ROUND 1 - 'Elementary'

Each answer begins with the two-letter chemical symbol of an element

e.g: Q: With which field of the arts would you associate Sir Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth?  A: Sculpture ('Sc' being the chemical symbol for scandium)

1.

Which member of the grouse family which breeds across the arctic and sub-arctic turns almost completely white in winter?

2.

What given name links a former member of the Dutch resistance who later became a major movie star, the author of The Time Traveller’s Wife and the French star of the film Amelie?

3.

Medical staff in East Anglia are reputed to use the notation 'NFN' in some patients’ medical notes.  What does this stand for?

4.

Which 1934 novel by Gabriel Chevallier concerns the battle over the installation of a public urinal in a small French town?

5.

Which Manchester-born writer produced the first of her best known children’s novels while living in North Carolina during the 1890s?  A later, much loved novel, also for children, was written in Buile Hill Park during visits to Manchester. (full name needed)

6.

What is the nickname of the man who once stopped traffic when he said that "…he couldn’t quite get his leg over" on Test Match Special?

7.

Which 1993 film, from a screenplay by Meera Syal, concerned a group of British Punjabi women of various faiths on a trip to see the Blackpool Illuminations?

8.

Which island was ceded to Germany by the UK in 1890?  In exchange, Germany agreed to give up any rights to Zanzibar.

Sp.

Which fictional TV station, featuring Eric Idle with music by Neil Innes, was broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1976?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

In two answers the theme word is part of a longer word - and there are two soundalikes

1.

Who was appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in April 2017?

2.

During the Second World War she toured with fellow child star Julie Andrews.  She was nicknamed 'the Singing Sweetheart'.  In 1969 she sang backing vocals on John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance.  She is the only person to be the subject of This is Your Life on three occasions.  She is now 85 years of age.  Who is she?

3.

He was the first US President to be born west of the Mississippi River.  He became President following a landslide victory.  He lost the presidency four years later following a landslide defeat.  He lived for another 31 years.  Who is he?

4.

Which Welsh town is the administrative centre of Powys?

5.

Who is the only English footballer to have captained a title-winning team in three different decades?

6.

Which British artist is currently the subject of a retrospective at the Imperial War Museum North?

7.

Who was appointed Chancellor of the University of Manchester in June 2015?

8.

Until 1880 it was known as the Devil’s Arse.  Its name was changed so as not to offend the visiting Queen Victoria.  In 2007 it was the venue for a concert by Richard Hawley.  What is its name?

Sp1

The Tate Modern is situated in which district of London?

Sp2

Who wrote the 1975 novel The History Man?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme - 'We’re all going'

1.

It’s a Special Territory of Chile and a World Heritage Site (due to the 887 man-made objects to be found there).  What is it called?

2.

It’s an External Territory of Australia and its capital is the splendidly named Flying Fish Cove.  What is it called?

3.

It came into being on April 10th 1998 and has been extremely successful for nearly twenty years but it is now under serious threat.  What is it?

4.

It originated in Croydon in 1923 and is an anglicisation of a French phrase which has the required meaning.  It is still in use today.  What is it?

5.

What happened on 9th August 2012 which caused great rejoicing in Britain, particularly in Leeds?

6.

What do the dates 9/9/2018, 16/2/2018 and 11/9/2018 have in common?

7.

What is the title of the play within a play (or musical within a musical) that features in the Mel Brooks' show The Producers?

8.

It won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1963 though it has since been described as “hopelessly unscholarly” and “seriously flawed”.  What is its title?

Sp.

Many left-leaning economists suggested, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the recession/depression which followed, a biblical remedy which can be found in Leviticus.  What was it?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Run ons

1.

An opera by Benjamin Britten.

The UK’s largest retailer of trade tools and accessories.

2.

A play by Peter Shaffer set in Peru in the sixteenth century.

An ingredient commonly used in antipasti.

3.

A play by Shakespeare.

A new town in Hertfordshire.

4.

Finished second behind Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 Labour leadership election.

A town in Essex.

5.

Epic poem first published in 1667.

Science fiction TV show that first aired in 1965.

6.

1993 Booker Prize winning novel by Roddy Doyle.

1967 hit for Manfred Mann.

7.

Current member of the Cabinet.

1975 hit for The Sweet.

8.

South Korean car manufacturer.

James Bond film.

Sp1

Psychedelic soul band whose hits included Dance to the Music and Everyday People.

Authentic Italian fast food.

Sp2

Ground-breaking scientific TV series first aired in 1973.

Brittle greyish-white metallic element.

