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Listed below are links to weblogs that reference for word geeks:
» Got vocab? from the Limey Brit
Have a go at this, um, compendious vocabulary test, wherein you must identify 200 paired words as having roughly the... [Read More]
» Esoteric ebullience from Snooze Button Dreams
I got 147 out of 200 at the most difficult vocabulary test I've ever taken. (Hat tip to A Small Victory)... [Read More]
» for word geeks
from This Ain't Rocket Science
For what it's worth I got 159 out of 200. It was a fun little quiz, even if some of the words were really far out there. [Read More]
» Huh from Beth's Contradictory Brain
Word Quiz. Wow, I got 154 out of 200. Considering I didn't know what at least half of the words [Read More]
» Word Quiz for Word Geeks from Running at the Mouth
Peep this insanely difficult vocabulary test, which asks of two hundred paired words whether they are (mostly) the same or (mostly) different. I got 161 correct. Link via A Small Victory. [Read More]
» Ministry of Silly Links from Ace of Spades HQ
Kinda fun but very long vocabulary quiz. I got a 165. Nicholas got a 147. Troi stopped doing the quiz in order to chat in the Dawson's Creek Forever forums and renew his subscription to Modern Bride. Thanks to Michele... [Read More]
» Word Classification Test from Fringe
I didn't do so well on this word classification test. I scored 150 out of 200 correct, which I'm guessing is about average. Major disappointment on my part... Via A Small Victory... [Read More]
» 170 out of 200 from Silflay Hraka
I missed one question on the verbal section of my GRE. I missed on 30 on this one. It's pretty damn tough. Link via michele.... [Read More]
» Geeky Vocab Test. from Tim Worstall
Via Michele who got it from the Llamabutchers who got it from ....well, follow the links. It ends up here with a very geeky vocab test. My score? 174 out of 200. I missed most of the greek roots and [Read More]
» Braaaaains from Solonor's Ink Well
Why did I take this test at 8:30 on a Sunday morning? Well, I blame society. And Michele. Mostly Michele.... [Read More]
» Vocabulary Test from Patterico's Pontifications
This is a fairly difficult vocabulary test. My score was 173. Not particularly great. I guessed on a lot of them. I should have studied Greek. (Via Bigwig and Michele.)... [Read More]
Comments
156 out of 200. I'm not an English major, but I did stay (reside, occupy, encamp) at a Holiday Inn last night.
Posted by: JohnO | June 9, 2004 11:43 AM
166, but probably only by luck. I swear I've never even heard of half those words.
Posted by: Dave J | June 9, 2004 11:54 AM
I scored 157, but I think that's only because I'm good at guessing. Is it me, or were most of those words made up?
Posted by: Famous Author Rob Byrnes | June 9, 2004 11:54 AM
I definitely thing there were some made up words there. Backwardation?
Posted by: michele | June 9, 2004 11:58 AM
165, with 24 wild guesses. Science fiction, fantasy, and the Aubrey/Maturin novels are your FRIENDS...
Posted by: DaveP. | June 9, 2004 12:36 PM
143 with 200 wild guesses.
Posted by: Val Prieto | June 9, 2004 12:37 PM
169, dude.
Posted by: Jim Treacher | June 9, 2004 12:46 PM
Backwardation?
It's a perfectly cromulent word...
Posted by: Big Brother | June 9, 2004 12:52 PM
171. And I recognized, if not all of the words, almost all of the roots. So I think they were all valid, if a bit archaic.
Posted by: Keiran Halcyon | June 9, 2004 01:02 PM
165 out of 188 (left 12 blank) and I would like to offer a second on the reading of Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and (in my case at least) Latin - they are your friends indeed.
Posted by: Robert Modean | June 9, 2004 01:06 PM
158, with one blank.
My brain hurts.
Posted by: Keith | June 9, 2004 01:07 PM
159 Woo hoo.
Posted by: Faith | June 9, 2004 01:19 PM
160/200. And they spelled "persnickety" wrong on number 45. How ironic.
Posted by: Skillzy | June 9, 2004 01:30 PM
I scored 173.
Do I get a free coffee or something?
Posted by: Ray | June 9, 2004 01:38 PM
153.
Thank you, Mom, for always telling us to "look for the Latin root". But I'll be danged if I can tell you what a lot of those words meant.
Posted by: Trish | June 9, 2004 01:43 PM
According to The Word Detective:
But while "persnickety" first appeared in the U.S. in the early 1900s, its root are considerably older and not American at all. "Persnickety" arose as a mutation of "pernickety," which appeared in Britain around 1800, and which, in turn, was probably derived from the Scots word "pernicky," also meaning "fussy." Theories vary as to where "pernicky" came from, but the Oxford English Dictionary suggests that it may have arisen from children's attempts to pronounce the word "particular."
www.word-detective.com/112402.html
Posted by: Trish | June 9, 2004 01:49 PM
147. I need a nap.
Posted by: Jim | June 9, 2004 01:49 PM
Wow, Trish is more pernickety than I am! I stand corrected. From now on, I refuse to take tests that aren't in American.
