ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

Who is credited with the first package holidays?

2.

Strawberry tongue is a characteristic of which disease?

3.

Which US band had hits with Sylvia’s Mother and A Little Bit More?

4.

What is the name of the film director whose films include Bladerunner and Gladiator?

5.

In Arthurian legend, what is the name of Arthur’s half sister?

6.

Which veteran English actor’s autobiography is entitled Hello?

7.

Which Disney film includes the characters Bubbles, Crush and Mr Ray?

8.

Which patriotic Irving Berlin song includes the line "From the mountains to the prairie to the oceans with white foam"?

Sp.

Which actor played the title role in the film Spartacus?

Go to Round 1 questions with answers

ROUND 2 - Announced theme

Each answer contains the name, or part of the name, of a Mercury Music prize winner or nominee.

(NOTE TO QM – Answer in bold is the one required; the band or artist is given for information purposes only in brackets). 

1.

Which football team, known as Les Verts, holds the record for the most French top flight football titles, with 10?

2.

Jules Winnfield, Butch Coolidge and Vincent Vega are the protagonists of the three interrelated stories which comprise which 1994 film?

3.

What is the alternative name of the Boeing AH-47 attack helicopter?

4.

This man holds the record for the most consecutive appearances at Wimbledon.  In 2014 he played for the 23rd year in a row at the age of 37, although he never got past the 2nd round in the singles or the 3rd round in the doubles.  Currently assistant coach to Andy Murray, who is the British tennis player with a foreign-sounding name?

5.

The cover shows a picture of him standing in front of a venetian blind.  What is the name of Bruce Springsteen’s fourth album, the follow-up to mega-selling Born to Run?

6.

The Alpine Chough, the Whooper Swan, the Bar-Headed Goose, the Common Crane, and, at 37,000 feet the Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture could, all be described as what?

7.

What kind of creature is Peppy, who has been used since 1932 to advertise a particular brand of mint?

8.

Dying in a helicopter crash which also killed his son and two family friends, who was the winner of the 1995 World Rally Championship drivers’ title?

Sp1

Founded in 1950 by a group of actors and BBC employees including Roy Plomley, John Mills and Jack Hawkins who frequented a pub of the same name in St John’s Wood Road, what is the name of the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity?

Sp2

What is the name of the 1970 book by psychologist Arthur Janov which encouraged patients with repressed childhood trauma to express themselves through unrestrained shouting?

Go to Round 2 questions with answers

Name the TV character that is often referred to but never seen

1.

2.

In Dad’s Army what was the name of Captain Mainwaring’s wife?

3.

In Captain Scarlet what was the name of the unseen enemy who could reproduce somebody in their likeness?

4.

In Minder how did Arthur Daley refer to his unseen wife?

5.

In Frasier what was the name of Niles’ first wife?

6.

In Father Ted who was described in these words "He’s got big puffy fish lips bigger than the rest of his face after an incident with an exploding kettle"?

7.

In Coronation Street what was the name of the owner of the haberdashery store in Coronation Street managed by Leonard Swindley?

8.

What was the name of Hyacinth’s son in Keeping Up Appearances?

Sp.

What was the name of Norm’s wife in Cheers?

Go to Round 3 questions with answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

Which political member of 'the squad' is known as AOC?

2.

Which German politician, successor as head of the party to Angela Merkel, is known as 'AKK'?

3.

What seven words follow these, by Robert Frost?

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I….”

4.

What seven words follow these, by Andrew Marvell?

“The grave’s a fine and private place…”

5.

The Iran Nuclear Agreement is more properly called the JCPOA.  What does JCPOA stand for?

6.

What does the abbreviation IOPC stand for?  The organisation was formerly known as the IPCC.

7.

A chess move is recorded as e8N#.  What does this mean?  (Note to QM: upper/lower case matters)

8.

A chess move is recorded as Rfxe7+.  What does this mean?  (Note to QM: upper/lower case matters)

Sp1

The medical term 'amazia' means absence of what?

Sp2

The medical term 'orchidectomy' means removal of what?

Go to Round 4 questions with answers

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

1.

Complete this phrase from the US Declaration of Independence which refers to unalienable rights given to all men by their creator and which governments are created to protect: 'Life, liberty and….'

2.

Known in the US as 'Big Stick Ideology', what term refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives by conspicuous displays of power?  The 1850 blockade of Piraeus ordered by the then Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston was a notable early example.

3.

When asked by Claudius, what does Hamlet say is the name of the play he is about to put on for his uncle?

4.

What word describes any vehicle with a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply?

5.

