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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How did people contact the Philological Society in order to submit new words to the new dictionary?

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

3. In Chapter 5, what was the name of Mr. Trench's speech in regards to the making of the Oxford English Dictionary?

4. Where did Richard Chenevix Trench speak?

5. Lucy was born to the Minors __________after William's birth.

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does the title of the book imply to prospective readers?

3. What can be appreciated about the Oxford English Dictionary being called "The Big Dictionary"?

4. Given the information that the reader gleans from the nature of the Philological Society, as well as people speaking in the London Library, what characteristics of the London Library in Minor's day show it to be different from a public library of this day and age?

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

6. What is the effect of the author's choice to define the word "murder" on the audience?

7. In what ways does the author state the compilation of the Dictionary of the English Language was different from the compilation of the Oxford English Dictionary?

8. In regards to Trench's speech, what did he view each word as having? What must be charted for each word?

9. In what way was Furnivall's call to ask participants to choose a time period for the book a very intelligent idea to spur the makings of the Oxford English Dictionary onward?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

"Structure is equally important to non-fictional works as it is to fictional works." Explore this idea with reference to the text.

Essay Topic 2

"The English-speaking world is better off for the death of Charles Merrett." How could this statement be considered to be true? Do you think the author agrees? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

What is significant about the fact that the text has two protagonists, Minor and Murray, and that the author himself points out that this goes against the definition of the word in "Modern English Usage," which states that protagonist can only be used in the singular?

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