If You Know These 21 Words, Your English is GENIUS LEVEL!

[@urdad9853]

As a self proclaimed logophile who has kept a dictionary next to my toilet for 50yrs I love these videos! keep'em coming

[@zakmartin]

According to my trusty OED: "Bromide: A compound of bromine with another element or group, especially a salt containing the anion Br− or an organic compound with bromine bonded to an alkyl radical." Yes, it's also a trite statement. B and D are both correct.

[@jimhunt1592]

HBr (hydrobromic acid) is a fairly strong acid, so not all bromides are alkaline. If he hadn't included the word alkaline (= basic) you would be correct.

[@machiajenni]

I answered D because I am science-oriented and was immediately self-doubting, so thank you!

[@DT-ja8de]

Option D would be incorrect. The bromide ion is considered acidic, because hydrobromic acid (HBr) is formed when added to water.

[@toddfennimore6625]

Yep! Someone knows their chemistry.

[@zakmartin]

@@jimhunt1592 I am correct. Bromine and bromide are not the same thing. And in a medical context, a bromide refers to sodium bromide (a sedative) which is an alkaline compound.

[@peternolan4107]

I have spent the last 70+ years reading, reading, and reading. I got them all right. Reading and using a dictionary and thesaurus are the best ways to learn vocabulary. Learning foreign languages such as Latin and French are also very helpful in learning English vocabulary.

[@EricDavidRocks]

This was easy for people like us (of a certain age) but most KZbinrs can't spell a sentence to save their lives.

[@MikeS-um1nm]

"Give me any word and I will tell you how it comes from the Greek": the Father in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding". There's some truth to that. Much of the English language has it roots in Greek. I used to try to look up every word I didn't know the meaning of, in the Dictionary. Now, it's much easier with the internet. I haven't been at it as long as you and I got 6 wrong on this test. I will keep learning though!

[@skamandrios]

65 years old, English degree, got all 21 correct, but "faineant" was a new one to me. I guessed it based on what I supposed was the root word "fain."

[@randomhumanoidblob4506]

55 and me too. It's not having TV and reading like a demon instead. Next time we need some real sesquipedalianate verbiage 😁

[@Lightonahill25]

@@EricDavidRocks maybe not easy but does give one a sense of accomplishment at a life well 'read'...

[@juliabickel7024]

I am 76 years old, native speaker of English, college degree, have taught English abroad. I missed 2 words that I have never before seen or heard: faineant, and the one about the diamond sparkling. Take heart, students, if you got at least 10 of these.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Hi Julia, thanks for your comment- and I wholeheartedly agree that students who get more than even a handful of these words should feel proud!

[@cindyhauert2339]

Nobody ever, in a million years, would use the word "faineant" gmab

[@juliabickel7024]

@@cindyhauert2339 Agreed, yet someone, sometime, must have used it or we would not see it in this test.

[@HiJacques329]

I’m also a native English speaker, and despite getting 5 of them wrong, I did actually get faineant, since it’s one of the French words for lazy and I happen to speak French.

[@aminabelmou4307]

@@HiJacques329 Because of Latin being ancestor to both French and English, French speakers know half the English vocabulary. The other half is known by German speakers. And if you happen to know both French and German, then guess what????? .................You know the two halves of English, .......................that is the whole English vocabulary...............

[@snarkykat]

I'm a native English speaker and have consistently scored off the scale on vocabulary tests, but I missed plenty of the words on this quiz. I will use it as a learning opportunity.

[@GeorgeSmiley77]

"scored off the scale" - so you got more correct answers than there were questions? That's my take🤣

[@snarkykat]

@@GeorgeSmiley77 It means that I scored beyond the tests' statistical capabilities of giving me a percentile ranking. I would often get all the questions right, so I scored higher than the 99th percentile ranking. That's what "off the scale" means

[@angelogomez6155]

If I had only knowd bout dese words I would be much more smart than I thunk. I wish I hada learnt these in school.

[@bongodave13]

@@angelogomez6155 Me two.

[@mzungumzungu336]

17 correct. Not bad for someone educated in an American public school.

[@janeteholmes]

A grave disadvantage indeed, but no one learns all these at school. You need to read widely to learn these. Victorian and early 20th C authors are the best.

[@biggstile]

Decades, ago, undoubtedly.

[@stephenblessed92]

I'm 70 years old. Never went to college. Just retired after working 40+ years in construction. I am a voracious reader and I got 18.

[@evanherk]

Got all correct (but gambled on faineant). Not bad for a 66 year old native speaker of Dutch.

[@merrywalsh2809]

Holy cow!

[@briseboy]

How much did you hazard? And what were the odds?

[@BrennanYoung]

That's impressive. My school French did not buy my answer to faineant and I bungled meretricious too because I was thinking too much about "meretrix"

[@janeteholmes]

I got them all, but am only a lowly native English speaker. Congrats!

[@MichaelCRush]

Same. It was the only really uncommon word.

[@CAGETV]

I got 0/21... I have never heard any of these words till date. I'm surprised to see so many people in comments get so many correct. WOW guys! Amazing

[@spud13x13]

Great test! I confess to being a bit proud and arrogant about my vocabulary, yet I missed four of the questions! Subscribed!

[@karenboyd6293]

Yes, I found this humbling.

[@threeofive9401]

Ironically, the words cited in the video can only be used esoterically.

[@biggstile]

Exactly. For that reason, they will backfire in conversations with commoner's (most people we relate with) in our everyday lives. They are not used, so no reason to comprehend them.

[@angharaddenby3389]

Got all correct - not bad for a first-language Welsh speaker!

[@darcash1738]

Well I got all of them right, and I got the invisible bonus question right, too. Ha!

[@rogerhuggettjr.7675]

Knowledge of foreign words is often a benebit on these tests though French and Latin might have helped more. BTW, I only got 16 right.

[@caulfield618]

Well you probably have more time for reading since the valley mines shut down.

[@mooshygirl]

Puckish is a reference to the character Puck from Shakespeare’s a Midsummer Night Dream

[@johnl6176]

Ah, the merry wanderer of the night.

[@medicalmisinformation]

No, "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

[@caulfield618]

I thought it was a reference to hockey.

[@stevolopez]

I guessed it by watching a girl's a** pucker in a mischevious way!

[@BadBoyBobby85]

That's what I guessed

[@jjbud3124]

I'm an 84-year-old high school graduate. I've done a lot of reading and spent most of my working life in medical transcription, so I've always been pretty good at English. I got 16 of these correct. I'm not counting bromide because I knew it was a chemical. I must say though, that some of these words are completely unknown to most of the population. There are other much less obscure words that are more suited to clear communication.

[@pp312]

I would suggest that almost all the words in the last third are totally unknown to all but dedicated pedants. In fact I'd say that almost all of these 21 words are not in use by those with a typical high school education. Even to use a word like "ubiquitous" these days would earn you some funny looks and an awkward silence. Sad, but that's the current state of the language.

[@jjbud3124]

@@pp312 The word "fey" I would expect to hear in Ireland. 🙂

[@MichaelCRush]

@@pp312 Hard disagree. I use all these words, or at least am very familiar with them, except for the last one.

[@sirclarkmarz]

Spend some time in the Navy and you will hear some words and phrases that you will never hear spoken amongst civilians . Many of them hundreds of years old derived from ancient Mariners.

[@rosslewchuk9286]

74 years of age: 18/21 Got me with meretricious, coruscate & sybaritic. Good fun way to learn new words❗🌝👍

[@rogerhuggettjr.7675]

16 right here. I missed that one looking for something merit related.

[@rogerwhite95]

76 year old male. Missed one, Sartorial. Had to make an educated guess on a couple.! LOL I attribute skills to my lifelong love of reading. Thank you for posting this.

[@jecinasema5190]

Hi. I got that one. And I am 80 year old Caribbean native. My parents and teachers put a lot of effort into our education.

[@pp312]

78 year old male. When you say "reading" it depends what you're reading. You'd be lucky to find most of these words in novels, as novelists go out of their way to avoid words the reader would have to look up. Other genres are of course different.

[@RaynaWithanR-d3y]

These kind of videos are indeed vocab enhancing

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thank you, Rayna- I'm glad you feel that way!

[@marilyncallan-cx7rk]

I was shocked to get 19 out of 21, an A. A lifetime reader, I'm 89 years old. No degree but autodidactic as I've been told. Still can't believe it. Missed the last 2 questions, words I[ve never heard of before this.

[@madskier50]

Since I could read, I've never used a dictionary or a thesaurus. I got them all right and put it down to reading extensively, and having an excellent upbringing and education. Rider: I have recently purchased the 2-volume Oxford English Short because the volumes look commanding on my bookcase!!

[@rascalnz9983]

Is the dictionary dogeared and tatty, and lying flat? 😃

[@alexmarcus9009]

English is not my first language but I scored 100%. My extraordinary English teacher would have been very proud 😅

[@nandsall9492]

unlikely

[@terry_willis]

I don't believe you.

