GK Set D Flashcards
What is the name of the Benedictine monk who, according to popular legend, invented champagne?
Dom Perignon
In the Peloponnesian War, the people of which city state, noted for its rigid military discipline, were the enemies of the Athenians?
Sparta
What is the profession of a person with the letters RIBA after their name?
Architect
The city of Stirling stands on the right bank of which river?
Forth
It was widely believed that which crewmember of the Starship Enterprise, who first appeared in 1967, had been added to Star Trek at the request of Pravda?
Chekhov
Which political party folded in June 1990, after polling just 155 votes at a by-election in Bootle and finishing behind the Monster Raving Loony Party?
SDP
Which French painter’s works include The Gleaners and The Angelus, two of the most reproduced paintings of the nineteenth century?
Millet
A rockhopper is a species of which bird?
Penguin
In a well known Anglo-Saxon poem, who kills the monster Grendel?
Beowulf
What was the name of the garden where Jesus was arrested on the night of the Last Supper?
Gethsemane
The musical Blood Brothers is set in which city?
Liverpool
The Aspen or Trembling Poplar belongs to which family of shrubs and trees?
Willow
In 1844, teams from Canada and the USA played the first international match in which sport?
Cricket
Bubbles of which gas are formed in the blood of divers when they get “the bends”?
Nitrogen
Which 2006 Martin Scorsese film starred Jack Nicholson as the gangster Frank Costello?
The Departed
Which city, renowned for its sword making, was the capital of Spain until 1560?
Toledo
Aurora is the real name of the title character in which ballet, with music by Tchaikovsky
Sleeping Beauty
Which Trojan war hero was the son and heir of Priam, the last King of Troy?
Hector
Which delicately flavoured vegetable was once known as “sparrow grass”?
Asparagus
Cassiterite is the principle commercial ore of which metal that has been mined in Cornwall since ancient times?
Tin
The term for which figure of speech, where apparently contradictory terms are placed together, comes from the Greek for “sharp” and “foolish”
Oxymoron
Which creatures form the main part of an aardvark’s diet?
Termites
Sir John Tenniel, is particularly remembered for illustrating the works of which nineteenth century children’s author?
Lewis Carroll
Which county is said to take its name from the Dumnonii, a Celtic people who lived in the area?
Devon
Which television programme featured a family business that was based at Oil Drum Lane, Shepherd’s Bush?
Steptoe and Son
Anne Neville, the youngest daughter of the Earl of Warwick, was the wife of which English King?
Richard III
Which word, derived from the Old French for a “splinter of wood” is used to describe an artist’s workshop or studio?
Atelier
Which free-market economist, who died in November 2006, used the phrase, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch” as the title of one of his books?
Milton Friedman
Which band, formed in Sheffield in the 1980s, took its name from a fictional group mentioned in the Anthony Burgess novel A Clockwork Orange?
Heaven 17
What bodily function is also called sternutation?
Sneezing
What is Archimedes said to have shouted while running naked down the street, after discovering the principle of buoyancy in his bath?
Eureka!
Bornean and Sumatran are the two sub-species of which of the great apes?
Orangutan
The name of which style of art and architecture is believed to derive from the French word “rocaille”, meaning “shell-work” and the Italian word for Baroque?
Rococo
The first Anglo-Saxon settlers in Britain were said to be led by two brothers. One was called Hengist; what was the name of the other?
Horsa
Which Spanish soup, generally served chilled, is produced from a mixture of raw salad ingredients that are made into a puree?
Gazpacho
In November 1963, undersea volcanic action led to the formation of which small island off the southern coast of Iceland?
Surtsey
Which actor, better known for his parts in musicals, received an Oscar Nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Towering Inferno?
Fred Astaire
Which post-war American President, who served for over two years, was never elected either to that office or that of Vice-President?
Gerald Ford
According to the title of Shakespeare’s play, the nobleman Timon was from which city?
Athens
The contact process is an industrial method of manufacturing which acid?
Sulphuric
Johann Strauss the Elder composed a march in honour of which Austrian military hero in 1848?
Radetsky
In Greek mythology, who is the Muse of History?
Clio
In which European language does “muito obrigado” mean “thank you very much”?
Portuguese
What is the common name for the eye condition “hypermetropia”?
Long-sightedness
Which Football League club is named after the day of the week when its original players took a half day off work in order to participate?
Sheffield Wednesday
Which area of Central London, in the borough of Camden, gives its name to the group of writers, artists and thinkers who lived or met there in the early twentieth century?
Bloomsbury
Which classic album by Miles Davis, one of the best selling jazz records of all time, features the tracks “So What” and “Blue In Green”?
Kind of Blue
Glen Moy and Glen Ample are varieties of which soft fruit, widely grown in Scotland?
Raspberries
Which actor, whose first major success was the title role in a television adaptation of Nicholas Nickleby, is the son of a former Attorney General and Lord Chancellor?
Nigel Havers
Which Indian religion, founded in the 6th century BC by Mahavira, lays particular stress on the system of ahisma, or non-violence to any living things?
Jainism
Which Birmingham band topped the UK singles charts in 1983 with “Is There Something I Should Know”?
Duran Duran
Against which country did the USA fight the so-called War of 1812, which actually lasted until the winter of 1814-1815?
Britain
Which Russian-born American artist created the series of paintings Black on Maroon and Red on Maroon, originally intended for a restaurant in the Seagram Building in New York?
Marc Rothko
Turku was the capital of which European country from the 13th century until 1812, while it was under Swedish and then Russian rule?
Finland
Which author created the character Tarzan?
Edgar Rice Burroughs
Which seabird got its name because its presence was believed to be a sign bad weather was coming?
Stormy Petrel
Which type of lager takes its name from the town, now in the Czech Republic, where is was originally brewed in 1842?
Pilsner
In 2005, David Trimble was succeeded as the leader of which political party by Sir Reg Empey?
UUP
What number of the pH scale indicated that a solution is neutral; neither acid or alkaline?
7
Which TV quizmaster is played by League of Gentlemen star Mark Gatiss in the film Starter for Ten?
Bamber Gascoigne
Which rodent with large defensive quills on its body and tail has a name that comes from the Latin for “pig” and “thorn”?
Porcupine
Which word for a person who sets too much value on social standing was originally a slang term for a cobbler?
Snob
Which English artist painted “Rain, Steam and Speed: The Great Western Railway”, which was first exhibited in 1844 and is now in the National Gallery?
Turner
Which Mediterranean island group came under the protection of the British Crown in 1802, and was finally annexed in 1814?
Malta
At the instigation of the Italian-American Civil Rights League, what term is never used in the dialogue of the film The Godfather?
Mafia
A “carioca” is an inhabitant of which South American city?
Rio de Janeiro
Which crooner’s last TV appearance was with David Bowie on the Merrie Old Christmas Show, recorded in September 1977?
Bing Crosby
What general term for blood poisoning is derived from the Greek for “rotten blood”?
Septicaemia
Which BBC TV sports programme was first shown on 11 October 1958 and appeared for the last time on 28 January 2007?
Grandstand
In Greek mythology, which female monsters had live snakes for hair and were capable of turning people to stone?
Gorgons
The dish made from fillet steak topped with truffles, mushrooms or pate and enclosed in a puff pastry case is named after which soldier and statesman?
Duke of Wellington
In which country is the city of Schaffhausen, which was mistakenly bombed by the Americans on April Fool’s Day, 1944?
Switzerland
Which playwright, on being released from prison in 1897, went to live in France under the alias Sebastian Melmouth?
Oscar Wilde
What is the name of the Stone Age village on Mainland in the Orkneys that was exposed by a storm in the 1850s after being covered for thousands of years by sand?
Skara Brae
Who wrote the marches “The Stars And Stripes Forever” and “The Washington Post”?
John Philip Souza
What ins the sinister common name of Amanita Phalliodes, the most poisonous of British mushrooms, which accounts for ninety percent of fungus-related fatalities?
Death cap
In The Simpsons, what is the name of Homer’s tyrannical employer, who owns the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant?
Montgomery Burns
Which crime of buying and selling ecclesiastical benefits is named after the biblical sorcerer who, according to the Acts of the Apostles, tried to buy spiritual powers from Peter and John?
Simony
One of six sisters, who, as co-editor of the volume of essays Noblesse Oblige, popularised the terms “u” and “non-u” for types of speech and behaviour?
Nancy Mitford
Which document was introduced in its modern form, after the passing of the British Nationality and Status Aliens Act of 1914?
Passport
Which Football League team are known as The Chairboys because of the local furniture making tradition?
Wycombe Wanderers
In grammar, what name is given to a word used to connect words, clauses and sentences?
Conjunction
Patsy Cline, Aerosmith, Seal and Gnarls Barkley all had UK hits with different songs that had what title?
Crazy
Which Middle Eastern city was rebuilt on the orders of the Emperor Hadrian in about AD130, and renamed Aeila Capitolina in his honour?
Jerusalem
Which modern French designer’s works include the furniture for President Mitterand’s private suite in the Elysee Palace, the interior of the Café Costes in Paris and the Juicy Salif lemon squeezer?
Philipe Starck
What is the common name for the three species of flightless birds of the genus Apteryx found in New Zealand?
Kiwis
Which cult comedy series starred Craig Charles as Dave Lister, the last human alive?
Red Dwarf
Krk, Cres and Pag are the largest of the Adriatic islands of which country?
Croatia
The drink “Dark and Stormy” consists of a mixture of ginger beer and which spirit?
Rum
What was CP Scott, the former editor of the Manchester Guardian, referring to when he reportedly said “no good will come of this device. The word is half Greek and half Latin”?
Television
Which 1962 Oscar-winning film, starring Peter O’Toole, had no female speaking parts?
Lawrence of Arabia
Which country fought the Great Patriotic War from June 1941 until 1945?
Soviet Union
Which author’s first novel Burmese Days, published in 1934, was based on the time he spent serving with the Indian Imperial Police?
George Orwell
What is the name of the headland at the northwest extremity of Scotland, one of the few British place names with the prefix “Cape”?
Cape Wrath
What name is given to a picture or relief carving on three panels, typically hinged vertically and often used as an altarpiece?
Triptych
Which Florentine family provided the Roman Catholic church with four Popes, and the French monarchy with two Queens - Catherine and Marie?
Medici
In music, what is the general term for a song by a solo performer with instrumental accompaniment, such as one in a opera or oratorio?
Aria
Which monkey gets its name because its cap of hair resembles the cowl of an order of monks?
Capuchin
Who played a successful but world-weary stand-up comedian called Rick Spleen in the TV comedy series Lead Balloon?
Jack Dee
In India, which general term, from a Sanskrit word meaning “accomplish” is given to any religious ascetic, swami or saintly holy man?
Sadhu
Who set up a whiskey distillery in Lynchburg, Tennessee in 1866, which is now the oldest registered distillery in America?
Jack Daniels
What is the singular of the word graffiti?
Graffito
What was the surname of the mother and son who were, respectively, trainer and jockey of the 1991 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Garrison Savannah?
Pitman
Which material, similar in composition to bone, but perforated by tiny canals for nerve fibres and blood capillaries, forms the bulk of a tooth?
Dentine
Who played the title role in the original London production of the musical Barnum?
Michael Crawford
Chittagong is the largest seaport and second largest city of which Asian country?
Bangladesh
The Last Battle, first published in 1956, is the seventh and last in which series of children’s books?
Narnia
On first entering the House of Commons, newly elected MPs are assigned a coathanger with a piece of pink ribbon attached; what is the traditional purpose on the ribbon?
To hang a sword
Who presented the TV series The Tube with Paula Yates from 1982?
Jools Holland
In Norse mythology, what name is given to the hall where warriors killed in battle spend eternity in joyful feasting, presided over by the god Odin?
Valhalla
Which aspect of filmmaking earned Edith Head eight Academy Awards and twenty-seven further nominations between 1948 and 1977?
Costume design
Which bay incorporates two National Parks as part of its shoreline, Snowdonia in the north and the Pembrokeshire Coast in the south?
Cardigan Bay
In which century did the dodo become extinct?
Seventeenth
The album OK Computer topped the UK charts for which band in June 1997?
Radiohead
In 1314, the English army was on its way to relieve the garrison besieged at which castle, when it was defeated at Bannockburn?
Stirling
Rodin’s statue The Thinker was originally conceived as a portrait of which Italian poet?
Dante
In DIY, what term is used for the enlargement of the rim of a drilled hole so that a screw or bolt can be inserted flush with the surface?
Countersinking
According to accepted wisdom, it is best to eat oysters if the name of the month contains which letter?
R
What type of written work did Quentin Crisp describe as “An obituary in serial form with the last instalment missing”?
Autobiography
The title of which novel by Joseph Heller has entered everyday language to describe a no-win situation?
Catch-22
In the Old Testament, how is the Decalogue more usually known?
Ten Commandments
What was the name of the character played by Bernard Hill in the TV drama series The Boys From The Blackstuff?
Yosser Hughes
Which British general and Governor of the Sudan was killed by the troops of the Mahdi at Khartoum in 1885?
Gordon
Which number one 1979 hit by The Buggles was, appropriately, the first video ever played on MTV in August 1981?
Video Killed the Radio Star
What is the common term for the visual defect that is the subject of the Ishihara test?
Colourblindness
Which famous British sculptor was born the son of a miner in Castleford, Yorkshire, in 1898?
Henry Moore
What word of medieval Latin origin means “in exactly the same words as were used originally”?
Verbatim
Which wine is whisked to a froth with egg-yolks and sugar in the Italian dessert Zabaglione?
Marsala
Upon which West Midlands spa town did Queen Victoria confer the title Royal in 1838?
Leamington Spa
Which actress won awards at the Golden Globes in 2007 for playing both Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II?
Helen Mirren
Named after a Yorkshire valley, which is the largest breed of terrier?
Airedale
In 1400, which poet was buried in Westminster Abbey’s St Benedict Chapel, which later became known as Poet’s Corner?
Chaucer
In which year did the General Strike take place in Great Britain?
1926
Which distinctively named football club featured in a famous advert for milk in the 1980s?
Accrington Stanley
Against which city state did Rome fight the three Punic Wars between 264 and 146 BC?
Carthage
By which name is the third movement of Debussy’s Suite Bergamasque for Piano usually known?
Au Clair de Lune
Which country is surrounded by China to the north, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand and Burma to the west?
Laos
Which part of a leaf is known as the petiole?
Stalk
Which pastry, made from very thin dough and most commonly filled with apple, takes its name from the German for whirlpool because of the way it is rolled?
Strudel
What is the longest river in Northern Ireland, with a total length of around eighty miles?
Bann
What term was coined by Newton in the seventeenth century to describe the band of colour formed when a beam of visible white light is split into its constituent colours, and literally means appearance in Latin?
Spectrum
Which insect is commonly referred to in Britain as a Daddy Longlegs?
Cranefly
What name is given to the forced relocation of the Cherokee Native Americans to the Western United States during the winter of 1838-1839?
Trail of Tears
How in the Venetian artist, born Tiziano Vecellio, generally known in English?
Titian
In Scottish folklore, a Selkie is a human on land but takes the form of which marine mammal in the sea?
Seal
What surname links soul and blues performers Ben E, BB and Albert?
King
Haematite is the principle ore of which metal?
Iron
Under what pen-name did Harry Patterson write The Eagle Has Landed and many other thrillers?
Jack Higgins
What did John Steed usually carry in The Avengers?
Umbrella
In mathematics, what is represented by a symbol resembling a figure of eight, lying on its side?
Infinity
Which method of preparing food so that it may be eaten by Muslims means “lawful” in Arabic?
Halal
Which architect died after being run over by a tram in his native Barcelona in 1926?
Gaudi
Which gas, that has the chemical formula HCHO, is used in a solution of water for preserving biological specimens?
Formaldehyde
Which German film actress and singer’s adoption of trousers and other mannish clothes helped launch an American fashion craze in the 1930s?
Marlene Dietrich
The Roman province of Lusitania corresponds approximately to which modern day country?
Portugal
Which Italian word is used for the text of an opera?
Libretto
Khan Younis and Rafah are towns in which territory in the Middle East?
Gaza Strip
In Indian cuisine, what name, derived from a Persian word meaning “fried” is given to a dish of basmati rice mixed with meat, often topped with a thin omelette and served with a seperate vegetable curry?
Biryani
Which Kentish town gives its name to a species of warbler?
Dartford
Which famous racehorse made his debut over fences in the Junior Novices Hurdle at Cheltenham on 18 September 1968, after a short career on the flat?
Red Rum
What name was given by westerners to members of the Mevlevi sect founded in Anatolia because they chanted their ritual prayers with musical accompaniment, while spinning on their left foot?
Whirling Dervishes
Which TV comedy series had the catchphrase “And now for something completely different”?
Monty Python’s Flying Circus
Who resigned from his post of Leader of the House of Commons in March 2003, in protest over the decision to take military action against Iraq?
Robin Cook
Which island was the home of the ancient Greek poet Sappho?
Lesbos
Whose first military success came as the commander of the artillery at the siege of Toulon in December 1793?
Napoleon
Who composed the songs Begin the Beguine and Anything Goes for popular musicals of the 1930s?
Cole Porter
Which disease, one of whose main symptoms is jaundice, is principally transmitted to humans by the bite of the Aedes aegypi mosquito?
Yellow Fever
