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General
Letters

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NATO Phonetic Alphabet
Morse Code
2018 'Best of British' coins
Miscellaneous
Greek alphabet

Letters

In general, this page covers questions where the answer is a letter of the alphabet (or any alphabet).

NATO phonetic alphabet

This alphabet is more correctly known as the NATO spelling alphabet – it isn't phonetic in any meaningful sense.

It's also known as the international radiotelephony spelling alphabet.

A Click to show or hide the answer B Click to show or hide the answer C Click to show or hide the answer D Click to show or hide the answer
E Click to show or hide the answer F Click to show or hide the answer G Click to show or hide the answer H Click to show or hide the answer
I Click to show or hide the answer J Click to show or hide the answer K Click to show or hide the answer L Click to show or hide the answer
M Click to show or hide the answer N Click to show or hide the answer O Click to show or hide the answer P Click to show or hide the answer
Q Click to show or hide the answer R Click to show or hide the answer S Click to show or hide the answer T Click to show or hide the answer
U Click to show or hide the answer V Click to show or hide the answer W Click to show or hide the answer X Click to show or hide the answer
Y Click to show or hide the answer Z Click to show or hide the answer

Morse Code

A Click to show or hide the answer B Click to show or hide the answer C Click to show or hide the answer D Click to show or hide the answer E Click to show or hide the answer F Click to show or hide the answer
G Click to show or hide the answer H Click to show or hide the answer I Click to show or hide the answer J Click to show or hide the answer K Click to show or hide the answer L Click to show or hide the answer
M Click to show or hide the answer N Click to show or hide the answer O Click to show or hide the answer P Click to show or hide the answer Q Click to show or hide the answer R Click to show or hide the answer
S Click to show or hide the answer T Click to show or hide the answer U Click to show or hide the answer V Click to show or hide the answer W Click to show or hide the answer X Click to show or hide the answer
Y Click to show or hide the answer Z Click to show or hide the answer 0 Click to show or hide the answer 1 Click to show or hide the answer 2 Click to show or hide the answer 3 Click to show or hide the answer
4 Click to show or hide the answer 5 Click to show or hide the answer 6 Click to show or hide the answer 7 Click to show or hide the answer 8 Click to show or hide the answer 9 Click to show or hide the answer

Things worth remembering

I don't think I've ever been asked anything about Morse Code, that isn't in this subsection.

Dot dash (•) is A; dash dot (•) is N. (N is the 14th letter of the alphabet – in other words, the first letter in the second half.)

One dot (•) Click to show or hide the answer One dash () Click to show or hide the answer
Two dots (••) Click to show or hide the answer Two dashes ( ) Click to show or hide the answer
Three dots (•••) Click to show or hide the answer Three dashes ( ) Click to show or hide the answer
Four dots (••••) Click to show or hide the answer Four dashes ( ) Click to show or hide the answer
Five dots (•••••) Click to show or hide the answer Five dashes ( ) Click to show or hide the answer

Note: three dashes is the letter O; five dashes is zero. English speakers don't really need to worry about the code of four dashes, as there is very little call in our language for Š (S with a caron).

The only vowel that I haven't mentioned so far in this subsection is U, which is dot dot dash (••). That's unless you count Y, which is dash dot dash dash (‒‒).

Eight dots signifies an error.

Numbers

In Morse, each digit has five symbols. For x between 0 and 5 (inclusive), the code is x dots followed by (5 – x) dashes. For y between 6 and 9 (inclusive), the code is (y – 5) dashes followed by (10 – y dots).

It's not as complicated as this makes it sound – honest! For example, 3 is •••‒‒ and 8 is ‒‒‒••.

2018 'Best of British' Alphabet Coins

In 2018, the Royal Mint issued a set of 26 'collectable' 10p pieces whose reverse sides depicted things that were seen as typically British – one for every letter of the alphabet. The Mint hoped that people would search for them in their change and collect them; alternatively they were available for purchase from post offices, for £2 each or £52 for the set of 26 (no bulk discount!).

In 2020, the coins could be bought on eBay for anything from 99p to £2.50 each, or around £60 for the full set.

These coins were, understandably and quite reasonably, popular for a while with quiz setters. Only time will tell whether (or for how long) their popularity will endure; but I find them quite interesting, so they will stay on my website for the foreseeable future.

A Click to show or hide the answer B Click to show or hide the answer C Click to show or hide the answer
D Click to show or hide the answer E Click to show or hide the answer F Click to show or hide the answer
G Click to show or hide the answer H Click to show or hide the answer I Click to show or hide the answer
J Click to show or hide the answer K Click to show or hide the answer L Click to show or hide the answer
M Click to show or hide the answer N Click to show or hide the answer O Click to show or hide the answer
P Click to show or hide the answer Q Click to show or hide the answer R Click to show or hide the answer
S Click to show or hide the answer T Click to show or hide the answer U Click to show or hide the answer
V Click to show or hide the answer W Click to show or hide the answer X Click to show or hide the answer
Y Click to show or hide the answer Z Click to show or hide the answer

P.S. I don't remember ever finding any of them in my change!