Posted by: Skillzy | June 9, 2004 01:54 PM
Nah, I'm not per(s)nickety, really.
Now if you'll excuse me, it's time to alphabetize the spice cabinet.
Posted by: Trish | June 9, 2004 02:27 PM
That took forever, my printer wouldn't work.
I guess I did alright. There were 30 I was iffy about.
I missed 12 of those 30 - About half were a total coin toss. (
I'm exposed to a lot of works with archaic language from the eighteenth century, and took a lot of Latin, and used to evaluate medical/surgical records for a living.
I do NOT have any kind of super-high IQ. I'm bright normal and that's it.
Posted by: SarahW | June 9, 2004 02:29 PM
173 - and I'm not sure I agree with Myrmidon and Minion being synonymous, but they sure aren't opposites.
Posted by: SparcVark | June 9, 2004 02:30 PM
Don't worry Michelle, your not the least wordy person here.
136 out of 149 with 51 wild-ass guesses.
Oh, the ignobleness of it!
Posted by: Steve | June 9, 2004 02:40 PM
Still, I agree with Michele on this: no one's definitely proven that "backwardation" is a real word.
Posted by: Dave J | June 9, 2004 02:41 PM
"Backwardation" is a real word to commodities buyers.
If you have a contract to buy or sell pork bellies or oil, in the future, but you would get a better price selling it right this minute, that's backwardation (sort of).
It's important because your wife won't contango with you if you lose money in the commodities market.
Posted by: SarahW | June 9, 2004 03:00 PM
Backwardation
Posted by: cole | June 9, 2004 03:01 PM
161.
Damn, there are a lot of smart bloggers out there.
Posted by: Mark Poling | June 9, 2004 03:20 PM
163. Latin and Greek would be more useful than English.
Posted by: charles austin | June 9, 2004 03:56 PM
168. Not best, and not bad, I'm sure.
Posted by: Ed Falkner | June 9, 2004 04:13 PM
169, though I had a few quibbles. There were some pairings where the meanings were not the same, but they were not technically opposite.
Posted by: Dr. Kate | June 9, 2004 04:19 PM
167. I took the test while on a conference call involving a totally confusing bankruptcy problem. I hate conference calls. I knew the backwardation/contango thang from representing commodities brokers. It's kind of specialized, as others have noted.
Posted by: Random Penseur | June 9, 2004 04:21 PM
179. But I chalk that up to the fact that (1) I am THE word geek (I'm actually surprised I didn't do better) and, probably more importantly (2) I am a biologist and a LOT of those terms are used in botany and zoology (like glaucous, meiosis, hybrid vigor...)
Posted by: ricki | June 9, 2004 04:56 PM
170, but I recall taking this test a year? two? ago, so it's not like the first time I've done it. I was once an English major.
Posted by: teep | June 9, 2004 06:26 PM
Wooo-hooo!
168!
I live up to my title:
N.O'Brain
Imperial Minister for Useless Knowledge
Posted by: N. O'Brain | June 9, 2004 06:34 PM
164! And I dropped out of English after my sophomore year!
Posted by: stick | June 9, 2004 07:02 PM
185/200. Computer programmer. Former Mensa member. :smirk:
Posted by: Jim C. | June 9, 2004 11:23 PM
182 -- but I was rushing toward the end -- time to get the kid to sleep. Oh, and I'm an English professor.
Posted by: Warren | June 9, 2004 11:44 PM
162 -- I fell asleep 3 times while taking the test. Some of those words are way obscure.
I think I'll give the list to my ESL students, they don't hate me enough yet.
Posted by: Pale Infidel | June 10, 2004 12:27 AM
171 -- Electrical engineer. Haven't had an English class since high school (11 years ago). Then again I also do competitive trivia...
Posted by: Jody | June 10, 2004 12:51 AM
150, Economics major but I missed the backwardation one, thanks a lot Everquest.
Posted by: Postman Adil | June 10, 2004 01:19 AM
180-unemployed drunk.
Posted by: James | June 10, 2004 03:06 AM
You got 163 out of 200 correct.
Unemployed sysadmin and aspiring word nerd. Lots of wild guessing.
=darwin
Posted by: Darwin | June 10, 2004 05:52 AM
166 out of 200 with more wild guesses that I like.
I also read loads of sci-fi.
This is NOT an intelligence test, though intelligence helps. It's a knowledge test.
My favorite saying: Eschew obfuscation.
Bolie IV
Posted by: Bolie Williams IV | June 10, 2004 09:44 AM
160. But I'm one of those people you hate that test well due to knowing how to optimally guess. I had a ton of wild guesses.
And if this latecomer-to-language skills (genetic defect--Dad's an Ivy math and comp sci professor and I wasn't encouraged toward non-productive skills like learning to write a coherent paragraph) got that, I bet Steve H of Hog On Ice beats us all.