Which 2004 film is well-known for the multiple internet parodies known as ‘Hitler Rants’ in which the scene where the Fuhrer becomes angry as he realises that the war is lost has new subtitles added such that he appears to be reacting to a setback in politics, sports, entertainment or some other aspect of modern life?

6.

Manufactured by Unilever and available since 1982, which ice cream lollipop consists of a spiral of pineapple ice cream and lime fruit ice on the outside with a strawberry fruit ice on the inside?

7.

The Litchfield Hills and the city of Bridgeport can be found in which US state, known as 'The Constitution State'?

8.

By what name was Oflag IV-C better known?

Sp1

Tom Cruise’s breakout film, which 1983 movie sees him play a high-achieving high-school student from Chicago who turns his parents’ house into a brothel to pay for repairs to their car?

Sp2

From which Beatles song which appeared on the Revolver album are these the opening lines:

“I was alone, I took a ride, I didn’t know what I would find there.

Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there”.

Go to Round 5 questions with answers

ROUND 6 - Music

1.

Which orchestral work includes movements entitled Theme, Ysobel, GRS and BGN? (title and composer required)

2.

Which orchestral piece includes movements entitled The Old Castle and The Hut on Fowl’s Legs?  (title and composer required)

3.

Who composed at least part of a symphony while working as a volunteer fireman during a siege?

4.

Who wrote Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste and The Miraculous Mandarin?

5.

What is the title of this piece of music?  The orchestral parts are shown as a piano reduction.

6.

What is the title of this piece of music?  The orchestral parts are shown as a piano reduction.

7.

Whose third symphony, written in 1976, includes settings for soprano and orchestra of a 15th century lament, a message found scratched on the wall of a Gestapo cell and a traditional folk song?  It became hugely popular in the 1990s, although the composer is known for little else.

8.

Whose seventh symphony is derived from his score for the film Scott of the Antarctic?

Sp1

Which musical instrument is commonly played in soprano, alto, tenor and baritone versions although several others, such as sopranino and bass, also exist?

Sp2

Which work by Britten includes movements entitled Nocturne (Tennyson), Elegy (Blake) and Dirge?

Go to Round 6 questions with answers

ROUND 7 - Run-ons

The last word of the first answer is the first word (or the first part of the first word) of the second answer; for example, innocuous statue and Irish actor would be Venus de Milo O’Shea.

First names and last names of people are required unless otherwise specified - there is some use of homonyms.

1.

1972 single, first hit for Dr Hook and the Medicine Show, whose lyrics consist of a conversation between the singer and Mrs Avery, with occasional and repetitive interruptions by the operator;

1939 anti-war play by Bertold Brecht, set in the Thirty Years War.

2.

Nickname of Mahler’s eighth symphony;

Novel by Khaled Husseini, set in Afghanistan, which sold a million copies in the first week of its release in 2007.

3.

American quarterback who first 'took the knee' during the National Anthem in 2016;

Character played by Hervé Villechaize in the second Roger Moore Bond film

4.

Acclaimed British war photographer, knighted in 2017, now 84;

Thick soup made from smoked haddock, potatoes, onions and, in the best versions, cream.

5.

Fantasy by Tchaikovsky, inspired by the tragedy, recounted by Dante, of a noblewoman who was condemned to hell after falling in love with her brother-in-law and being murdered with him by her husband;

Disney character voiced first by Walt himself and later, from 1986 until her death in 2019, by the wife of the actor who himself voiced the character’s husband.

6.

The only former member of the House of Commons to have won an Oscar;

Hugely successful married singing and comedy duo, of whom one became a congressman.

7.

Czech novel, set during the Prague Spring of 1968, published in 1984 and filmed in 1988 starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche;

1979 satirical film starring Peter Sellers as a rather over-promoted horticulturalist.

8.

1986 British film starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, based on a novel by Alistair MacLean;

English translation of the Latin motto of the Manchester Grammar School.

Sp1

1951 comedy starring Ronald Reagan and the non-human title character;

Jazz/rock/pop group who became famous in 1968 via Do Not Adjust Your Set.

Sp2

Aristocratic Scottish actress who appeared in Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, who in 2018 married her Crow lover from the latter series;

British actor, writer and TV presenter, for a while perhaps best known for his margarine advertisements, who died in 1986.

Go to Round 7 questions with answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Whose poem Resumé ends with the lines:

“Guns aren’t lawful?

Nooses give,

Gas smells awful,

You might as well live”

2.

Whose poem The Day is Done ends with the lines:

“And the night shall be filled with music,

And the cares that infest the day,

Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,

And as quietly steal away”?

3.

What scandal links Barrack Obama and Rod Blagojevich, a former state governor?

4.

What links Joe Biden to Neil Kinnock?

5.

Which Shakespearean character’s last words are:

“And damn’d be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'"?

6.

Which Shakespearean character’s last words are:

“No way but this; killing myself, to die upon a kiss”?

7.

What name links a character in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the late John McCrirrick’s first job in journalism?

8.

What three letter abbreviation links one of the types of file commonly used to store images for display on web pages and a term generally used as a means of expelling a diplomat from a foreign country?

Sp.

In which opera do the characters Octavian and The Marschallin appear?

Go to Round 8 questions with answers

ROUND 1 - Hidden theme

1.

Who is credited with the first package holidays?

Thomas Cook

2.

Strawberry tongue is a characteristic of which disease?

Scarlet Fever

3.

Which US band had hits with Sylvia’s Mother and A Little Bit More?

Dr Hook

4.

What is the name of the film director whose films include Bladerunner and Gladiator?

Ridley Scott

5.

In Arthurian legend, what is the name of Arthur’s half sister?

Morgan le Fey

6.

Which veteran English actor’s autobiography is entitled Hello?

Leslie Phillips

7.

Which Disney film includes the characters Bubbles, Crush and Mr Ray?

Finding Nemo

8.

Which patriotic Irving Berlin song includes the line "From the mountains to the prairie to the oceans with white foam"?

God Bless America

Sp.

Which actor played the title role in the film Spartacus?

Kirk Douglas

Theme: Each answer contains the name of a captain

ROUND 2 - Announced theme

Each answer contains the name, or part of the name, of a Mercury Music prize winner or nominee.

(NOTE TO QM – Answer in bold is the one required; the band or artist is given for information purposes only in brackets). 

1.

Which football team, known as Les Verts, holds the record for the most French top flight football titles, with 10?

Saint Étienne

(band of the same name)

2.

Jules Winnfield, Butch Coolidge and Vincent Vega are the protagonists of the three interrelated stories which comprise which 1994 film?

Pulp Fiction

(Pulp)

3.

What is the alternative name of the Boeing AH-47 attack helicopter?

Apache

(Apache Indian)

4.

This man holds the record for the most consecutive appearances at Wimbledon.  In 2014 he played for the 23rd year in a row at the age of 37, although he never got past the 2nd round in the singles or the 3rd round in the doubles.  Currently assistant coach to Andy Murray, who is the British tennis player with a foreign-sounding name?

Jamie Delgado

(The Delgados)

5.

The cover shows a picture of him standing in front of a venetian blind.  What is the name of Bruce Springsteen’s fourth album, the follow-up to mega-selling Born to Run?

Darkness on the Edge of Town

(The Darkness)

6.

The Alpine Chough, the Whooper Swan, the Bar-Headed Goose, the Common Crane, and, at 37,000 feet the Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture could, all be described as what?

High flying birds

(Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds)

7.

What kind of creature is Peppy, who has been used since 1932 to advertise a particular brand of mint?

Polar Bear

(band of the same name)

8.

Dying in a helicopter crash which also killed his son and two family friends, who was the winner of the 1995 World Rally Championship drivers’ title?

Colin McRae (Tom McRae)

Sp1

Founded in 1950 by a group of actors and BBC employees including Roy Plomley, John Mills and Jack Hawkins who frequented a pub of the same name in St John’s Wood Road, what is the name of the official charity for recreational cricket and the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity?

Lords’ Taverners

(John Taverner)

Sp2

What is the name of the 1970 book by psychologist Arthur Janov which encouraged patients with repressed childhood trauma to express themselves through unrestrained shouting?

Primal Scream (therapy)

(band of the same name)

Go back to Round 2 questions without answers

ROUND 3 - 'Heard of but never seen'

Name the TV character that is often referred to but never seen

1.

Miss Cathcart

2.

In Dad’s Army what was the name of Captain Mainwaring’s wife?

Elizabeth

3.

In Captain Scarlet what was the name of the unseen enemy who could reproduce somebody in their likeness?

The Mysterons

4.

In Minder how did Arthur Daley refer to his unseen wife?

‘er indoors

5.

In Frasier what was the name of Niles’ first wife?

Maris

6.

In Father Ted who was described in these words "He’s got big puffy fish lips bigger than the rest of his face after an incident with an exploding kettle"?

Father Bigley

7.

In Coronation Street what was the name of the owner of the haberdashery store in Coronation Street managed by Leonard Swindley?

Mr Papadopoulos

8.

What was the name of Hyacinth’s son in Keeping Up Appearances?

Sheridan

Sp.

What was the name of Norm’s wife in Cheers?

Vera

Go back to Round 3 questions without answers

ROUND 4 - Pairs

1.

Which political member of 'the squad' is known as AOC?

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

2.

Which German politician, successor as head of the party to Angela Merkel, is known as 'AKK'?

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer

3.

What seven words follow these, by Robert Frost?

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I….”

"...I took the one less travelled by..."

(yes, “I” is repeated)

4.

What seven words follow these, by Andrew Marvell?

“The grave’s a fine and private place…”

“...but none, I think, do there embrace...”

5.

The Iran Nuclear Agreement is more properly called the JCPOA.  What does JCPOA stand for?

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

6.

What does the abbreviation IOPC stand for?  The organisation was formerly known as the IPCC.

Independent Office for Police Conduct

7.

A chess move is recorded as e8N#.  What does this mean?  (Note to QM: upper/lower case matters)

Pawn moves to e8 square, is promoted to knight, and checkmate

(answer must include:  'pawn', 'e8', 'knight', 'checkmate')

8.

A chess move is recorded as Rfxe7+.  What does this mean?  (Note to QM: upper/lower case matters)

Rook on the f file captures on e7 square and check

(answer must include:

'rook', 'on f file', 'e7', 'check')

Sp1

The medical term 'amazia' means absence of what?

Breast tissue

(accept breast)

Sp2

The medical term 'orchidectomy' means removal of what?

Testis

Go back to Round 4 questions without answers

ROUND 5 - Hidden theme

1.

Complete this phrase from the US Declaration of Independence which refers to unalienable rights given to all men by their creator and which governments are created to protect: 'Life, liberty and….'

'..the Pursuit of Happiness'

2.

Known in the US as 'Big Stick Ideology', what term refers to the pursuit of foreign policy objectives by conspicuous displays of power?  The 1850 blockade of Piraeus ordered by the then Foreign Secretary Lord Palmerston was a notable early example.

Gunboat Diplomacy

3.

When asked by Claudius, what does Hamlet say is the name of the play he is about to put on for his uncle?

The Mousetrap

(do not accept The Murder of Gonzago)

4.

What word describes any vehicle with a permanent or semi-permanent pivot joint in its construction, allowing it to turn more sharply?

Articulated

5.

Which 2004 film is well-known for the multiple internet parodies known as ‘Hitler Rants’ in which the scene where the Fuhrer becomes angry as he realises that the war is lost has new subtitles added such that he appears to be reacting to a setback in politics, sports, entertainment or some other aspect of modern life?

Downfall

6.

Manufactured by Unilever and available since 1982, which ice cream lollipop consists of a spiral of pineapple ice cream and lime fruit ice on the outside with a strawberry fruit ice on the inside?

Twister

7.

The Litchfield Hills and the city of Bridgeport can be found in which US state, known as 'The Constitution State'?

Connecticut

8.

By what name was Oflag IV-C better known?

Colditz Castle

Sp1

Tom Cruise’s breakout film, which 1983 movie sees him play a high-achieving high-school student from Chicago who turns his parents’ house into a brothel to pay for repairs to their car?

Risky Business

Sp2

From which Beatles song which appeared on the Revolver album are these the opening lines:

“I was alone, I took a ride, I didn’t know what I would find there.

Another road where maybe I could see another kind of mind there”.

Got To Get You Into My Life

Theme: Each answer contains the name or part of the name of a board game or similar....

Trivial Pursuit, Diplomacy, Mousetrap, Articulate, Downfall, Twister, Connect 4, Escape from Colditz, Risk, The Game of Life.

Go back to Round 5 questions without answers

ROUND 6 - Music

1.

Which orchestral work includes movements entitled Theme, Ysobel, GRS and BGN? (title and composer required)

Enigma Variations by Elgar

2.

Which orchestral piece includes movements entitled The Old Castle and The Hut on Fowl’s Legs?  (title and composer required)

Pictures at an Exhibition by Mussorgsky

3.

Who composed at least part of a symphony while working as a volunteer fireman during a siege?

Shostakovich

4.

Who wrote Music for Strings, Percussion and Celeste and The Miraculous Mandarin?

Bartok

5.

What is the title of this piece of music?  The orchestral parts are shown as a piano reduction.

Rule! Britannia

6.

What is the title of this piece of music?  The orchestral parts are shown as a piano reduction.

Jupiter

(from The Planets Suite - accept I Vow to Thee, My Country but not anything to do with rugby)

7.

Whose third symphony, written in 1976, includes settings for soprano and orchestra of a 15th century lament, a message found scratched on the wall of a Gestapo cell and a traditional folk song?  It became hugely popular in the 1990s, although the composer is known for little else.

