Quiz created: 081027

Campaign Words 08

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The current election campaign has involved a lot of phrases that have been seasonally popular both with the candidates and with the "talking heads" who discuss them. Sometimes the speakers seem unaware of the non-political meanings, or sometimes original meanings, of the words they use. (And the result can be funnier than they intend.) What do the following words actually (or originally) mean?
1. Relentless
without thought  without apology  without yielding  without money  No Answer
2. Energize
electrocute 
invigorate 
use as a battery 
terrify 
torture 
No Answer
3. Meltdown
conversion of ice into water, diluting a beverage and weakening its flavor 
functioning principle of an old-fashioned, pre-electric refrigerator, cooled by a block of ice at the top 
overheating of the core of a nuclear reactor 
loss of polar glaciers 
No Answer
4. Crony
criminal associate 
donor 
long-time friend 
sneaky adviser 
elderly adviser 
fellow-investor 
No Answer
5. Toxic
having a bell-like sound 
strongly poisonous 
containing unanticipated levels of stored energy 
partially concealed 
No Answer
6. Morale
virtue 
willingness to follow the leader 
valley carved by a glacier 
up-hill path out of a valley 
relating to North African muslims 
state of contentment 
No Answer
7. Patently
clearly 
uniquely 
customarily 
shockingly 
stupidly 
under copyright 
No Answer
8. Holy Grail
the cup used by Jesus in the Last Supper 
a covering used to hide a sacred object from the gaze of the masses 
a decorative wall between the priest and the congregation 
the top council of elders in medieval church organization 
No Answer
9. Precipice
beginning of a new era 
dangerous cliff 
upward slope 
economic downturn 
class differential 
No Answer
10. Condescending
walking down the same path 
deteriorating 
patronizing 
losing market share 
reaching a common position or compromise 
No Answer
11. Aisle
dangerous electric fence 
walkway in a theatre or gathering place 
island 
river marking the border between countries 
political disagreement 
No Answer
12. Disingenuous
uninformed  out of date  worn out  insincere  stupid  No Answer
13. Maverick
a donkey painted to look like a zebra and exhibited in carnivals 
a purse made of homey pigskin rather than effete silk 
a kind of snake characterized by a striking change of color when it sheds its old skin 
an untended and unbranded range animal (usually a young calf), traditionally regarded as the property of the first person to catch and brand it 
No Answer
14. Litany
long list, especially of complaints 
long list, especially of accomplishments 
pretentious language designed to confuse a jury 
prayer composed of alternating petitions by a leader and responses by the congregants 
victor's crown made of oiled laurel leaves 
No Answer

      Points out of 14:

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This consummately cool, pedagogically compelling, self-correcting,
multiple-choice quiz was produced automatically from
a simple text file of questions using D.K. Jordan's
dubiously original, but publicly accessible
Think Again Quiz Maker
of October 6, 2008.