Miscellaneous

One dot in Braille; ". –" (dot dash) in Morse Click to show or hide the answer
Most common letter in written English; one dot in Morse Code Click to show or hide the answer
Distress signal adopted by Marconi 1904, and sent from the Titanic along with "SOS" which was then sent for the first time (CQ was a signal originally used on land, meaning "all stations"; D stood for Distress) Click to show or hide the answer

In many of the following answers – particularly the scientific ones – the case (upper or lower) of the letter in question is significant. In most cases however it would be a harsh question asker who insisted on the correct case being given.

The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne): the letter in question was Click to show or hide the answer
The only vowel that's not on the top row, on a standard keyboard
Commonly used to denote the speed of light Click to show or hide the answer
The base of natural logarithms (approx. 2.718) Click to show or hide the answer
Used as a prefix to indicate an aircraft registered in the UK Click to show or hide the answer
Planck's constant (used to describe the size of quanta of energy) Click to show or hide the answer
The adjective 'zygal' means shaped like a yoke, or like the letter Click to show or hide the answer
Used by mathematicians to denote the square root of minus one (an imaginary number, a.k.a. 'the imaginary unit') Click to show or hide the answer
Identifies British sailing boats Click to show or hide the answer
James Bond's boss – the fictional head of MI6 Click to show or hide the answer
Used as a prefix to indicate an aircraft registered in the USA Click to show or hide the answer
The most common blood group in English speaking countries (A is marginally less common, and more common in some other European countries) – can donate to any other group Click to show or hide the answer
Head of the fictional Research and Development branch of the British Secret Service (in the Bond films; mentioned only fleetingly in the books) – supposedly standing for Quartermaster Click to show or hide the answer
Pen name of Sir Arthur Quiller–Couch
Used in UK vehicle registration numbers, between 1983 and 2001, when the age of the vehicle was unknown
Traditional advice is not to eat oysters except when the name of the month contains an Click to show or hide the answer
In architecture, an ogee is a curve shaped like the letter Click to show or hide the answer
Luncheon is; lunch isn't (according to a convention popularised by Nancy Mitford) Click to show or hide the answer
Said to be repeated in Morse Code by the opening notes of Beethoven's 5th symphony Click to show or hide the answer
1980s TV series about an alien invasion of Los Angeles
Represents osculation Click to show or hide the answer
Described by the Earl of Kent in King Lear as: "thou whoreson … thou unnecessary letter"; Click to show or hide the answer
French political thriller film, 1969, directed by Costa-Gavros and starring Jean Trintingnant, Yves Montand and Irene Papas
The only letter that begins the names of exactly two United Nations member states (two – Oman and Qatar – have unique initial letters)

Letters that are vowels in Welsh but not in English (or in most other languages) Click to show or hide the answer
Click to show or hide the answer

Popular British comedian, and part-time marathon runner, whose surname is an archaic word for the letter Z Click to show or hide the answer

First letter of the Hebrew alphabet Click to show or hide the answer
Last letter of the Hebrew alphabet Click to show or hide the answer

The Greek Alphabet

1. (A)Α α Click to show or hide the answer 2. (B)Β β Click to show or hide the answer 3. (C)Γ γ Click to show or hide the answer
4. (D)Δ δ Click to show or hide the answer 5. (E)Ε ε Click to show or hide the answer 6.Ζ ζ Click to show or hide the answer
7. (H)Η η Click to show or hide the answer 8.Θ θ Click to show or hide the answer 9. (I)Ι ι Click to show or hide the answer
10. (K)Κ κ Click to show or hide the answer 11. (L)Λ λ Click to show or hide the answer 12. (M)Μ μ Click to show or hide the answer
13. (N)Ν ν Click to show or hide the answer 14.Ξ ξ Click to show or hide the answer 15. (O)Ο ο Click to show or hide the answer
16. (P)Π π Click to show or hide the answer 17. (R)Ρ ρ Click to show or hide the answer 18. (S)Σ σ ς Click to show or hide the answer
19. (T)Τ τ Click to show or hide the answer 20. (Y)Υ υ Click to show or hide the answer 21.Φ φ Click to show or hide the answer
22.Χ χ Click to show or hide the answer 23.Ψ ψ Click to show or hide the answer 24.Ω ω Click to show or hide the answer

Xi is pronounced "Chi", where the "ch" is as in "loch" and the "i" rhymes with "tie". "Ki" or "Ksi" (rhyming with "tie" in either case) is usually close enough.

© Haydn Thompson 2017–20