Words! Words! Words!

A Science Shocker, a Gold Stalker, and a Folk Rocker

Posted by Phil Jamieson   Jul 25, 2017 7:30:00 AM

Bob DylanOn this day in 1978, the world’s first test tube baby was born. In 1897, Jack London left for the Klondike to join the gold rush, where he would write his first successful stories, among them The Call of the Wild. In 1965, singer-songwriter Bob Dylan rocked the world of folk music when he performed at the Newport Folk Festival in Rhode Island and abandoned his acoustic guitar for an electric one. By going electric, Dylan eventually moved rock and folk music closer together. He also infused rock and roll, known then for its mostly lightweight lyrics, with a more intellectual, poetic sensibility.

Take our vocab quiz and … see if it’s you, babe.

1. cheechako

(a) gold mine

(b) brown bear

(c) tenderfoot

(d) Alaskan salmon 

2. Inupiat

(a) a large brown bear of the southern coast of Alaska and adjacent islands

(b) a Dall sheep

(c) a member of the Eskimo people of northern Alaska

(d) a sled dog of northern North America

3. troubadour

(a) a folk song

(b) a bass stringed instrument resembling a guitar

(c) one who makes stringed musical instruments (as violins or guitars)

(d) a singer especially of folk songs

4. wah-wah

(a) a fluctuating muted effect produced on a brass instrument by use of a mute or on an electric guitar by use of an electronic device connected to an amplifier and operated by a pedal

(b) a Hawaiian guitar

(c) slang name for an electric guitar

(d) Dylan’s first song title (never released)

5. Dylan’s axe at Newport in '65

(a) Gibson Lectroblue

(b) Fender Stratocaster

(c) G&L Tribute

(d) Epiphone Casino

6. in vitro (literally)

(a) in glass

(b) in water

(c) in sight

(d) in suspension

7. ideate

(a) to derive or induce (a general conception or principle) from particulars

(b) to form the conception that an abstract term names an independent and unitary reality

(c) to form an idea or conception of

(d) deduce by quick, alert, clever conception, comprehension, or resourcefulness

8. lobo

(a) gray wolf

(b) coyote

(c) hyena

(d) bear cub

9. galosh

(a) an anchor (as a metal plate) buried in snow and used (as in mountain climbing) to secure a rope

(b) a high overshoe worn especially in snow and slush

(c) a great rise or overflowing of a stream caused by heavy rains or melted snow

(d) to slide in a standing or squatting position down a snow-covered slope without the aid of skis

10. auctorial

(a) of or relating to an actor

(b) of or relating to a miner

(c) of or relating to a balladeer

(d) of or relating to an author

 

 

Correct answers:

1c; 2c; 3d; 4a; 5b; 6a; 7c; 8a; 9b; 10d

 

This song’s for you:

Score Comment
All 10  Million Dollar Bash
7-9 Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
4-6  Blowin’ in the Wind
2-3 If You Gotta Go, Go Now
0-1 Everything Is Broken

 

Intro text: history.com

Definitions: Merriam-Webster 11th Collegiate Dictionary

 

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Topics: vocabulary test, vocabulary

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