Fox’s character in the Back to the Future films?

4.

Which comedian, who died in 1983, played the characters of Lampwick, Mandy and Clarence?

5.

Which music hall, television and film comedian was famous for his funny walks and rubber faced grimaces?

6.

In 2009 which 80s pop star received a 15 month prison sentence for charges of false imprisonment?

7.

Excluding re-elections to the post, who was the UK’s 13th Prime Minister since the outbreak of WWII?

8.

Which two-time Olympic gold medallist broke the world decathlon record four times?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - 'The Sound Round'

'Rhyme nor Reason'.  Each answer consists of two words, or compound single words which rhyme.

1.

This phrase, which has its origins in the Mandingo culture of West Africa, is often used to describe confused or meaningless language.

2.

This London street takes its name from a ball game that was played there in the 17th century.

3.

In Happy Days he was the son of a local optometrist and one of Richie Cunningham’s closest friends?  (first name and surname needed)

4.

This Quentin Tarantino film was originally released in May 2003 with the sub-title 'the whole bloody affair', but was later divided into two parts.

5.

This actor, born in California in 1969, has starred in Shallow Hal, King Kong and Tropic Thunder.

6.

This phrase has been used as the title of a 1993 Kurt Vonnegut novel as well as a 1993 Disney film starring Bette Middler.

7.

This North London suburb is home to a public school of the same name and is also the name of an order of Catholic missionary priests whose seminary is located there.

8.

This word may have its origin in the Aramaic phrase ‘I create as I speak’ but has a different connotation in modem English.

Sp1

The first recorded use of this phrase, which means to run about to no purpose, is to be found in Sir Thomas North’s 1579 translation of Plutarch ‘s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans.

Sp2

This compound with the formula PB304 is more commonly known as.....

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - 'The Round Round'

'So good they named them twice’.  In each answer a word or pair of words feature repeated syllables or sounds.

1.

What is the name of the heroine of Puccini’s opera La Bohème?

2.

Which item of clothing became popular among teenage girls after it was worn by Toni Basil when she performed her 1982 hit single Hey Mickey?

3.

Which famous institution is located in Ossining, New York State?

4.

What is the name of the Salford-based band whose albums include We Started Nothing and NowheresviIle?

5.

In the novel Catch 22, why is Captain Major promoted by Colonel Cathcart?

6.

The name of which political movement is alleged to be based on an anagram in the local dialect meaning ‘Get out, get out’?

7.

Which classical pianist, born in China in 1982, played with the heavy metal band Metallica at the 2014 Grammy awards?

8.

Which member of a well known sporting family and a director of Bury FC, died on 7 August 2015?

Sp.

Which art movement was named by Marcel Du Champs?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Pot pourri

1.

What word was introduced to the English language in the title of a 1920 play called R.U.R. by the Czech playwright Karel Capek?

2.

In January 2015 eleven people were killed at the Paris office of the magazine Charlie Hebdo. For what is Hebdo an abbreviation?  (give the French word or its English translation)

3.

Which two countries are currently disputing the region of Nagorno-Karabakh?

4.

In a traditional circus why is one clown always called Joey?

5.

In July 19169 a short speech written by William Safire for President Nixon was not delivered.  Why not?

6.

The Brighton Rockers, The Hellfire Harlots and the Norfolk Brawds are all teams playing which wheeled sport?

7.

Which song, in which the lyrics describe the dance moves which should accompany it, was fittingly a hit for the band Grand Funk Railroad?

8.

Which TV series title is oflen abbreviated to MVF?

Sp.

Charlie Hebdo’s competitor, founded in 1918, is often described as the French Private Eye.  What is its title?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - 'The Walk Round'

Part of each answer contains the surname of a man who has walked on the moon.

1.

Which British comedy duo play the characters of the RAF pilots Brabbins and Fyffe‘?

2.

In the 1980s Mike, Rick, Neil and Vyvyan were collectively known as who on British television?

3.

This Manchester United player joined the club in 1990, stayed for 12 years and won over 50 caps for his country.

4.

Who played Boromir in The Lord of the Rings?

5.

This American playwright, actor and film director was nominated for an Academy award for his performance in The Right Stuff.

6.

The title track of the film The Sting was based on a piano rag written by which composer?

7.

This American hotelier was Zsa Zsa Gabor’s second husband.

8.

Whose stately home is Arundel Castle?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 -  'The Double Round'

'Different People, Same Name'. Each answer is a full name which satisfies both parts of the question.  Homophones may be used.

