Want to practise your database search skills?
Find answers to the questions in the quiz by searching the Oxford English Dictionary Online.
1. What is the original meaning of the term 'skyscraper'?
Hint: the oldest meaning of the term is defined first in the OED.
2. When did 'mobile phone' first enter the English language?
Hint: check the quotations under the definitions to find the earliest recorded use.
3. Who, according to the OED, was the first person to use the phrase 'girl power', and when?
Hint: check the first quotation to find the author and date.
4. Name four words that entered the English language in 1985.
Hint: choose the simple search option, and the first cited date in the drop down list.
5. What is a 'sniffer program'?
Hint: enter the search term in the find word box.
6. From which language does 'juggernaut' originate?
Hint: search for the word, and click the Etymology button when you are in the entry.
7. Which band was the first to use the phrase 'cool Britannia', and when?
Hint: when in the entry, check the first quotation to find author and date.
8. Name four words that have an Urdu origin.
Hint: choose the simple search, and the language names in the drop down menu, then enter your search term in the box.
9. 'Beware the jub-jub bird' is a quote from which book?
Hint: choose the simple search option, and the quotation text in the drop down menu.
10. What was the original meaning of the term 'silly'?
Hint: the oldest meaning of the term is defined first in the OED.
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