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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How did the audience react to the fact that hundreds of amateurs would be needed to take on such a project for a new dictionary?
(a) With happiness.
(b) With revolt.
(c) With shock.
(d) With sadness.

2. When are the first Latin dictionaries noted to have been in existence?
(a) 1273.
(b) 1232.
(c) 1225.
(d) 1321.

3. To whom were Richard Chenevix Trench's speeches directed?
(a) The general public.
(b) Americans.
(c) Londoners.
(d) The London Phililogical Society.

4. When was Murray born?
(a) December, 1842.
(b) January, 1832.
(c) April, 1823.
(d) February, 1837.

5. How many slips of paper came in from volunteers who wanted to add to the newly proposed dictionary?
(a) Six million.
(b) Fifty thousand.
(c) Twelve thousand.
(d) One million.

Short Answer Questions

1. In what year did the making of the Oxford English Dictionary begin?

2. How have many described the language of the Oxford English Dictionary?

3. On what holiday did Dr. Minor arrive in London in the opening of Chapter 4, Gathering Earth's Daughters?

4. Who would publish the first Oxford English Dictionary?

5. Merrett's killer was from ______________.

Short Essay Questions

1. What effect could it have had on logophiles to learn that Samuel Johnson had imposed limits on the history of the definitions of words in his dictionary?

2. What might the audience find unique about the killer's professional past?

3. What aspects of his upbringing could have contributed to Minor's issues with the tempestuous and tempting country of Ceylon?

4. What can be surmised about the author's intention by naming his first chapter, " The Dead of Night in Lambeth Marsh"?

5. According to the author, "The quotes would show how words had been used over centuries and explained when they had changed. The project was commissioned in the 1850s but was not profitable, yet many believe the OED is valuable far beyond its price." Why might people believe it is valuable far beyond its price?

6. The author says that Minor became unworried by his "lascivious thoughts" while at Yale. What is a possible explanation for this?

7. Many critics found the Oxford English Dictionary to be racist and sexist. Explain how the author suggests this may have happened.

8. How might the fact that the killer was of a learned professional background NOT have been surprising to readers?

9. What is significant about the making of the Oxford English Dictionary's beginnings to have begun on Guy Fawkes Day in England?

10. What effect could the tragic death of his daughter have had on Murray's diligence in working on the Oxford English Dictionary?

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