Run up to Galaxy Word Games

English Literary Society, IIT Kanpur
Run­up to Galaxy, 2015
WORD GAMES
(Max. Marks ­ 166)
I Substitution Ciphers (2*6 = 12)
A substitution cipher is a pretty basic type of code. You replace every letter with a single other letter in an entire piece of text. This means, if you have your first “E” encoded as an “L”, all of your other “E”s in the message will also be “L”. For example, if we substitute “D” by “W”, “R” by “A”, “I” by “T”, “N” by “E” and “K” by “R”, then
DRINK gets encoded as WATER.
Following are some quotes that have been encoded using substitution ciphers. (Each quote involves a different cipher) Get your cryptography skills at work to decipher them. The name of the person to whom the quote has been attributed has been given (Obviously in the encoded form)
1) BJYQVH RBP HVY BGZBPU IOQHM CBFFQHAUU; ILYYCAOA QU HV CBFFQHAUU ZQYCVLY BJYQVH – Benjamin Disraeli
Ans:
2) DVXJ XJ DYF EHO DYF ETNWU FVUJ VTD EXDY H IHVR, IMD H EYXQKFN –
T. S. Eliot
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3) OCKKCKR CY SHMZW IXSGW, KMW QZYW TXRY. CW'Y RMW WM HX CK WIX
GCRIW ATSFX – Lance Armstrong
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4) XIH OUXJDO XIUX QHBFAHQ BDOXADE DR XIH UJA TJEE FEXJWUXHEL BDOXADE XIH TDAEN – Alexander Graham Bell
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5) SPFLH QLLFG TGFYL YNJ UMHF LOMNTH UOMWO LOFD JP NPL LOFBHFKIFH QNJFGHLYNJ – Plato
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6) YDM OGRRDA CMQLX OPGKGOABK GRX ODMKGTB CU AGNQRT GZGU G VGR'F QRQAQGAQEB GRX QRXBWBRXBROB – Abraham Lincoln
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II Random Trivia (2*6 = 12)
1) Give me 4 letters, say W, X, Y and Z, such that in W_XYZ, if you substitue _ by any vowel, you get a meaningful word.
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2) What is the difference between an egoist and an egotist?
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3) List as many words as you can in which satisfy: a change in a single letter can turn the word from a noun to a verb. (Words which can be used as both nouns and verbs are
not allowed)
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4) Punctuate the following to make complete syntactical and grammatical sense:
that that is is that that is not is not is that it it is
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5) List 5 letter words having 4 vowels. (Bonus points if the vowels are all distinct)
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6) id est and exempli gratia. How do we know these phrases better?
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III Word pyramid (6 + 3 = 9)
1) (0.5 * 11 = 5.5 + 0.5(got all correct) = 6)
_ ­top of parrot
_ _ ­albert einstein's birthday
_ _ _ ­ often a sweet dish
_ _ _ _ ­grand
_ _ _ _ _ ­the britishers wanted this
_ _ _ _ _ _ ­to join by interweaving
_ _ _ _ _ ­mango drink
_ _ _ _ ­ectoparasites that live on scalp
_ _ _ ­false, not a stand
_ _ ­the _ ­a constant
2) (0.5 * 6 = 3)
_ ­an article
_ _ ­dad
_ _ _ ­perfect
_ _ _ _ ­faucets
_ _ _ _ _ ­italian dish
_ _ _ _ _ _ ­to get used to
IV NETSPEAK TRANSLATOR (1*12 = 12)
The following are common (and some not so common) internet abbreviations with
their possible usage. Identify them:
1.) ASLAn enquiry about the person the speaker is chatting with. If you have ever
used omegle.com, you would know this.
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2.)POV
A description of a perspective
Ans.
3.) TMI
An indication of expressing that the speaker has did not need to know what was mentioned.
Ans.
4.)EOD
What office workers desire
Ans.
5) IMHO
To express your point of view, very humbly.
Ans.
6.) GMAB To ask for some time out of the current subject.
Ans.
7.) MMS
A type of technology
Ans.
8.) WYSIWYG
A term that can be used to describe document editors where the final product is exactly what the user can see as the current state. For example, Microsoft Word.
Ans.
9.) LARP
A type of game played physically.
Ans.
10.) WYWH
A psychedelic song by Pink Floyd.
Ans.
11.) BTDT
To say that the speaker knows something because of experience.
Ans.
12.) FTF
To meet a person in reality.
