The King William’s College quiz 2023 (2024)

Editor’s note: the King William’s College quiz has appeared in the Guardian since 1951. The quiz is no longer sat formally; it is sent to the schoolchildren and their families to tackle over the Christmas holiday. So yes, you are allowed to Google – however, the questions are constructed to make that less than straightforward. Good luck!

General knowledge paper, 2023-24, No 119, sat by the pupils of King William’s College, Isle of Man

“Scire ubi aliquid invenire possis ea demum maxima pars eruditionis est”

1. During 1923:

1 for what award were Best and Collip overlooked?

2 what notable landmark was achieved at the Rec in early May?

3 the establishment of which international organisation was initiated by Schober?

4 which failed coup d’état led to the leader’s arrest and subsequent trial for treason?

5 which weekly news magazine featured which long-serving congressman on its first cover?

6 which treaty led to the assassination of a signatory and the symbolic amputation of his hand?

7 whose remains were interred, appropriately, close to the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior?

8 in which entertainment was the poet’s recital accompanied by a musical sextet?

9 who took just two minutes to score the first goal at Wembley Stadium?

10 which Manxman enjoyed a unique Douglas success?

2.

1 who was crowned by a lady?

2 who was crowned by a former hermit from a Cheshire village?

3 in a somewhat chaotic ceremony, whose crown was placed back to front?

4 who was crowned at Scone, 10 years before his coronation in Westminster Abbey?

5 which heir presumptive was crowned 19 years before his father’s death, but predeceased him by six years?

6 whose coronation was followed by the unwelcome arrival of Sir John, as messenger, who was then deprived of his garter?

7 who was severely weakened by a complication of hyperuricaemia and had to be carried to the coronation in a chair?

8 which couple were married at Placentia 13 days before their coronation?

9 who was the third monarch to be crowned by the same cardinal?

10 who was hastily crowned with an item of maternal jewellery?

3.

1 whose regal command was ignored by the rising tide?

2 where is there a memorial to Fritha, erected by the son of Thorolf the Red?

3 who led an armada of Jomsvikings and Danes, but died in a battle with his uncle near Uppsala?

4 who entertained his guests with 48 well-fattened acorn hogs and troughs of blood sausage?

5 which couple lived in rented accommodation, established by Erikson, before their eviction by the Skraelings?

6 who, following his death in battle in the East Riding, was offered by the victor perhaps more than six feet of the ground of England, as he was taller than most men?

7 which Manx resident brothers fought on opposite sides near Dublin on Good Friday, without agreement?

8 which system of walls and trenches was built across part of the peninsula as a barrier to the Franks?

9 who met a similar fate to Thomas Becket, in the Danish capital, at Yuletide 146 years earlier?

10 which two rivers enabled the Varangians to reach Holmgård?

4.

1 what started with Figaro?

2 where does a statue recall a fatal accident at Parkside?

3 where was the Dean of the Peculiars identified by “Delacourt”?

4 where, on landing, did “Mr Smith” find overnight accommodation at the Bridge Inn?

5 what destination, in Lydia’s imagination, comprised every possibility of earthly happiness?

6 of which confusingly named establishment might one suppose that Malvolio was an alumnus?

7 which village is fed by bread and wine of, respectively, sweet thought and delight?

8 where can Nassau be seen, looking north from an iron age hill fort?

9 whence did I travel from furnished lodgings to Tameside?

10 where did crocus threads give Percy five in six?

1 jackdaw or raven can roost in the castle

2 listen, Monkey! You’re off to the nearby safari park!

3 after a wee dram, might a beer end the session agreeably?

4 might red torches have illuminated the Bloody Assize Court?

5 away to the west, rosy skies over the herald the setting sun

6 a fine limestone headland, and no dull shopfronts to spoil the Promenade

7 down by the harbour, cogs keep turning in the amusem*nt park

8 welcome to rent tokens scheme available to CATU members

9 if you are lucky, you might get a barn seat at the céilí

10 ask her to mop her table at the beachside cafe

6.

1 Where did the Inkulu receive Isetembiso sami?

2 in which extensive caves is a derivative of Lacaune milk aged?

3 in which cave were Tom and Becky lost for three days and nights?

4 who was blinded by Outis, whose companions were thus able to escape from his cave?

5 where, following the death of Zwart Piet, did the old baboon sleep into death among the bones of his ancestors?

6 in which cave have hexagonal columns led to a legendary association with the Giant’s Causeway?