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Calculate the size of each internal angle of a regular 20-sided polygon.

2.

What connects Gustav Adolf II, Nat Lofthouse and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

3.

For what feat did Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov win a Nobel Prize in 2010?

4.

Which Italian author’s lesser known novels include, Baudolino, The Island of the Day Before and The Prague Cemetery?

5.

Which German author’s lesser known works include Felix Krull, Tonio Kröger and Joseph and His Brothers?

6.

Which foreign-born physicist, associated with the University of Manchester, won the 1922 Nobel Prize "for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them"?

7.

What connects Charles VI of France (Charles the Mad), Cinderella and Einstein on the Beach?

8.

Ignoring units of length, calculate the distance between the coordinates (-1, 2) and (5, 10).

Sp.

Who composed the opera Nixon in China?

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Hidden theme - 'Some You Win'

1.

The Grand National is the second part of the Spring Double in horse racing.  What is the first part usually held one or two weeks before the national?

2.

Which iconic building is pictured on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Animals?

3.

The Anderton Boat Lift moves boats and barges the 50 feet between the Trent and Mersey Canal and what?

4.

The little known John Morris was selected for the 1990/91 Ashes tour but didn’t play a test match after an ill-advised joy ride in a Tiger Moth.  Who was the more famous pilot?

5.

He was Prime Minister three times but for less than four years in total.  However he remains the longest-serving leader of the Conservative party.  Who was he?

6.

The wealthiest and most powerful nobleman of his age he switched sides twice during 16 years of civil war and was posthumously father in law to a king.  Who was he?

7.

Founded in 597 and completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077 following a fire, it was partly rebuilt after another fire which occurred four years subsequent to a famous murder which was committed there.  Today it forms part of a World Heritage Site.  What is it?

8.

Begun in 1822 and opened to the public three years later it was the first of its kind and changed the way the way people lived and worked all over the world.  Today it forms part of a larger network.  What was it?

Sp.

It is a well-heeled district of London and a much less salubrious area of Liverpool.  It’s also a test cricket ground and an “aunt heap”.  What name do these all share?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme - 'Blue Planet'

1.

Which knot, also known as a square knot, can be tied using the mnemonic 'left over right and right over left'?

2.

Which stand-up comedian and podcast pioneer began his career as part of a comedy duo with Stewart Lee?

3.

Which TV family drove a modified 1921 Oldsmobile Model 43-A touring car?

4.

Who succeeded Ian Duncan-Smith as Secretary of State at the DWP?  He later stood for the Tory leadership following Cameron’s resignation, withdrew after finishing second last in the first ballot in July 2016 and then resigned from his post later that month after allegations that he had sent suggestive messages to a young woman.

5.

Which 1901 novel by Miles Franklin told the story of a young woman in the Australian outback?  It was made into a film in 1979 starry Judy Davis and Sam Neill.

6.

Which 2005 film starred Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney as a divorcing couple and concerns the impact of their separation on their two sons?  The film’s title comes from a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History.

7.

Which Scottish water spirits reputedly appear as horses and inspired the sculptures of the same name near Falkirk?

8.

What name is given to a long narrow tapering tool, used for separating strands of ropes and unpicking overtight knots?

Sp.

How does Jeremy Corbyn prefer his eggs?

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - 'WithQuiz's Youth policy'

Each answer contains a word related to types of music/youth cults (see the underlinings)

1.

What was the name given to a person in India whose job was to operate the ceiling fan?

2.

Which fashion company, founded in Glasgow by Ray Kelvin in 1988, has its main Manchester store at 6 New Cathedral Street?

3.

What is the name of the ship, now on display in Dundee, which took Scott and Shackleton on their first trip to the Antarctic?  The name was also used for part of the name of the spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

4.

What is the name given to the strait connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat?

5.

Gary Sobers was the first batsman to score six sixes in an over in first class cricket.  Against which county did he achieve the feat?

6.

Which name connects a Neolithic flint mine in Norfolk and a former Luton Town and Manchester United footballer who later graced the substitutes’ bench at Sporting Osasuna?

7.

What was the name given to the last major German line of defence during World War II, running through the Northern Apennines?

8.

Which Austrian naval officer captained the submarines U-5 and U-14?  He later found fame in a completely different field.

Sp1

Which 2009 film directed by Ron Howard, based on a novel published in 2000, features Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon and Ewan McGregor as Father Patrick McKenna?