1.

Which name links a famous actor whose films include Desert Rats, Villain and Hammersmith is Out, and a Victorian explorer and polymath whose achievements include publishing The Kama Sutra in English?

2.

Which boxer, who reputedly became the first black boxer to win a British boxing title when he became middleweight boxing champion in 1948, shares his name with a famous 18th century criminal?

3.

Which rock group whose hit albums include Aqualung and Thick as a Brick, shares its name with an 18th century inventor?

4.

Which dramatist whose works include Volpone and Bartholomew Fayre, shares his name with the actor who won the 1971 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Last Picture Show?

5.

Which statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor and became Viscount St Albans, shares his name with a British painter?

6.

Which murdered 20th century political leader, shares his name with a rock group whose hits include Take Me Out?

7.

Which Pakistani cricketer born in I982 who played for Lancashire in 2012 and Somerset in 2013, shares his name with a middle eastern politician who died in 2004 at the age of 75?

8.

Which poet whose best known work is In Parenthesis, shares his name with a rock star who later changed his name.  His early records under his original name include Lisa Jane and I Pity the Fool.

Sp1

Which actress whose films include The Dark Knight and The Devil Wears Prada, shares her name with a woman who inherited ‘a second best bed’?

Sp2

Which British singer whose greatest hit was If I Had Words in 1978, shares his name with the writer of the novel The Beautiful and the Damned?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme - 'The Peared Round'

All the answers are linked by a common theme

1.

Which New England town was the terminus of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride and gave its name to a type of stagecoach widely used in America in the 19th century?

2.

Who was the commander of the Free French forces on D-Day and led the first allied unit to enter Paris in August 1944?

3.

In which Puccini opera is the brutal chief of the Rome police assassinated?

4.

Which Puccini opera features the aria Nessun Dorma?

5.

Which English poet, painter and visionary wrote Songs of Experience published in 1794?

6.

Which London borough shares its name with an Oxford college and a well-known comedian?

7.

Which world famous natural feature is known by the local people as 'uluru' but is called something else by most other people?

8.

Which former French county with its capital at Angers gave its name to an English royal house?

Sp.

Which county cricket club has three black pears on its crest?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Pot pourri

1.

In which film does ‘Broadsword’ contact ‘Danny Boy’?

2.

Why do Catholic priests have 33 buttons on their cassocks?

3.

Which Swedish rock band whose albums include Barely Legal and Veni, Vidi, Vicious share their name with a medical condition called Urticaria?

4.

Which high ranking Nazi was assassinated on 4 June 1942?

5.

Palmerston the Cat has recently started work as chief mouser.  Where?

6.

In the second series of Blackadder how does the Tudor explorer, Captain Rum, claim to have stayed alive when he ran out of supplies?

7.

Which TV character had a poster in his office which read ‘I want to believe’?

8.

Cartagena is an ancient city in Spain.  There is another Cartagena in South America.  In which country is it?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - 'The Paper Round'

One of the words in each answer can be preceded or followed by the word ‘paper' to make a well known word or phrase.  Homophones may be used.

1.

Which famous lyricist is also a co-founder of the Guinness Book of Hit Singles?

Tim Rice

2.

Which ex-model and ex-Emmerdale actress played Dolly Clothes Peg in TV’s Worzel Gummidge?

Lorraine Chase

3.

What was the name of Michael J Fox’s character in the Back to the Future films?

Marty McFly

4.

Which comedian, who died in 1983, played the characters of Lampwick, Mandy and Clarence?

Dick Emery

5.

Which music hall, television and film comedian was famous for his funny walks and rubber faced grimaces?

Max Wall

6.

In 2009 which 80s pop star received a 15 month prison sentence for charges of false imprisonment?

Boy George

7.

Excluding re-elections to the post, who was the UK’s 13th Prime Minister since the outbreak of WWII?

Gordon Brown

8.

Which two-time Olympic gold medallist broke the world decathlon record four times?

Daley Thompson

ROUND 2 - 'The Sound Round'

'Rhyme nor Reason'.  Each answer consists of two words, or compound single words which rhyme.

1.

This phrase, which has its origins in the Mandingo culture of West Africa, is often used to describe confused or meaningless language.

Mumbo jumbo

2.

This London street takes its name from a ball game that was played there in the 17th century.

Pall Mall

3.

In Happy Days he was the son of a local optometrist and one of Richie Cunningham’s closest friends?  (first name and surname needed)

Ralph Malfe

4.

This Quentin Tarantino film was originally released in May 2003 with the sub-title 'the whole bloody affair', but was later divided into two parts.

Kill Bill

5.

This actor, born in California in 1969, has starred in Shallow Hal, King Kong and Tropic Thunder.

Jack Black

6.

This phrase has been used as the title of a 1993 Kurt Vonnegut novel as well as a 1993 Disney film starring Bette Middler.

Hocus Pocus

7.

This North London suburb is home to a public school of the same name and is also the name of an order of Catholic missionary priests whose seminary is located there.

Mill Hill

8.

This word may have its origin in the Aramaic phrase ‘I create as I speak’ but has a different connotation in modem English.

Abracadabra

Sp1

The first recorded use of this phrase, which means to run about to no purpose, is to be found in Sir Thomas North’s 1579 translation of Plutarch ‘s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans.

Pell mell

Sp2

This compound with the formula PB304 is more commonly known as.....

Red lead

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - 'The Round Round'

'So good they named them twice’.  In each answer a word or pair of words feature repeated syllables or sounds.

1.

What is the name of the heroine of Puccini’s opera La Bohème?

Mimi

2.

Which item of clothing became popular among teenage girls after it was worn by Toni Basil when she performed her 1982 hit single Hey Mickey?

The ra-ra skirt

3.

Which famous institution is located in Ossining, New York State?

Sing Sing prison

4.

What is the name of the Salford-based band whose albums include We Started Nothing and NowheresviIle?

The Ting Tings

5.

In the novel Catch 22, why is Captain Major promoted by Colonel Cathcart?

The vengeful Cathcart has discovered that Major’s father hated him so
much that he named him Major Major Major, thus by promoting him to
major, he becomes even more ridiculous — Major Major Major Major

6.

The name of which political movement is alleged to be based on an anagram in the local dialect meaning ‘Get out, get out’?

Mau Mau

(an anagram of uma uma)

7.

Which classical pianist, born in China in 1982, played with the heavy metal band Metallica at the 2014 Grammy awards?

Lang Lang

8.

Which member of a well known sporting family and a director of Bury FC, died on 7 August 2015?

Neville Neville

Sp.

Which art movement was named by Marcel Du Champs?

Dada

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Pot pourri

1.

What word was introduced to the English language in the title of a 1920 play called R.U.R. by the Czech playwright Karel Capek?

Robot

2.

In January 2015 eleven people were killed at the Paris office of the magazine Charlie Hebdo. For what is Hebdo an abbreviation?  (give the French word or its English translation)

Hebdomadaire or Weekly

3.

Which two countries are currently disputing the region of Nagorno-Karabakh?

Armenia and Azerbaijan

4.

In a traditional circus why is one clown always called Joey?

In homage to Joseph Grimaldi

(who is regarded as ‘the father of modern clowning’)

5.

In July 19169 a short speech written by William Safire for President Nixon was not delivered.  Why not?

It was unnecessary as Armstrong and Aldrin had successfully left the moon

6.

The Brighton Rockers, The Hellfire Harlots and the Norfolk Brawds are all teams playing which wheeled sport?

Roller Derby

7.

Which song, in which the lyrics describe the dance moves which should accompany it, was fittingly a hit for the band Grand Funk Railroad?

The Locomotion

8.

Which TV series title is oflen abbreviated to MVF?

Man Versus Food

Sp.

Charlie Hebdo’s competitor, founded in 1918, is often described as the French Private Eye.  What is its title?

Le Canard Enchaîné

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - 'The Walk Round'

Part of each answer contains the surname of a man who has walked on the moon.

1.

Which British comedy duo play the characters of the RAF pilots Brabbins and Fyffe‘?

Armstrong and Miller

(Neil Armstrong - Apollo 11)

2.

In the 1980s Mike, Rick, Neil and Vyvyan were collectively known as who on British television?

The Young Ones

(John W Young - Apollo 16)

3.

This Manchester United player joined the club in 1990, stayed for 12 years and won over 50 caps for his country.

Dennis Irwin

(James Irwin — Apollo 15)

4.

Who played Boromir in The Lord of the Rings?

Sean Bean

(Alan Bean — Apollo 12)

5.

This American playwright, actor and film director was nominated for an Academy award for his performance in The Right Stuff.

Sam Shepard

(Alan Shepard - Apollo 14)

6.

The title track of the film The Sting was based on a piano rag written by which composer?

