Great Brain Quiz 120

Main Page

( ) % of correct answers (including tie breakers) when section attempted

  1. David Janssen (99) TV series "The Fugitive"
  2. Leos Janacek (99) Czech composer of the opera "The Cunning Little Vixen" among others
  3. Samantha Janus (99) actress whose "A Message to Your Heart" came 10th in 1991 Eurovision Song Contest
  4. Famke Janssen (97) "Xenia Onatopp", ally of baddie Sean Bean ("006") in Bond film "Goldeneye" (1995)
  5. Karl Jansky (99) 1905-1950, pioneer in radio astronomy. I'd explain what a "Jansky" is if I understood!
  6. Lee Janzen (98) winner of US Open in 1993 + 1998
  7. Richard I (100) who married Berengaria at Limasol on 12 May 1191. She never once came to England
  8. Jacqueline Kennedy (100) married Aristotle Onassis on his island on 20 October 1968
  9. Titania (96) sorry, not Oberon which is very similar in size admittedly
  10. Espalier (98)
  11. Gilda (99) the song "sung" by Rita Hayworth as "Gilda" in the 1946 film. The name of "Rigoletto"s daughter
  12. Janissary (99)
  13. Lleyton Hewitt (99) tennis star who won the US Open in 2001 and Wimbledon in 2002
  14. Jane (99) lives on in "Jane's Fighting Ships", "Jane's All the World's Aircraft"
  15. Janet Leigh (99) in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"
  16. Yvonne Arnaud Theatre (99) in Guildford
  17. Pelican (98) renamed "Golden Hind" in August 1578 to flatter Sir Christopher Hatton, one of the funder's of the mission, whose coat of arms carried an emblem of a golden hind
  18. Puffin Crossing (90) ie Pedestrian User-Friendly Intelligent
  19. Defacing library books (98) with his partner Kenneth Halliwell who later murdered him
  20. Brass (100)
  21. Sheila Allen (80) who played Anne in the pilot episode of "The Onedin Line" on 7 December 1970. She was replaced, for whatever reason, by Anne Stallybrass in the series proper
  22. Lord Guilford Dudley (40) the equally young husband of Lady Jane Grey. She herself was beheaded later in the day in a private ceremony on nearby Tower Green
  23. Turnips (95) in "The Sun" after a depleted England side had lost to Sweden in the European Cup Finals
  24. January (80) Don January. Ryder Cup 1965 + 1977. Won USPGA in 1967. Runner-up in 1961 + 1976
  25. February (97)
  26. Jo March (90) in Louisa May Alcott's "Little Women"
  27. Saddam Hussein (99) High Value Target, as the Americans categorise their foes
  28. 1st Viscount Tenby (90) for Gwilym Lloyd-George (1894-1967), son of David who was 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor
  29. Hexameron (66)
  30. Princes (98) other answers were accepted
  31. Virtual Greyhound Racing (85) in betting shops. Just as dodgy as the real thing from a punter's perspective!
  32. Jackson Pollock (88) "Full Fathom Five"
  33. Polythene Pam (95)
  34. Leonardo di Caprio (80) whose mum was looking at a Leonardo da Vinci work in the Uffizi Museum
  35. Mambo/ Samba (99) mamba
  36. John Byrom (95) a 17th/18th century writer and poet. He introduced these characters in a poem which he wrote to satirise the ongoing feud between supporters of the composers Bononcini and Handel
  37. Susie (85) the better known "Jane" had strutted her stuff since 1932 in the Daily Mirror but when Pett retired/was replaced there, he carried on working with a similar character, but in the Sunday Dispatch
  38. The operatic debut of Caruso (98) the only reason this opera by Morelli is still remembered
  39. Janet (60) after Janet Street-Porter (rhymes "quarter")
  40. Thin Lizzy (90) he was Phil Lynott who married Caroline Crowther (daughter of Leslie) in February 1980
  41. Sir Robin Janvrin (70) The Queen's Press Secretary 1987-1990. Now the Queen's Private Secretary
  42. The Gabba (95) Brisbane Cricket Ground at Vulture Street, Woolloongabba, Brisbane
  43. Rin Tin Tin (97) the most famous canine star of all, he died while being comforted by actress Jean Harlow who was owner Lee Duncan's next door neighbour. He was first buried in his garden but is now in a pet cemetery in Paris, in the land where Corporal Duncan had found him in the trenches with his mother and the rest of her litter
  44. Ayesha Castle (75) the "She" of H Rider Haggard's famous 1887 novel and a sequel in 1905
  45. Domenico Scarlatti (90) as catalogued by the leading American harpsichprdist Ralph Kirkpatrick and published in the 1950's
  46. The Fugitive's running (90) the date of the final episode of "The Fugitive" when Janssen caught up with the one-armed man and justice was served. "The day the running stopped" was narrated, as were all the episodes by bulky actor William Conrad
  47. P (55) for Platinum. Wedding anniversary gifts. P = Pearl = 30; D = Diamond = 60; C = 15 = Crystal; S = Sapphire = 45; T = 10 = Tin; R = Ruby = 40; I = 14 = Ivory; P = 70 = Platinum. "Casablanca" hint refers to song "As Time Goes By"
  48. Robert Leroy Parker (90) better known as Butch Cassidy
  49. Hill House (70) near Harrods. The Ryan Price-trained horse won the Schweppes Gold Trophy Hurdle at Newbury by 12 lengths showing vastly improved form. Eventually it was decided that he manufactured his own dope!
  50. Maureen O'Hara (60) married George Brown (1938-1941); Gen. Charles Blair (1968-1978)