Sp2

Which album contained the tracks Down in the Tube station at Midnight, David Watts and A Bomb in Wardour Street?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 -  'Elementary'

Each answer begins with the two-letter chemical symbol of an element

e.g: Q: With which field of the arts would you associate Sir Henry Moore and Barbara Hepworth?  A: Sculpture ('Sc' being the chemical symbol for scandium)

1.

Which member of the grouse family which breeds across the arctic and sub-arctic turns almost completely white in winter?

Ptarmigan

(platinum)

2.

What given name links a former member of the Dutch resistance who later became a major movie star, the author of The Time Traveller’s Wife and the French star of the film Amelie?

Audrey

(gold)

3.

Medical staff in East Anglia are reputed to use the notation 'NFN' in some patients’ medical notes.  What does this stand for?

Normal for Norfolk

(nobelium)

4.

Which 1934 novel by Gabriel Chevallier concerns the battle over the installation of a public urinal in a small French town?

Clochemerle

(chlorine)

5.

Which Manchester-born writer produced the first of her best known children’s novels while living in North Carolina during the 1890s?  A later, much loved novel, also for children, was written in Buile Hill Park during visits to Manchester. (full name needed)

Frances Hodgson Burnett

(francium)

6.

What is the nickname of the man who once stopped traffic when he said that "…he couldn’t quite get his leg over" on Test Match Special?

Aggers

(silver)

7.

Which 1993 film, from a screenplay by Meera Syal, concerned a group of British Punjabi women of various faiths on a trip to see the Blackpool Illuminations?

Bhaji on the Beach

(bohrium)

8.

Which island was ceded to Germany by the UK in 1890?  In exchange, Germany agreed to give up any rights to Zanzibar.

Heligoland

(helium)

Sp.

Which fictional TV station, featuring Eric Idle with music by Neil Innes, was broadcast on BBC2 in 1975 and 1976?

Rutland Weekend Television

(ruthenium)

ROUND 2 - Hidden theme

In two answers the theme word is part of a longer word - and there are two soundalikes

1.

Who was appointed Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police in April 2017?

Cressida Dick

2.

During the Second World War she toured with fellow child star Julie Andrews.  She was nicknamed 'the Singing Sweetheart'.  In 1969 she sang backing vocals on John Lennon’s Give Peace a Chance.  She is the only person to be the subject of This is Your Life on three occasions.  She is now 85 years of age.  Who is she?

Petula Clark

3.

He was the first US President to be born west of the Mississippi River.  He became President following a landslide victory.  He lost the presidency four years later following a landslide defeat.  He lived for another 31 years.  Who is he?

Herbert Hoover

4.

Which Welsh town is the administrative centre of Powys?

Llandrindod Wells

5.

Who is the only English footballer to have captained a title-winning team in three different decades?

Tony Adams

6.

Which British artist is currently the subject of a retrospective at the Imperial War Museum North?

Wyndham Lewis

7.

Who was appointed Chancellor of the University of Manchester in June 2015?

Lemn Sissay

8.

Until 1880 it was known as the Devil’s Arse.  Its name was changed so as not to offend the visiting Queen Victoria.  In 2007 it was the venue for a concert by Richard Hawley.  What is its name?

Peak Cavern

Sp1

The Tate Modern is situated in which district of London?

Bankside

Sp2

Who wrote the 1975 novel The History Man?

Malcolm Bradbury

Theme: Each answer includes the surname of a science fiction writer....

Philip K Dick, Arthur C Clarke, Frank Herbert, HG Wells, Douglas Adams, John Wyndham, Stanislaw Lem, Jules Verne, Iain M Banks and Ray Bradbury

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - Hidden theme - 'We’re all going'

1.

It’s a Special Territory of Chile and a World Heritage Site (due to the 887 man-made objects to be found there).  What is it called?

Easter Island

2.

It’s an External Territory of Australia and its capital is the splendidly named Flying Fish Cove.  What is it called?

Christmas Island

3.

It came into being on April 10th 1998 and has been extremely successful for nearly twenty years but it is now under serious threat.  What is it?

The Good Friday Agreement

('Good Friday' is required for a correct answer - it is not the same thing as the Anglo-Irish Agreement)

4.

It originated in Croydon in 1923 and is an anglicisation of a French phrase which has the required meaning.  It is still in use today.  What is it?

Mayday

(the maritime and air distress call, from the French 'm’aider' - help me)

5.

What happened on 9th August 2012 which caused great rejoicing in Britain, particularly in Leeds?

Nicola Adams won the first ever women’s boxing Olympic gold medal

6.

What do the dates 9/9/2018, 16/2/2018 and 11/9/2018 have in common?