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V Cryptics (2*10 = 20)
1) Sketcher went up to get reward (6)
2) Spooner's cheerful enthusiast will get you across (8)
3) hooded creature from short company underwear(5)
4) breakdown of tissues­ a prize(7)
5) alter warning? (5)
6) she had the oddest waves (3)
7) fixation to end call(4­2)
8) articles of changing times (5)
9) Value of English poet lost for words (5)
10) No piece of furniture is outstanding (7)
VI COLLATERAL ADJECTIVES (1*11 = 11)
“Friendly” is derived from “friends”, “smelly” comes from “smell”, “clouds” make
the day “cloudy”. Hence these noun­adjective pairs are examples of derived
adjectives. A collateral adjective is a noun­adjective pair in which the adjective is
not derived from the word. An example is that “lunar” is an adjective that can
describe the “moon”. Similarly, “mouth” produced things are “oral” and something
related to “bees” is “apian”.
Some nouns can have both derived and collateral adjectives. “Fathers” are
“fatherly” and also “paternal”. A city having “fog” is “foggy” but also
“brumerous”.
Here are some collateral adjectives in one column and derived adjective in another.
Match the collateral adjectives on the left with the appropriate derived adjectives on
the right.
Note that the matching words are not necessarily synonymous. For example, here
“Abecedarian” would match with “Alphabetic”
Abecedarian
Zoic
Visceral
Simian
Amorous
Vernal
Pluvial
Pecuniary
Philatelic
Dextral
Theological
Religious
Abdominal
Right
Postal
Sexual
Alphabetic
Zoological
Religious
Seasonal
Financial
Apely (from ape)
VII Anagrams and Synonyms (2*12 = 24)
Following are sets consisting of 2 words each. You have to give me one word which is an anagram of one of the words and a synonym of the other.
1) decreased, rescued
2) anonymous, salesman
3) hectare, pedagogue
4) patronymic, manures
5) perceives, section
6) scorching, organist
7) article, performance
8) eulogized, diapers
9) refining, violate
10) crotch, stealing
11) toughest, trashed
12) mutilate, eventual
VIII WORDS WITHIN WORDS (2*9 =18)
First you recognize the long word. The rest of the words are hidden in the long
word. The letters are in the same order.
For example, in the first one, ANNOUNCEMENT is the long word and MEN, CEMENT and NOUN are the respective smaller words contained in the long word.
1.) Act of getting something known in public
a) Adult males
b) Substance used in buiding
c.)A word which names something.
Ans.
2.) Planting trees to create jungles
a) Can mean post, position, farm, ranch or even a railway stop.
b)Located at or near the front. Also a golf­related word.
c.)Relax
Ans.
3.) The study of movements of fast lethal objects
a.) A muscular twitch
b.) An array of items written one below each other
c.)An orb of spherical shape.
Ans.
4.) A rite, festival or special occasion.a.) A fair and fixed amount of commodities, distributed to many
b.) Naughty child
c.) Electrically charged atom
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5.) Very delightful and pleasing to the taste
a.) Having the ability for something
b.) To Choose by voting
c.) A common item of furniture
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6.) In some other place
a.) This place
b) To use a needle and thread
c) Which place?
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7.) Showy, bright, richly colored.
a.) Lad
b.) Young sheep
c.) Type of insect
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8.) The art and knowledge of food, culture and eating
a.) Of me
b.) Chemical vapour
c.) The study of heavenly bodies
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9.) Together in agreement, also describes something pleasant to hear (adverb)
a.) To hurt someone or cause pain
b.) Cunning, deceitful, cynically clever
c.) The most useful body part (in my opinion)
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IX WORD QUIZ (3*9 =27)
Without using your internet searching abilities, try to answer to following questions
about words. Most of them would involve guessing the words from the origin.
1.)
X is a notable error in lexicography, an accidental creation, or ghost word, of the G.
and C. Merriam Company's staff in the second (1934) edition of its New International
Dictionary, in which the term is defined as "density".
On July 31, 1931, Austin M. Patterson, Webster's chemistry editor, sent in a slip
abbreviating density as “D” or “d” (specificaly in that order). This was intended to
add "density" to the existing list of words that the letter "D" can abbreviate. The slip
somehow went astray, and the slip was misinterpreted as a single, run­together word.
Id X.
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2.)
Editors of the Oxford English Dictionary have uncovered a use of “___” that
predates the Internet by many decades. Even better, it was deployed, in writing, by
an eccentric British admiral, John Fisher, who was prone to taking offense and
running away in anger.
(“I am unable to remain any longer your colleague ... I am off to Scotland at once
so as to avoid all questionings,” he wrote to Winston Churchill, in May 1915. Prime
Minister H. H. Asquith ordered him back.)
The use of the abbreviation that’s become synonymous with teenagers’ text­speak
comes from Fisher’s memoirs: “I hear that a new order of Knighthood is on the tapis
—“___”— Shower it on the Admiralty!”
Fill the blank.
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3.)
X is a genre of hip­hop music. Unlike the East Coast and West Coast style of hip
hop, X has a high­energy and club­oriented feel. While other hip hop styles might
involve a more conversational vocal delivery, crunk usually involves hoarse chants
and repetitive, simple refrains. Lyrics are based on a rhythmic bounce, which is very
effective in a club environment. The word is sometimes considered to be a blend of
drunk and crazy.
First use:
The first popular figures to use the word were Atlanta rappers Outkast, who in their1993 song and accompanying video "Player's Ball" said, "I gots in crunk if it ain't
real ain't right". But possible origin could be dated to 1993, when Conan O'Brien
used the term X (an apparently invented nonsense word) as a multipurpose expletive
on his television program Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
Ans.
4.) According it an article on cracked.com :
“It's earliest known printed use is in the novel Tropic of Cancer (1934), in which
Henry Miller single­handedly preconfigured much of modern fiction by writing the
sentence "She was lying on the ground with her X in her hands.
Before that, "X" was primarily used as an insult meaning "stupid or childish person"
(possibly derived from the Spanish word "bobo"), a usage that remains to this day
among people who have apparently never heard of the other, better X."
What is being talked about?
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5.)
According to another cracked article
“"X" and "Y" are the sort of words that you immediately recognize as insults, even
though you have no idea what they mean. "X" kinda sounds like "moron," while "Y"
is most likely a penis reference of some sort. It can also mean "nerd." "Y" may not
be the harshest insult ever, but it's definitely one of the most degrading. In Pulp
Fiction, Vincent Vega calls Tim Roth's character a "fuckin' Y," and you can literally
feel everyone in the room lose all respect for the guy.
However, it turns out one of these words was actually a compliment ... and the
other makes you a little bit racist every time you say it.”
Identify X and Y
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6.)
In an interview with science historian Howard Markel about how the word, he said
“It was the brainchild of a wonderful Czech playwright, novelist and journalist
named Karel Capek. He lived from 1880 to 1938. And he introduced it in 1920 in his
hit play "RUR," or "Rossum's Universal _____s.
It comes from an Old Church Slavonic word, which means servitude of forced
labor. The word also has cognates in German, Russian, Polish and Czech. And it's
really a product of Central European system of serfdom, where a tenant's rent was
paid for in forced labor or service.”
What is the word?
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7.)
In an online article on Buzzfeed.com, it says
“Back in the 17th century when people didn’t have cell phones and essentially had
nothing to do except talk about farting, “______” meant to break wind without
making a noise. The word comes from the Old English fisting, which means farting,
and it’s totally related to our word “Feisty,” which is weird.”
Identify!
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8.) “"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo" is a grammatical
sentence in American English, used as an example of how homonyms and
homophones can be used to create complicated linguistic constructs. The sentence
uses three distinct meanings of the word buffalo: the city of Buffalo, New York; the
somewhat uncommon verb to buffalo, meaning "to bully or intimidate"; and the
American buffalo (a species of bison). Paraphrased, the sentence means, "Bison from
Buffalo, that bison from Buffalo bully, themselves bully bison from Buffalo."
Suggest a word in the english language now, that when repeated any number (more
than two) of times, will give a grammatically correct and coherent sentence.
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9.) Add the correct punctuation marks to make the following sound a logically and
grammatically sound sentence.
James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on
the teacher
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X GRAMOPHONES (1*11 = 11)
“Obediency” sounds like “OBDNC”. Hence this word is a gramophone. So are “are”
(“R”) and “essay” (SA).
For each question below, there exists a gramophone whose corresponding letters are
shown below jumbled. Find that word.
For example answer of the first one is “ENTITY”
1.) TNT –
2.) DOT –
3.) MAN –
4.) CMNT ­
5.) BOCT ­
6.) SKP –
7.) STD –
8.) ZJQ ­
9.) LJ –
10.) NPCXD ­
11.) MEN ­
XI A+B=C (1*10 = 10)
Words in the Column A and B join to become the words of Column C. Example, first
one is A­”JUST”, B­”ICE” and C­”JUSTICE”
S. No.
A
B
C
1
ONLY or BY A VERY
LITTLE
FROZEN WATER
FAIRNESS
2
TEASE
SHORT SLEEP
TAKE A PERSON
ILLEGALLY
3
SPRING
AN AMPHIBIAN
CHILDREN'S GAME
4
STYLE
PACE
NOT EXCESSIVE
5
AT THIS TIME
IN THIS PLACE
IN NO PLACE
6
DIFFERENT or EXTRA SHOWING GOOD
JUDGEMENT
OR ELSE; IN A DIFFERENT RESPECT OR
MANNER
7
THE TIME BEFORE THE
PRESENT
THROUGH THE MONTH
RELATED TO GRAZING OR TO DO WITH COUNTRY LIFE
8
FAST
PRECIOUS METAL ANOTHER NAME FOR MERCURY
9
THIS IS USED TO
CONTROL A HORSE
CONDITION
TO PUT SOMETHING BACK WHERE IT WAS, TO
RESTORE SOMEONE'S
POSITION
10
MADE US OF OR
REMAINED ON A CHAIR
ANGER
HUMOROUS MOCKERY OR RIDICULE