How Many English Words Do You Actually Know?

[Steve Kroll]

Here's a fun little quiz for all you aspiring lexicographers. I'll warn you ahead of time, this has a bit of a British bent to it. It's also fairly difficult, although it's possible to guess correctly if you are familiar with word origins. I got 27 out of 30, but quite a few were lucky guesses.

How Many English Words Do You Actually Know?

 

[Andy M.]

That was fun. I got 29 of 30. I missed on Emacity #20.

Steve, you're right, I was able to deduce some of the right answers based on my understanding of language. Given a choice of two answers, I sometimes realized it just could not be one of them so it had to be the other.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I missed a few of the sillier ones, like "knabble" and "jiffle." I don't think I've ever heard anyone use some of those words before.

 

[Katie H]

That was fun. My score was 29 of 30, but a great part of my life/career has been spent reading/writing.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Dang I missed 4, but I had never seen the words before and SWAG was not on my side this time.

 

[Dawgluver]

Missed 2, score of 28.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I missed four too. Two of them in the last five words. I think a Squirrel! ran by.

I'll credit any expanse of my vocabulary to a fun, fund-raising website I'll visit occasionally. It's Freerice.com and they donate money based on how many grains of rice you put into the bowl. Each correct answer=10 grains of rice. Well, I'll credit both that website and the nuns I had in Catholic school...

 

[Sir_Loin_of_Beef]

I missed four too. Two of them in the last five words. I think a Squirrel! ran by.

Was the squirrel by himself, or with a big, dumb moose?

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Sciuridae!!!

 

[Cheryl J]

That was fun. 28/30

 

[Somebunny]

It was really fun! I too missed 4. Emacity and Knabble and two other silly ones. Several I chose because I knew what they were not.


Sent from my iPhone using Discuss Cooking

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Steve, I meant to say "thanks" before. This was fun. Anytime you find other stuff like this I wouldn't mind if you shared. Hopefully I'll find it again if there is a next time.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

Sciuridae!!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaAxzIFgNso

 

[CWS4322]

I missed a few of the sillier ones, like "knabble" and "jiffle." I don't think I've ever heard anyone use some of those words before.

I gather you have not had horses...they knabble. It has been a long, long time since I've heard anyone use the word jiffle, but when I used to play scrabble with my great aunt, that was one of her favourite words to play. She'd start with if and then add the other letters her next move. And yes, I got 30/30.

 

[Mad Cook]

Here's a fun little quiz for all you aspiring lexicographers. I'll warn you ahead of time, this has a bit of a British bent to it. It's also fairly difficult, although it's possible to guess correctly if you are familiar with word origins. I got 27 out of 30, but quite a few were lucky guesses.

How Many English Words Do You Actually Know?

26/30

As an English english speaker and an experienced teacher of English I am ashamed to say there are a number of those that I have never heard before. ("Jiffle" is unfair as it's a Norfolk (a county of UK) dialogue word according to Google.)

I think I'm, a bit dense. I couldn't find the answers on the site so had to look things up on Google.

 

[CWS4322]

26/30

As an English english speaker and an experienced teacher of English I am ashamed to say there are a number of those that I have never heard before. ("Jiffle" is unfair as it's a Norfolk (a county of UK) dialogue word according to Google.)

I think I'm, a bit dense. I couldn't find the answers on the site so had to look things up on Google.

That explains where my great aunt picked it up--she taught English in the UK for a number of years.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I should have gotten "knabble"...it is very similar to "nibble" but I reasoned it had to be the other definition since we already had "nibble".

 

[Dawgluver]

I missed knabble too.

 

[Oldvine]

Wow, I'm a Vicious Vocabulary Viper getting 29 or the 30. Thanks that was fun.

 

[msmofet]

27/30