They are the dates of the start of the Jewish, Chinese and Muslim New Years in 2018

7.

What is the title of the play within a play (or musical within a musical) that features in the Mel Brooks' show The Producers?

Springtime For Hitler

8.

It won the Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction in 1963 though it has since been described as “hopelessly unscholarly” and “seriously flawed”.  What is its title?

(also published as August 1914 – accept either)

Sp.

Many left-leaning economists suggested, in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis and the recession/depression which followed, a biblical remedy which can be found in Leviticus.  What was it?

(which occurred every 49 or 50 years and included the forgiveness of debt)

Theme: Bank Holidays

Since we’re not getting a Bank Holiday for the soon-to-be 6th in line to the throne’s forthcoming bunfight, we thought we’d remind you of the lousy eight a year we have to make do with at present.  The various recent Jubilees have been the occasion for additional bank holidays in 1977, 2002 and 2012.  There is no word on whether it will be called a public holiday when HM shuffles off and we all get to watch the pomp and ceremony - or not depending on your tastes and politics

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Run ons

1.

An opera by Benjamin Britten.

The UK’s largest retailer of trade tools and accessories.

The Turn of the Screwfix

2.

A play by Peter Shaffer set in Peru in the sixteenth century.

An ingredient commonly used in antipasti.

The Royal Hunt of the Sun-dried tomatoes

3.

A play by Shakespeare.

A new town in Hertfordshire.

All's Well That Ends Welwyn Garden City

4.

Finished second behind Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 Labour leadership election.

A town in Essex.

Andy Burnham-on-Crouch

5.

Epic poem first published in 1667.

Science fiction TV show that first aired in 1965.

Paradise Lost in Space

6.

1993 Booker Prize winning novel by Roddy Doyle.

1967 hit for Manfred Mann.

Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha Said The Clown

7.

Current member of the Cabinet.

1975 hit for The Sweet.

Liam Fox on the Run

(the correct mode of address for the member for North Somerset is 'Disgraced former Defence Secretary Liam Fox' but that’s a bit long for a quiz answer!)

8.

South Korean car manufacturer.

James Bond film.

Hyundai Another Day

Sp1

Psychedelic soul band whose hits included Dance to the Music and Everyday People.

Authentic Italian fast food.

Sly and the Family Stone-baked pizza

Sp2

Ground-breaking scientific TV series first aired in 1973.

Brittle greyish-white metallic element.

The Ascent of Manganese

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Pairs

1.

Calculate the size of each internal angle of a regular 20-sided polygon.

1620

(either (20 – 2) x 180 ÷ 20 or calculate the external angle = 360 ÷ 20 = 18, 180 – 18)

2.

What connects Gustav Adolf II, Nat Lofthouse and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly?

Lion

(Lion of the North, Lion of Vienna and Sergio Leone directed)

3.

For what feat did Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov win a Nobel Prize in 2010?

Discovery of graphene

4.

Which Italian author’s lesser known novels include, Baudolino, The Island of the Day Before and The Prague Cemetery?

Umberto Eco

5.

Which German author’s lesser known works include Felix Krull, Tonio Kröger and Joseph and His Brothers?

Thomas Mann

6.

Which foreign-born physicist, associated with the University of Manchester, won the 1922 Nobel Prize "for his services in the investigation of the structure of atoms and of the radiation emanating from them"?

Niels Bohr

(...and guess what? Dunker, and John Dalton Mathematical Scholar, Martin lived in the same house Bohr had lived in)

7.

What connects Charles VI of France (Charles the Mad), Cinderella and Einstein on the Beach?

Glass

(Charles believed he was made of it, glass slippers and composed by Philip Glass)

8.

Ignoring units of length, calculate the distance between the coordinates (-1, 2) and (5, 10).

10

Sp.

Who composed the opera Nixon in China?

John Adams

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 -  Hidden theme - 'Some You Win'

1.

The Grand National is the second part of the Spring Double in horse racing.  What is the first part usually held one or two weeks before the national?

The Lincoln Handicap

2.

Which iconic building is pictured on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Animals?

Battersea power station

3.

The Anderton Boat Lift moves boats and barges the 50 feet between the Trent and Mersey Canal and what?

River Weaver

4.

The little known John Morris was selected for the 1990/91 Ashes tour but didn’t play a test match after an ill-advised joy ride in a Tiger Moth.  Who was the more famous pilot?

David Gower

5.

He was Prime Minister three times but for less than four years in total.  However he remains the longest-serving leader of the Conservative party.  Who was he?

