Latest questions: 16 November 2021

These questions were inspired by those set for use in Knockout Qualifying Week 9 and the Knockout Quarter Finals and Semi–Finals of the 2012–13 season in Stockport Quiz League, by the Printers (Questions 1 to 14), the Star (15 to 18), the Railway Fliers (19 to 23), the Alexandra (24 to 32) and the Tiviot (33 to 38).

What's the meaning of the word 'lapidation'?		Stoning to death
What's the name of the seventh of the twelve so–called Minor Prophets, whose books are the last twelve in the Old Testament? His book deals with the fall of the Assyrian Empire and its capital city, Nineveh.		Nahum
Which American crime drama television series starred Simon Baker as Patrick Jane, a former bogus "psychic", who used his skills to help the police solve crimes? It was broadcast on Channel 5 in the UK, between 2008 and 2015.		The Mentalist
Who was the first Welsh–born actor to receive an Oscar, winning Best Actor in 1945 for his portrayal of an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend?		Ray Milland
Which body of water is named in Edward Lear's nonsense poem The Pobble Who Has No Toes, as the one that the Pobble was swimming across when he lost his toes?		Bristol Channel
Which American city gives its name to the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean – part of the Puerto Rico Trench – via the US Navy ship that discovered it in 1939?		Milwaukee (Deep)
Which musical includes the songs I Hate Men, I Am Ashamed That Women Are So Simple (changed for the 2019 revival to I Am Ashamed That People Are So Simple), and Bianca?		Kiss Me, Kate
Ten–year–old Mary Lennox is the central character in which classic children's novel – largely set at Misselthwaite Manor, a country house on the Yorkshire moors?		The Secret Garden
Which luxury hotel in Belgravia, near Buckingham Palace, opened in 1910, claiming to be the first hotel in the world with a private bathroom and central heating in every room? The Queen Mother was a frequent guest, and Kate Middleton stayed there before her wedding to Prince William; in 2013 it was granted a royal warrant by the Queen – the only hotel to receive this honour.		The Goring
Which arts complex on the banks of the River Alde, in Suffolk, is best known for its concert hall – one of the main sites of the annual Aldeburgh Festival?		Snape Maltings
Complete this well–known phrase or saying: Needs must when ...		the Devil drives
Which television series started on the Travel Channel in 2008, when it was hosted by Adam Richman? Casey Webb took over as host in 2017, and the series moved to the Cooking Channel in 2019.		Man v. Food
Which artist, born in Dalton–in–Furness, Lancashire (now in Cumbria) in 1734, painted many of the leading society figures of his day – most famously Emma, Lady Hamilton ("his artistic muse")? He died in 1802, in Kendal, Westmorland.		George Romney
Name one of the locomotives that took part in the Rainhill Trials of 1829, apart from Stephenson's Rocket.		Cycloped, Novelty, Perseverance or Sans Pareil
What was the first British group to have a No. 1 hit in the USA?		The Tornados (Telstar, 1962)
Eric Bell (guitar) and Eric Wrixon (keyboards) – both formerly of Them – and Brian Downey (drums) were three of the four founder members of which rock band, formed in Dublin in 1970?		Thin Lizzy
Which song, written in 1869 as a drinking song by Joseph Eastburn Winner, became a classic of the Big Band era after being recorded in 1939 by the Glenn Miller Orchestra?		Little Brown Jug
What is or was the nickname of Eric Haraldsson, who lived in the tenth century AD and was briefly King of Norway, and (equally briefly) twice King of Northumbria?		Eric Bloodaxe
Speed, base, billy, dexies, paste, sulph and whizz are all slang names for which class of drugs, when used for recreational purposes?		Amphetamines
The Masque of Anarchy – described (by Wikipedia) as "perhaps the first modern statement of the principle of nonviolent resistance" was a poem written by Percy Bysshe Shelley in response to which event?		The Peterloo Massacre
Which song, written as a poem in 1915 and set to music in 1938, became popular with troops on both sides in the Second World War after the German forces' radio station began playing it to sign off each evening?		Lili Marleen
In the novel Anne of Green Gables, by L. M. Montgomery, what is Anne's surname?		Shirley
Which club, which added 'Bulldogs' to its name in 1996, won the Rugby League Challenge Cup in its first, second and fifth seasons (1897, 1898 and 1901)?		Batley
Which Gilbert & Sullivan opera features Major–General Stanley and his four daughters (Edith, Isabel, Kate and Mabel)?		The Pirates of Penzance
Now in its twentieth edition, whose Dictonary of Phrase and Fable was first published in 1870?		Rev. E. Cobham Brewer
Which singer and television personality was born Rita Maria Crudgington in 1954?		Cheryl Baker
Which Georgian country house in County Down has been the official residence of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, since the creation of the post in 1972?		Hillsborough Castle
Which poem, first published in 1876 and often described as a "nonsense poem", is described on its title page as "an Agony in Eight Fits"?		The Hunting of the Snark (Lewis Carroll)
Which military historian, and future Member of Parliament, took the theatre director Joan Littlewood to court to get credited for the scenes from his book The Donkeys which Littlewood had included in the satirical musical Oh, What a Lovely War!?		Alan Clark
Which mythological adventure fantasy film, directed by Don Chaffey and released in 1963, is noted for its stop–motion animation by Ray Harryhausen, including an iconic fight scene featuring seven skeleton warriors?		Jason and the Argonauts
Which word for a "natural language" (i.e. one that has developed by simplifying and mixing different languages) is used for one of the two official languages of Haiti, where it's the native language of a majority of the population?		Creole
What links Olivier, Lyttelton, Cottesloe and Dorfman?		Theatres in the National Theatre
Barbe à papa (literally 'daddy's beard') is the French name for what?		Candy floss
In an alphabetic list (by surname and first name) of the current MPs at Westminster, who would come first?		Diane Abbott
Which British–born Hollywood legend starred opposite Marlene Dietrich in Blonde Venus (1932), and opposite Mae West in She Done Him Wrong and I'm No Angel (both 1933)?		Cary Grant
Virginia Wade famously beat Betty Stöve (stove–uh) in the final of the Ladies's Singles at Wimbledon in 1977, but who was the reigning champion that she beat in the semi–final?		Chris Evert
Arequipo and Trujillo (troo–HEE–o) are (respectively) the second and third largest cities in which South American country?		Peru
In Shakespeare's Richard II, which character makes a famous speech lamenting the way England ("this scepter'd isle") has been "rented out" – referring to Richard's policy of leasing land to wealthy noblemen, to fund his wars in Ireland?		John of Gaunt (Duke of Lancaster)

© Haydn Thompson 2021