  51. Janet Reno (96) first woman Attorney General in USA
  52. Jancis Robinson (98) TV presenter and writer on wine
  53. Janis Joplin (98) blues singer who died of a heroin overdose
  54. Janette Scott (100) actress daughter of Dame Thora Hird
  55. Jane Birkin (94) actress and singer mainly appearing in continental films
  56. Jane Merrow (80) appeared in films and guested in TV series such as "The Baron", "The Saint", "Danger Man", "The Prisoner"
  57. Daughter of DARKNESS (70) with Honor Blackman in the cast and also Barry Morse ("Inspector Gerard" in "The Fugitive")
  58. Of Human BONDAGE (92)
  59. Justin ROSE (92) British golfer who as an amateur was joint fourth at Royal Birkdale in 1998
  60. JASPER Carrott (98) she being Lucy Davis, his real surname
  61. King COTTON (90)
  62. Sean BEAN (94) one tattoo reads nine in "elvish" The nine cast members in the "Lord of the Rings" film trilogy who were in the so called "fellowship" all had one done. The other reads "100 percent Blade", ie Sheffield United
  63. The Tenant of Wildfell HALL (100) Anne Bronte
  64. LILY Pons (94) shot to stardom after her 1931 debut at the New York Met as Lucia de Lammermoor in the Donizetti opera. Lilypons is in Maryland
  65. Ezra POUND (96)
  66. Words that make up two word phrases when preceded by "Egyptian" (60)
  67. Down Among the Dead Men (74)
  68. Sherwood (98) Sherwood Forest; played at the Sherwood Country Club in California; film based on Robert E Sherwood's play "The Petrified Forest", the film version of which made a star of Humphrey Bogart
  69. H (86) first letter of Lundi; second letter of Mardi; third letter of Mercredi etc, being days of the week in French
  70. Major Robert Cain; Jeremy Clarkson (94)
  71. Tony Jacklin (98) 16th hole at Sandwich, Royal St George's in the 1967 Dunlop Masters
  72. Praseodymium (100)
  73. Quality Street Kids (92)
  74. Gilderoy (80) "Gilderoy Lockhart", the inept "Defence Against the Dark Arts" teacher
  75. Ouroene (96) a mare who ran 124 times, with two 2nds and seven 3rds, in Australia from 1976 to 1983
  76. William E "Pussyfoot" Johnson (86)
  77. Jansci (84) "The Last Frontier" by Alistair Maclean
  78. Moscow Dynamo (98) who attracted and dazzled huge crowds on their short tour to Britain
  79. Sean Connery (92) won Empire Magazines "Worst Movie Accent Award" for his Irish cop in "The Untouchables". Bit harsh as he got a "Best Supporting Actor" Oscar. Not as bad as Dick Van Dyke's cockney in "Mary Poppins"
  80. Lawrence Alma-Tadema (98) Dutch-born British painter
  81. Ignacy Jan Paderewski (96) Polish statesman, concert pianist + composer. Prime Minister briefly after WW1
  82. Tove Jansson (96) Finnish author who created the "Moomins"
  83. Django Reinhardt (94) Belgian gypsy who became a jazz guitar virtuoso
  84. Gundula Janowitz (90) German operatic soprano
  85. Milos Crnjanski (90) Hungarian-born Serbian poet and writer. His masterpiece apparently is "Seobe" (translated as "The Migrations") regarded as one of the most important Yugoslav works of the 20th century
  86. Isabelle Adjani (90) French actress
  87. Janus (96)
  88. Michael Collins (80) Apollo XI astronaut who was born in Rome in 1930
  89. Dodman (96) Man Ray; Lottie Dod. "Peggotty" uses the term in "David Copperfield"
  90. 11 Bets in a Yankee; 40 Years On, Harrow School Song; 58 Facets in a Round Brilliant Cut (72 all OK) 6 doubles, 4 trebles and an accumulator make up a Yankee in combination bets; self explanatory; most popular diamond cut
  91. 44 (60) on 27 November 1950 Raja Maharaj Singh, aged 72 years 192 days, lost his wicket to 28 year-old Jim Laker when playing for the Bombay Governor's XI versus a Commonwealth XL See newsletter
  92. Verne Troyer (84) who is the 2 ft 8 inches tall midget actor who plays "Mini-Me" in the Austin Powers spoof spy films. He announced his engagement to Genevieve Gallen, a 6 ft 2 inches tall yoga instructor last July!
  93. Janam Sakhis (96)
  94. Champ d' Oiseau (66) the first recognised as such restaurant. It was opened in Paris in 1765 by a M. Boulanger
  95. The Great Toronto Stork Derby (94) the fault of an eccentric Toronto multi millionaire lawyer called Charles Miller. He left some of his fortune to the Toronto woman who would give birth to the most children in the 10 years following his death in October 1926. There was resulting chaos in the law courts as, of course, he intended.
  96. In the Heat of the Night (88) all these films won the Best Picture Oscar but, apart from the answer, none received a single nomination in any of the acting categories. Rod Steiger won the "Best Actor" Oscar for "In the Heat of the Night"
  97. The ampersand/@ (sic?) (94) colloquialisms in various countries, in translation. Czech Rep, Israel, Italy, Russia, Sweden etc
  98. Mogadishu/ Shebeens/ Currente calamo (66 all OK) mog (slang for cat) ad issue; she be ens, "moonshine" is a term for illicit liquor; latin expression meaning "offhand" or "with a running pen", anagram
  99. Evelyn "Boo" Laye (70) as a 15 year-old in 1915. Very popular stage musical comedy star
  100. Jane Finn (96) in Agatha Christie's The Secret Adversary. Introduced "Tommy" and "Tuppence"

Questions