14th Earl of Derby, Edward Smith-Stanley

(accept 'Earl of Derby' or just 'Derby')

6.

The wealthiest and most powerful nobleman of his age he switched sides twice during 16 years of civil war and was posthumously father in law to a king.  Who was he?

16th Earl of Warwick, Richard Neville

(accept 'Earl of Warwick' or just 'Warwick')

7.

Founded in 597 and completely rebuilt between 1070 and 1077 following a fire, it was partly rebuilt after another fire which occurred four years subsequent to a famous murder which was committed there.  Today it forms part of a World Heritage Site.  What is it?

Canterbury Cathedral

8.

Begun in 1822 and opened to the public three years later it was the first of its kind and changed the way the way people lived and worked all over the world.  Today it forms part of a larger network.  What was it?

The Stockton and Darlington Railway

(now part of the Tees Valley Line, it opened five years before the Liverpool and Manchester Railway but it didn’t introduce steam trains for passenger traffic until 1833)

Sp.

It is a well-heeled district of London and a much less salubrious area of Liverpool.  It’s also a test cricket ground and an “aunt heap”.  What name do these all share?

Kensington

(the test cricket ground is Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados; the “aunt heap” refers to Kensington Palace, where the royal family stores the superfluous sisters and cousins and aunts - named so by Prince Charles it is his only recorded joke)

Lincoln, Battersea, Weaver Vale, Gower, Derby North, Warwick & Leamington, Canterbury, Stockton South and Kensington.

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Hidden theme - 'Blue Planet'

1.

Which knot, also known as a square knot, can be tied using the mnemonic 'left over right and right over left'?

A reef knot

2.

Which stand-up comedian and podcast pioneer began his career as part of a comedy duo with Stewart Lee?

Richard Herring

3.

Which TV family drove a modified 1921 Oldsmobile Model 43-A touring car?

The Clampetts

4.

Who succeeded Ian Duncan-Smith as Secretary of State at the DWP?  He later stood for the Tory leadership following Cameron’s resignation, withdrew after finishing second last in the first ballot in July 2016 and then resigned from his post later that month after allegations that he had sent suggestive messages to a young woman.

Stephen Crabb

5.

Which 1901 novel by Miles Franklin told the story of a young woman in the Australian outback?  It was made into a film in 1979 starry Judy Davis and Sam Neill.

My Brilliant Career

6.

Which 2005 film starred Jeff Daniels and Laura Linney as a divorcing couple and concerns the impact of their separation on their two sons?  The film’s title comes from a diorama at the American Museum of Natural History.

The Squid and the Whale

7.

Which Scottish water spirits reputedly appear as horses and inspired the sculptures of the same name near Falkirk?

Kelpies

8.

What name is given to a long narrow tapering tool, used for separating strands of ropes and unpicking overtight knots?

A marlin spike

Sp.

How does Jeremy Corbyn prefer his eggs?

Coddled

Theme: Each answer contains something you could find in the ocean....

reef, herring, clam, crab, brill, squid/whale, kelp, marlin and cod

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - 'WithQuiz's Youth policy'

Each answer contains a word related to types of music/youth cults (see the underlinings)

1.

What was the name given to a person in India whose job was to operate the ceiling fan?

Punkah Wallah

2.

Which fashion company, founded in Glasgow by Ray Kelvin in 1988, has its main Manchester store at 6 New Cathedral Street?

Ted Baker

3.

What is the name of the ship, now on display in Dundee, which took Scott and Shackleton on their first trip to the Antarctic?  The name was also used for part of the name of the spaceship in 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Discovery

(S.S. Discovery and Discovery One)

4.

What is the name given to the strait connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat?

Skagerrak

5.

Gary Sobers was the first batsman to score six sixes in an over in first class cricket.  Against which county did he achieve the feat?

Glamorgan

6.

Which name connects a Neolithic flint mine in Norfolk and a former Luton Town and Manchester United footballer who later graced the substitutes’ bench at Sporting Osasuna?

Grimes

(Grime’s Graves and Ashley Grimes)

7.

What was the name given to the last major German line of defence during World War II, running through the Northern Apennines?

8.

Which Austrian naval officer captained the submarines U-5 and U-14?  He later found fame in a completely different field.

von Trapp

Sp1

Which 2009 film directed by Ron Howard, based on a novel published in 2000, features Tom Hanks as Robert Langdon and Ewan McGregor as Father Patrick McKenna?

Angels and Demons

Sp2

Which album contained the tracks Down in the Tube station at Midnight, David Watts and A Bomb in Wardour Street?

All Mod Cons

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers