1. The Oxford English Corpus has a list of the most common words in the English language. 'The' and 'be' are ranked number one and two. Which fleeting word is the most common noun in the English language?

2. The company name Jaguar was first introduced after WW II. Before that the name of the car company, and the name given to each car model, had which inappropriate initials?

3. In the early 20th century, which British company built Pups, Dolphins, Snipes, Camels, Bulldogs and Salamanders?

4. Which American 'Art Nouveau' artist and designer is best known for his stained glass lamps and windows?

5. A silver tongued character named Squealer spreads propaganda for his leader in which popular book and film?

6. The Ivory Coast is the world's largest exporter of which bean?

7. With a capacity for about 150,000 spectators, what was the name given to the largest hippodrome or racecourse in ancient Rome?

8. Beluga, Ossetra, Sevruga and Sterlet are the four main types of what?

9. Which English philosopher, statesman, scientist, lawyer, jurist and author was also known as the 1st Viscount Saint Alban?

10. Name the film in which Peter Sellers plays the following characters. One point for each correct answer.
a. Hrundi V Bakshi
b. Chauncy Gardiner
c. US President Merkin Muffley
d. Evelyn Tremble
e. Grand Duchess Gloriana XII
f. Clare Quilty
g. Group Captain Lionel Mandrake

ANSWERS

1. Time

2. S. S. (Swallow Sidecar company) Jaguar Cars is a brand of Jaguar Land Rover, a British multinational car manufacturer headquartered in Whitley, Coventry, England, owned by the Indian company Tata Motors since 2008. Jaguar was founded as the Swallow Sidecar Company in 1922, originally making motorcycle sidecars before developing passenger cars. The name was changed to "Jaguar" after World War II to avoid the unfavourable connotations of the SS initials. A merger with the British Motor Corporation followed in 1966, the resulting enlarged company now being renamed as British Motor Holdings (BMH), which in 1968 merged with Leyland Motor Corporation and became British Leyland, itself to be nationalised in 1975. Jaguar was de-merged from British Leyland and was listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1984, becoming a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until it was acquired by Ford in 1990. Jaguar has, in recent years, manufactured cars for the British Prime Minister, the most recent delivery being an XJ in May 2010. The company also holds royal warrants from Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles.

3. Sopwith (types of aircraft used in WW I) The Sopwith Aviation Company was a British aircraft company that designed and manufactured aeroplanes mainly for the British Royal Naval Air Service, Royal Flying Corps and later Royal Air Force in the First World War, most famously the Sopwith Camel. Sopwith aircraft were also used in varying numbers by the French, Belgian, and American air services during the War. The company (based at Brooklands, near Weybridge in Surrey) was created in June 1912 by Thomas Octave Murdoch (Tommy, later Sir Thomas) Sopwith, a well-to-do gentleman sportsman interested in aviation, yachting and motor-racing, when Sopwith was only 24 years old. Following their first military aircraft sale in November 1912, they moved to the company's first factory premises opened that December in a recently closed roller skating rink in Canbury Park Road near Kingston Railway Station in South West London. An early collaboration with the S. E. Saunders boatyard of East Cowes on the Isle of Wight, in 1913, produced the Sopwith "Bat Boat", an early flying boat with a Consuta laminated hull which could operate on sea or land. A small factory subsequently opened in Woolston, Hampshire in 1914.

4. Tiffany (Louis Comfort Tiffany)

5. Animal Farm Squealer is a fictional pig from George Orwell's Animal Farm. He is described in the book to be an effective and very convincing orator. In the book, he is described as merely a fat porker, but in the 1954 film, he is a pink pig, whereas in the 1999 film, he appears to be a Tamworth pig who wears a Monocle. Throughout the novel Squealer is highly skilled at making speeches to the animals. He is also one of the leaders of the farm. Under the rule of Napoleon, Squealer does things to manipulate the animals. Squealer represents Vyacheslav Molotov who was Stalin's protégée and head of Communist propaganda. It is also possible that Squealer represents the Soviet Newspaper, "Pravda". This paper was Stalin's key to propaganda in the communist times, and was very powerful to proletarians of the time (proletarians being Boxer, the horse).

6. Cocoa bean

7. Circus Maximus The Circus Maximus (Latin for greatest or largest circus, in Italian Circo Massimo) is an ancient Roman chariot racing stadium and mass entertainment venue located in Rome, Italy. Situated in the valley between the Aventine and Palatine hills, it was the first and largest stadium in ancient Rome and its later Empire. It measured 621 m (2,037 ft) in length and 118 m (387 ft) in width, and could accommodate over 150,000 spectators. In its fully developed form, it became the model for circuses throughout the Roman Empire. The site is now a public park.

8. Caviar

9. Sir Francis Bacon

10. Seven answers
a. The Party
b. Being There
c. Dr Strangelove
d. Casino Royale
e. The Mouse that Roared
f. Lolita
g. Dr Strangelove