Hey Val... nag Steve. I'll do same.
Posted by: Aaron's Rantblog | June 10, 2004 09:49 AM
But, Michele, it ain't the size of the word, it's the motion of the notion.
I suspect that I read your blog more than all the other high scorers combined. It's what you do with the words.
Posted by: Aaron's Rantblog | June 10, 2004 10:03 AM
Oh... and do they actually still teach English in English departments these days? Coulda fooled me.
I'm working on a post where I have links to the faculty pages of all the Ivy League English departments.
Finding someone who isn't pushing a political agenda is tough.
Anyone hear of anything Edward Said (or his replacement, Khalidi) did concerning forwarding scholarship in the English language since Carter was President? Columbia, aka "Bir Zeit on the Hudson", is notorious for taking all the Poli Sci hacks who couldn't fit in that department and jamming them into the English department in order to "mold the writing of" (politically indoctrinate with anti-American poison) our "best and brightest".
Posted by: Aaron's Rantblog | June 10, 2004 10:07 AM
Man, 157. I feel so inadequate. On the other hand, any of you ever been on a quiz show?
Posted by: Eddie | June 10, 2004 10:49 AM
170, no guessing, and I've never been on a quiz show. I don't think there were any made up words, just a ton of obscure and very old stuff.
Whew. Tough test.
Posted by: zomb(ie)boy | June 10, 2004 11:54 AM
168, 61 wild guesses. That's right on the 50th percentile, according to his records. (rude noise)
I second the comment on the benefits of reading science fiction.
Posted by: Daniel Day | June 10, 2004 03:27 PM
Eddie... not a quiz show but my wife and I were on the Newlywed Game... and we won.
No, I wasn't the guy who answered "In the butt, Bob."
We were on the second incarnation of the show with Paul Rodriguez as the host. Very nice guy and his best stuff was off the air.
Won a Broyhill living room set "chosen especially for us!"
Posted by: Aaron's Rantblog | June 10, 2004 03:36 PM
I managed 183 out of 200, but 18 (Eighteen!!) wild guesses. But I write technical documents for a living, so perhaps I should have recused myself...
Posted by: Nicholas | June 10, 2004 03:59 PM
147, while battling a migraine...
Posted by: mhking | June 10, 2004 04:10 PM
114, the rest of you are nerds
Posted by: wafflestomper | June 10, 2004 04:34 PM
181 out of 200 2 guesses
Posted by: creatively evil | June 10, 2004 04:36 PM
143. Apparently I'm dumber than a box of rocks.
Posted by: Clancy | June 10, 2004 04:59 PM
Well, at least someone else is familiar with Maria Muldaur.
Posted by: charles austin | June 10, 2004 05:45 PM
164. Math, Chemistry, and Computer Science. English majors can bite my shiny metal ass. =)
Posted by: Robin Goodfellow | June 10, 2004 07:05 PM
184 / 200. Poli Sci, and an M Div. The Greek helped.
Posted by: Matt Powell | June 10, 2004 07:31 PM
158, with half o dozen guesses. But, I am a high school dropout.
Posted by: ged | June 10, 2004 08:40 PM
161 out of 200 correct, 31 wild guesses. Math major, now IT geek.
Allow me to add to the recommendations of all that put down sci-fi and fantasy (with huge helpings of history).
Posted by: Mike | June 10, 2004 08:49 PM
153 but being a retired Sailor and quite comfortable with a bottle of rum, lo these many years..I can live with that score.
Posted by: Guy S. | June 10, 2004 11:02 PM
175 Retired chemical engineer.
Posted by: Ernie G | June 11, 2004 08:32 AM
162/200, including 20 wild guesses. Tough.
Posted by: Dodd | June 11, 2004 11:23 AM
173, I think I'm kind of good at the wild guessing. Planning to put up my first fisking sometime tonight, Reagan related.
Posted by: Dave Munger | June 11, 2004 08:06 PM
168 - I need to get out more.
Posted by: Tina | June 11, 2004 10:10 PM
I link to you... 154, no wild guesses (other than same or opposite) I left one blank (eye's must have been crossed.)
Posted by: ken anthony | June 12, 2004 12:13 AM
174 out of 200. Missed most of the Greek roots and the biology stuff.
Backwardation and cotango? Ah well, an Econ graduate. Got that.
I'm also English english and I'm not 100 % sure that we have the same language although at this level of detail perhaps we do.
Posted by: Tim Worstall | June 12, 2004 08:34 AM
174 out of 200 as well. Computer programmer/sysadmin. I blame my voracious reading habit, and concur with the comments about science fiction and the Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin novels.
Posted by: Robin Munn | June 14, 2004 02:18 PM
180. Math/Computer Sci undergrad. Law degree, practicing enviro. lawyer.
tough test.
Posted by: fdl | June 18, 2004 06:58 PM