7 where was the cave where the holy city was allegedly revealed as a bride adorned for her husband?

8 where was the young Muslim doctor alleged to have assaulted Miss Quested?

9 where did the multiparous moon put her lover to perpetual sleep?

10 which cave was bought for the burial of Isaac’s aged mother?

7.

1 where did Mrs Munt board the train following Helen’s letters?

2 which station lies between Bow Street and Northumberland Avenue?

3 where did the short, stout lady board the Milchester train on platform 3?

4 where did the disguised milkman board the moving train following the murder?

5 in the cloakroom of which station did Miss Prism deposit the handbag containing the baby?

6 where had the south-eastern people been warned by midnight following the Martian invasion?

7 where, for almost 125 years, did passengers enter the station through a Doric arch?

8 where did the engine-driver on the high-level platform accept half a crown?

9 where did the train start, carrying Thomas Briggs on his final journey?

10 where did the elderly chess player catch the 5.20 with the doctor?

8.

1 who paid the ultimate penalty for Blue Star?

2 which suspected regicide earned the soubriquet Louve de France?

3 who, in reference to an earlier love, spoke of salad days, when judgmentally green?

4 which widow ruthlessly subjugated the Drevlians after they had killed her husband, Igor?

5 who was executed as a heretic, having proclaimed that Jesus came from the Kongo empire?

6 who made friends with Keir and, after initial rejection, joined the Labour party, but later joined the Conservatives?

7 starting in Kyiv, who travelled via Pinsk, Milwaukee and Denver to Merhavia and beyond?

8 which warrior queen was killed by Thetis’s son, who then fell in love with her corpse?

9 who mercilessly destroyed Colonia Vitricensis, while the governor was on Mona?

10 who indicated that deviation was not an option?

9.

1 in which outrage did the Tipperary captain lose his life?

2 inspired by an event in 1928, where did Márquez locate his massacre?

3 on which cold Alpine meadows did the bones of slaughtered saints lie scattered?

4 which massacre was the subject of a grand opera in which it followed a contentious wedding?

5 where were Catholic clerics murdered en masse following the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels?

6 what name was given to the carnage, one day in August, resulting from postwar demands for parliamentary reform?

7 following la huelga de los 18 peniques, where was a school the site of a massacre of miners?

8 which massacre began with the slaughter of the hospitable hosts at Castle Toward?

9 where did mispronunciation of perejil identify immigrants for genocide?

10 which massacre is remembered annually on 21 March?

10.

1 whose coronation was postponed owing to appendicitis?

2 which pupil’s grumbling appendicitis was successfully treated by Dr Rivers?

3 which Liberal politician lost his parliamentary seat shortly after the loss of his appendix?

4 which showman’s death from appendicitis was attributed to repeated blows below the belt?

5 which doctor carried out a successful appendicectomy on himself at a research station on Queen Maud Land?

6 which home secretary succumbed to a malicious injection of hyoscine during an operation for appendicitis?

7 who, in his autobiography, described the tragic loss of his seven-year-old sister Astri from appendicitis?

8 who developed acute appendicitis shortly after enjoying mussels at Les Sables d’Olonne?

9 who failed to survive Stu’s attempt to remove his appendix at Kunkle fairgrounds?

10 whose stay in Yerwada was abbreviated owing to appendicitis?

11. Who:

1 secured David Balfour’s inheritance?

2 represented Maryk at the court martial?

3 led the plaintiff’s legal team in the Jadwiga libel case?

4 was retained to defend Aubrey following Holroyd’s refusal?

5 dismantled the pathologist’s evidence in the trial of the Hunters Hill GP?

6 was opposed by Sir Arthur Travers when defending Osric Orm?

7 assisted Sir Robert in the defence of the teenage RNC cadet?

8 acted as the representative of Pip’s unnamed benefactor?

9 kept canaries and successfully defended Miss Vane?

10 failed in his defence of Tom Robinson?

12. In which currently independent country:

1 did the last king of Scotland rule?

2 was Isabella shipwrecked prior to meeting Mustafa?

3 did Rose and Allnut launch their abortive attack on Königin Luise?

4 did the half-deflated Victoria plunge like a great bubble over the falls?

5 was Omoro’s son kidnapped by slatees prior to an appalling transatlantic journey?

6 did the Alsatian polymath and Nobel laureate found the hospital that bears his name?

7 were pachyderms pitted unsuccessfully against cavalry, ending 17 years of war?

8 did Montagu Parkinson find the peace-seeking distinguished architect?

9 was Precious guided by the Principles of Private Detection?

10 is there a geographical similarity to San Marino?

13.

1 what is found halfway between Finnea and Cootehill?

2 where did the canal boat leave with a terrible load of turf?

3 where was the fair, where Eileen met McGrath the cattle jobber?

4 where did the fair maids leave in a body their woebegone swains?

5 where was the little hillside farm where I felt the thrill of Danny courting me?

6 in the bog below which town did I recall meeting the long-legged, freckled Francis?

7 whence the eligible suitors following the husband’s departure to glory?

8 where is the eight o’clock excursion train delayed for one hour?

9 where was the man who killed Jack Donahue expected home?

10 where did Denis Dogherty keep “the Running Dog”?

14. Which eponymous manufacturer:

1 introduced Isabella in Bremen?

2 is remembered through a slightly different syllabary?

3 started as a Walsall saddler before going down under?

4 began with bicycles and was in no way connected with sewing machines?

5 was a fraternity, starting with two blacksmiths and a wheelbarrow manufacturer?

6 competed for the Indian team in the TT, but retired following a puncture on the second lap?

7 travelled by sidecar from Vienna to Ostend, outpacing the Orient Express?

8 took a major leap from the early days of the Kangaroo?

9 left the GWR for the hospitality of Malvern College?

10 built his prototype in a sawmill in Carinthia?

15 Which place is particularly associated with:

1 a soup of beans and fermented cabbage?

2 braised cross-cut veal shank served with rice?

3 the original slow-cooked beef in chianti wine, with black peppercorns and garlic?

4 macaroons, combining ground almonds, egg whites, citrus juice and zest, vanilla and icing sugar?

5 fried flattened veal cutlets topped with prosciutto and sage leaves, served with a sauce of olive oil, butter and Marsala?

6 bucatini with a mixture of sardines, anchovies and fennel, together with raisins, pine nuts and saffron, and topped with toasted breadcrumbs?

7 browned pieces of insular rabbit, cooked in white wine with garlic, cherry tomatoes and herbs?

8 hot broth poured on to fried bread topped with a raw egg and grated Parmigiano Reggiano?

9 floured stockfish with onions, anchovies and cheese, slowly cooked in milk?

10 thinly sliced calf’s liver fried with onions?

16.

1 how are gerrids better known?

2 for whom did Ravel provide a vital ingredient for gold?

3 who included a bird trap in his landscape, dominated by skaters?

4 who provided a lasting memory of the minister of Canongate Kirk?

5 along which watercourse did Harriet Melville skate with her invisible friend?

6 which Lambert creation borrowed themes from Le Prophète and L’Étoile du Nord?

7 where was the ice on the boating lake fatally too thin for 40 skaters?

8 where did Evelyn admire the dexterity of skaters in the new canal?

9 where did the son of a Limoges tailor depict his skaters?

10 which province hosts the Elfstedentocht?

17. Known by which given name, what animal:

1 provided nourishment for Ymir?

2 was victorious in a deadly fight with Tunawa?

3 had a taste for game birds, and served as a doorkeeper in retirement?

4 complained that the wild yams were drying up, following failure of the rains?

5 picked up the skipper’s half-smoked cigar and caused disaster on the small green schooner?

6 waddled about by moonlight and enjoyed a diet which included wasps’ nests, frogs and worms?

7 deceived by the smaller Baldy, was denied the analgesic benefits of the sulphur spring?

8 was teased by the jeering Scarl and his mate, not far from Windwhistle Cross?

9 was bought for £2,000 at Kholby?

10 was wet nurse for Rhea’s youngest son?

18. During 2023:

1 which pioneer will sadly flop no more?

2 who has resorted to turning over the pebbles?

3 where did Smith sustain severe stings from Irina and Dmitry?

4 which two events on the same summer’s day brought sadness to both Wednesday and Forest?

5 in what obscure way might it be thought that a Petrel’s gamesmanship caused a Storm in St John’s Wood?

6 in celebration of which vehicle has it been suggested that rivets had been grown from dinosaurs’ knuckles?

7 in which hastily withdrawn publication was Charles described as King of France and Ireland?

8 what act of vandalism has recalled a scene featuring Costner and Freeman?

9 which earlier English monarch has been given 1st Class status?

10 whose swan song ended in South Shields?