Foreign words and phrases     

• Check your score here!

• Here are the answers, found from the Credo reference online reference books

1. Which French phrase, literally meaning 'black film', is used for a style of film-making with a plot involving suspense, mystery, crime and corruption, and a bleak, often shadowy, setting?
   Film noir
2. Which Japanese word meaning 'empty orchestra' is used for amateur singing in public to prerecorded backing tapes?
   Karaoke
3. Which German word is used for traditional leather shorts that often have H-shaped braces and are worn by men in Austria, Bavaria, etc.?
   Lederhosen
4. Which Latin phrase, meaning 'I came, I saw, I conquered', was used by Julius Caesar after a swift victory in 47 BC?
   Veni, vidi, vici
5. What is the meaning of the Italian word 'alfresco'?
   In the open air; out-of-doors
6. What is the meaning of the Latin phrase 'caveat emptor'?
   Let the buyer beware (meaning that the buyer is himself responsible for checking that what he buys is in good order)
7. Is a 'chateaubriand' the owner of a chateau, a kind of torch, or a large thick fillet steak?
   A large thick fillet steak
8. Does the Latin word 'lustrum' mean a bright light, a century, or a period of five years?
   A period of five years
9. What is the slang meaning of the French word 'poilu'?
   A French soldier, especially in World War I

Return to list of quizzes