Reader’s Digest UK – August 2019

BY EMILY COX & HENRY RATHVON

Finally, a quiz dedicated to plain ol’ fun! Inspired by The 100 Funniest

Words, by Robert Beard, these picks are a mouthful. Enjoy weaving them

into your dinner-table conversation tonight. Answers on next page

AUGUST 2019 • 133

FUN AND GAMES

IT PAYS TO INCREASE YOUR

Word Power

1. flummox v.—A: laugh out loud.
   B: confuse. C: ridicule.


2. crudivore n.—A: foulmouthed
   person. B: garbage can. C: eater of
   raw food.


3. hoosegow n.—A: jail. B: scaredy-
   cat. C: strong liquor, usually
   moonshine.


4. mollycoddle v.—A: treat with an
   absurd degree of attention. B: mix
   unwisely. C: moo or imitate a cow.


5. donnybrook n.—A: rapid stream.
   B: wild brawl. C: stroke of luck.


6. cantankerous adj.—A: very sore.
   B: hard to deal with. C: obnoxiously
   loud.


7. codswallop n.—A: the sound
   produced by a hiccup. B: rare
   rainbow fish. C: nonsense.


8. doozy n.—A: extraordinary, one

of a kind. B: incomprehensible song.

C: double feature.

9. discombobulate v.—A: taken
   apart. B: fail. C: upset or frustrate.


10. hootenanny n..—A: group of owls.
    B: folksinging event. C: child’s
    caregiver.


11. yahoo n.—A: overzealous fan.
    B: pratfall. C: dumb person.


12. kerfuffle n.—A: failure to ignite.
    B: pillow or blanket. C: disturbance.


13. absquatulate v.—A: abscond
    or flee. B: stay low to the ground.
    C: utterly flatten.


14. skullduggery n.—A: Shakespearean
    prank. B: underhanded behaviour.
    C: graveyard.


15. flibbertigibbet n.—A: silly and
    flighty person. B: snap of the fingers.
    C: hex or curse.