Scott Joplin

(David Scott — Apollo 15)

7.

This American hotelier was Zsa Zsa Gabor’s second husband.

Conrad Hilton

(Pete Conrad - Apollo 12)

8.

Whose stately home is Arundel Castle?

The Duke of Norfolk

(Charles Duke - Apollo 16)

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - 'The Double Round'

'Different People, Same Name'. Each answer is a full name which satisfies both parts of the question.  Homophones may be used.

1.

Which name links a famous actor whose films include Desert Rats, Villain and Hammersmith is Out, and a Victorian explorer and polymath whose achievements include publishing The Kama Sutra in English?

Richard Burton

2.

Which boxer, who reputedly became the first black boxer to win a British boxing title when he became middleweight boxing champion in 1948, shares his name with a famous 18th century criminal?

Dick Turpin

3.

Which rock group whose hit albums include Aqualung and Thick as a Brick, shares its name with an 18th century inventor?

Jethro Tull

4.

Which dramatist whose works include Volpone and Bartholomew Fayre, shares his name with the actor who won the 1971 Best Supporting Actor Oscar for The Last Picture Show?

Ben Jonson and Ben Johnson

5.

Which statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor and became Viscount St Albans, shares his name with a British painter?

Francis Bacon

6.

Which murdered 20th century political leader, shares his name with a rock group whose hits include Take Me Out?

Franz Ferdinand

7.

Which Pakistani cricketer born in I982 who played for Lancashire in 2012 and Somerset in 2013, shares his name with a middle eastern politician who died in 2004 at the age of 75?

Yasir Arafat and Yasser Arafat

8.

Which poet whose best known work is In Parenthesis, shares his name with a rock star who later changed his name.  His early records under his original name include Lisa Jane and I Pity the Fool.

David Jones and David Jones

(the latter aka David Bowie)

(the answer must include the name David Jones)

Sp1

Which actress whose films include The Dark Knight and The Devil Wears Prada, shares her name with a woman who inherited ‘a second best bed’?

Anne Hathaway

Sp2

Which British singer whose greatest hit was If I Had Words in 1978, shares his name with the writer of the novel The Beautiful and the Damned?

Scott Fitzgerald

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme - 'The Peared Round'

All the answers are linked by a common theme

1.

Which New England town was the terminus of Paul Revere’s Midnight Ride and gave its name to a type of stagecoach widely used in America in the 19th century?

Concord

(Concorde pear)

2.

Who was the commander of the Free French forces on D-Day and led the first allied unit to enter Paris in August 1944?

General Phillipe Leclerc

(General Leclerc pear)

3.

In which Puccini opera is the brutal chief of the Rome police assassinated?

Tosca

(the police chief was Baron Scarpia)

(Tosca pear)

4.

Which Puccini opera features the aria Nessun Dorma?

Turandot

(Turandot pear)

5.

Which English poet, painter and visionary wrote Songs of Experience published in 1794?

William Blake

(BIakes’s Pride pear)

6.

Which London borough shares its name with an Oxford college and a well-known comedian?

Merton

(Merton Pride pear)

7.

Which world famous natural feature is known by the local people as 'uluru' but is called something else by most other people?

Ayer's Rock

(Ayer's pear)

8.

Which former French county with its capital at Angers gave its name to an English royal house?

Anjou

(the Angevin House)

(Anjou pear)

Sp.

Which county cricket club has three black pears on its crest?

Worcestershire

(Worcester black pear)

Theme: Each answer contains the name of one of the 3,000 varieties of pear

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Pot pourri

1.

In which film does ‘Broadsword’ contact ‘Danny Boy’?

Where Eagles Dare

2.

Why do Catholic priests have 33 buttons on their cassocks?

Each button represents a year in the life of Christ

3.

Which Swedish rock band whose albums include Barely Legal and Veni, Vidi, Vicious share their name with a medical condition called Urticaria?

The Hives

4.

Which high ranking Nazi was assassinated on 4 June 1942?

Reinhard Heydrich

5.

Palmerston the Cat has recently started work as chief mouser.  Where?

The Foreign Office

6.

In the second series of Blackadder how does the Tudor explorer, Captain Rum, claim to have stayed alive when he ran out of supplies?

By drinking his own urine

7.

Which TV character had a poster in his office which read ‘I want to believe’?

Mulder

(in The X-Files)

8.

Cartagena is an ancient city in Spain.  There is another Cartagena in South America.  In which country is it?

Colombia

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers