General knowledge quiz

POT LUCK

1 What was the 2019 Chinese zodiac animal? 2 What is the only English word to end in the letters ‘mt’? 3 In games such as ombre, which playing card is referred to by the term ‘spadille’? 4 The cartoonist Georges Prosper Remi became better known by which pen name? 5 Stark, Targaryen and Lannister are families found in which TV series? 6 What do Scarlett Johansson, Ashton Kutcher and Rami Malek have in common in terms of their siblings?

MUSIC

7 What is the name of the duo who had a 1995 hit with I’ll Be There For You, the theme from Friends? 8 What area in the west of the Highlands is the final Scottish place name to be referenced in the closing lyrics of the Proclaimers’ Letter from America? 9 Carlos Salzedo, Elias Parish Alvars and Henriette Renie are classical musicians associated with which instrument? 10 Which pioneer of the 1970s glam rock movement died in a car accident a fortnight before his 30th birthday? 11 The London stage musical Beautiful celebrated the career of which American singer-songwriter? 12 Which rock band was formed in Devon in 1994 by Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard?

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

13 Which Dickens character, a humble clerk and money lender, ‘had hardly any eyebrows and no eyelashes and eyes of a red-brown’? 14 Becoming is a 2018 book by which US political figure? 15 Cyril, Anthea, Robert, Jane and Hilary encounter which magical creature in E Nesbit’s classic book Five Children and It? 16 Adam Kay’s book This is Going to Hurt is a nonfiction book based on his experiences in which job? 17 ‘These are my New Year’s resolutions: 1. I will help the blind across the road’ is the opening entry in the first of the diaries written by which fictional character? 18 Louise Rennison’s Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging is the first of ten novels featuring the confessions of which teenage girl?

USA

19 In which sport do the Kansas City Royals compete? 20 A facsimile of which national monument was used as the location for the final chase scenes in the Alfred Hitchcock film North by Northwest? 21 Since 1946, which former president has been depicted on the obverse of a dime? 22 The peninsula known as Coney Island is a resort of which city? 23 Hillary Clinton was born on 26 October 1947 in which US city? 24 Which jazz singer is known as ‘the Empress of the Blues’?

FOOD AND DRINK

25 What colour is grenache wine? 26 A traditional feature of Welsh cuisine, what is bara brith? 27 What name is given to a cocktail of vodka and coffee liqueur poured, without cream, over cubes of ice? 28 In which 1968 movie does Paul Newman earn the respect of fellow prison inmates by eating 50 hard-boiled eggs in an hour? 29 Lassi is a flavoured yoghurt or buttermilk drink, often spiced, that originated in which country? 30 In Japanese cooking, what is nori?

Solutions in Monday’s Daily Record