(Henryk) Gorecki

8.

Whose seventh symphony is derived from his score for the film Scott of the Antarctic?

Vaughan Williams

Sp1

Which musical instrument is commonly played in soprano, alto, tenor and baritone versions although several others, such as sopranino and bass, also exist?

Saxophone

Sp2

Which work by Britten includes movements entitled Nocturne (Tennyson), Elegy (Blake) and Dirge?

Serenade for Tenor, Horn and strings

Go back to Round 6 questions without answers

ROUND 7 - Run-ons

The last word of the first answer is the first word (or the first part of the first word) of the second answer; for example, innocuous statue and Irish actor would be Venus de Milo O’Shea.

First names and last names of people are required unless otherwise specified - there is some use of homonyms.

1.

1972 single, first hit for Dr Hook and the Medicine Show, whose lyrics consist of a conversation between the singer and Mrs Avery, with occasional and repetitive interruptions by the operator;

1939 anti-war play by Bertold Brecht, set in the Thirty Years War.

Sylvia’s Mother Courage and her Children

2.

Nickname of Mahler’s eighth symphony;

Novel by Khaled Husseini, set in Afghanistan, which sold a million copies in the first week of its release in 2007.

Symphony of a Thousand Splendid Suns

3.

American quarterback who first 'took the knee' during the National Anthem in 2016;

Character played by Hervé Villechaize in the second Roger Moore Bond film

Colin Kaepernick/Nick Nack

4.

Acclaimed British war photographer, knighted in 2017, now 84;

Thick soup made from smoked haddock, potatoes, onions and, in the best versions, cream.

(Sir) Don McCullin/Cullen skink

5.

Fantasy by Tchaikovsky, inspired by the tragedy, recounted by Dante, of a noblewoman who was condemned to hell after falling in love with her brother-in-law and being murdered with him by her husband;

Disney character voiced first by Walt himself and later, from 1986 until her death in 2019, by the wife of the actor who himself voiced the character’s husband.

Francesca da Rimini/Minnie Mouse

6.

The only former member of the House of Commons to have won an Oscar;

Hugely successful married singing and comedy duo, of whom one became a congressman.

Glenda Jackson/Sonny and Cher

7.

Czech novel, set during the Prague Spring of 1968, published in 1984 and filmed in 1988 starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Juliette Binoche;

1979 satirical film starring Peter Sellers as a rather over-promoted horticulturalist.

The Unbearable Lightness of Being There

8.

1986 British film starring Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood, based on a novel by Alistair MacLean;

English translation of the Latin motto of the Manchester Grammar School.

Where Eagles Dare to be wise

Sp1

1951 comedy starring Ronald Reagan and the non-human title character;

Jazz/rock/pop group who became famous in 1968 via Do Not Adjust Your Set.

Bedtime for Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band

Sp2

Aristocratic Scottish actress who appeared in Downton Abbey and Game of Thrones, who in 2018 married her Crow lover from the latter series;

British actor, writer and TV presenter, for a while perhaps best known for his margarine advertisements, who died in 1986.

Rose Leslie Crowther

Go back to Round 7 questions without answers

ROUND 8 - Pairs

1.

Whose poem Resumé ends with the lines:

“Guns aren’t lawful?

Nooses give,

Gas smells awful,

You might as well live”

(Dorothy) Parker

2.

Whose poem The Day is Done ends with the lines:

“And the night shall be filled with music,

And the cares that infest the day,

Shall fold their tents like the Arabs,

And as quietly steal away”?

Longfellow

3.

What scandal links Barrack Obama and Rod Blagojevich, a former state governor?

Blagojevich solicited bribes in exchange for the Senate seat vacated by Obama on being elected president

4.

What links Joe Biden to Neil Kinnock?

Biden was accused of plagiarising one of Kinnock’s speeches

(1987 Kinnoch said he would be "the first in a thousand generations to go to university)

5.

Which Shakespearean character’s last words are:

“And damn’d be him that first cries, 'Hold, enough!'"?

Macbeth

6.

Which Shakespearean character’s last words are:

“No way but this; killing myself, to die upon a kiss”?

Othello

7.

What name links a character in George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with the late John McCrirrick’s first job in journalism?

Sporting Life

8.

What three letter abbreviation links one of the types of file commonly used to store images for display on web pages and a term generally used as a means of expelling a diplomat from a foreign country?

PNG

(portable network graphics and persona non grata)

Sp.

In which opera do the characters Octavian and The Marschallin appear?

Der Rosenkavalier

Go back to Round 8 questions without answers