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Samuel Johnson's Insults
Theusualsuspec on 09/27/2008 |
In the eighteenth century Samuel Johnson LLD MA (1709-1784) had one of the sharpest tongues in what could rightfully be called the age of insults. He was witty, insolent and a master of the put-down. He relished verbal combat and had a “no publicity is bad publicity” outlook towards those who criticized him. He once responded to a harsh review by saying, “Why now, these fellows are only advertising my book; it is surely better a man should be abused than forgotten.” Besides writing essays, pamphlets, periodicals, biographies, criticisms, plays, poems and a novella he spent nine years compiling “A Dictionary of the English Language”, which remained the standard until supplanted 150 years later by the Oxford English Dictionary. Dr. Johnson loved words, their origins, their meanings both current and obsolete and never missed out on the opportunity to use his vast vocabulary to drive home an insult. This puzzle consists of 10 words from Johnson’s dictionary that are still in use today but had an insulting meaning in Dr. Johnson’s day. See if you can pick out what the insult meant. Sources: Samuel Johnson’s Insults, edited by Jack Lynch, Wikipedia, Wiktionary
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(7.35/9)
Very Difficult
Quiz Leaderboard
| Player: | Level: | % Correct: | Time to Complete: | |
1 | Vadame | 19 | 90.00% | 97.72 seconds |
2 | Winegreg | 17 | 60.00% | 229.54 seconds |
3 | Gordy1952 | 34 | 50.00% | 88.94 seconds |
4 | Btsyshsbnd | 48 | 50.00% | 122.82 seconds |
5 | Urdur | 65 | 40.00% | 70.26 seconds |
6 | Ne1410s | 41 | 40.00% | 91.29 seconds |
7 | Reptilicus | 44 | 40.00% | 105.56 seconds |
8 | Macwil | 21 | 40.00% | 116.64 seconds |
9 | Duckysezso | 37 | 40.00% | 134.93 seconds |
10 | Pjpjo | 18 | 40.00% | 137.58 seconds |
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Comments (1)
Btsyshsbnd (Level: 48.4)
Sat, 27th Sep '08 4:38 PM
should have gotten an EA
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