[@alexmarcus9009]

That’s definitely your problem, aka envy, probably because you can’t handle the thought that a foreigner has a better command of your mother tongue than you do. Very sad!

[@briseboy]

It would be so kind for you to add kindness to your graces. Here in the US, the indigenous and only a few others, learn this from grandmothers. Hopefully, we all attend to these vital teachers everywhere.

[@RobotPorter]

I got all 21. If you want to improve your vocabulary, while reading an adventurous literary work, full of passion and set in an exotic locale. Read Lawrence Durrell's "The Alexandria Quartet." It's one I've wanted to read for years. And I'm finally doing it. Glorious writing. And even I am forced to look up some of the words he uses.

[@christinemarshall1366]

I read this sensuous, cosmopolitan tetralogy many years ago while living on the Greek island of Cyprus. Being much older now, I think I'd appreciate them more.

[@argustuft2394]

Amazing that you got all definitions correct but have absolutely no idea how to use punctuation or construct a grammatically correct sentence.

[@kb27787]

A "Bromide" is indeed a chemical compound, however, it is not by default a base--just anything containing bromine. "Labile" however (speaking as a chemist) is not the same as "volatile". A volatile solvent easily evaporates (hexanes, diethyl ether etc.) but when something (let's say a functional group or protecting group) is acid-labile, (or base-labile, etc.) it means the group can be removed from the rest of the molecule (deprotected) by acid (or base) to expose the reactive part of the molecule.

[@rklong1790]

I went back to Chemistry too on Bromide. I'm sure he threw it in to trick us silly science folks. This an English test after all. English laughs at logic, hence why I love Chemistry.

[@machintelligence]

Yes, some bromides are considered alkaline, specifically those formed with alkali metals like sodium or potassium,

[@nedludd7622]

I knew "labile", but with a slightly different meaning "changeable". So I guessed what it had to be. There were a couple of other words which I was familiar with but had to see the context to remember, otherwise all copacetic.

[@davidbarrass]

I similarly was confused by the obscure use of words from a science context. I've never heard of Bromide used in the way he said, I wonder if that's an Americanism. Other than that 19/21

[@rklong1790]

@@davidbarrass My 20 yo analog dictionary has the first two uses of Bromide in a chemistry context. 3rd is trite saying, platitude. 4th is boring platitudeness person from the use of bromides as a sedative (1830-40). That looks like the bridge from chemistry term to English usage.

[@linmiller8147]

Proud that I got 18 of the 21, but I have to admit that I had to figure out 3 of them. I have always LOVED to read and whenever I encountered a word I didn't know, I would look it up. Great quiz.

[@tomkovjak666]

Actually, level 3 was the easiest for me. These words are international and Latin-based; therefore, they exist in many languages. It’s more a matter of general education whether you know them or not. The most difficult English words for non-native speakers are those used extremely rarely and only in literature. They are short and of Germanic origin, like ‘lithe’ and ‘fay... I'm Polish, so my native tongue will help with the Latin words (we have our own adaptations that are similar) but will never help with the obsolete Germanic words.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Very interesting, Tom- thanks for your comment!

[@mcn872]

Neither lithe nor fey are extremely rarely used words.

[@tomkovjak666]

​@@mcn872Lithe ok, rare but you come across that once in a while. Fey? Never seen that one in my life.

[@ishko108]

@@tomkovjak666 You're probably not interested in the supernatural or you would've seen it quite often by now.

[@adolforodolfo6929]

I'm English (and I knew all these words), but I agree with you. Although English is essentially a Germanic language, a lot of the vocabulary comes from French/Latin and if you know these languages, which I do, then you'll know words like "elan", "faineant" and a few of the others in this test. The really tricky vocabulary in English is words derived from Greek and also some of the Germanic words which are so nearly obsolete that people no longer know what they mean.

[@mylittlepitbull3143]

Well, I'm a mathematician. Missed a few of these. But it's good to learn. Now, back to the numbers.

[@MPSitler]

You sound like my husband, the mathematician. Whenever he encounters an unfamiliar word, I become the human dictionary. I don’t mind. I can’t do math so he balances the checkbook.

[@rafael.silvacamargo]

I remember when I decided to learn English, I only studied English at school, but 1 or 2 months ago I decided to study English everyday and for a long time a day, and now, I saw how much my English has improved, and one of the main reasons was watching your videos, that I needed to use subtitles and 0.75 speed, now I watch without subtitles and can understand everything Thanks

[@audrahartman4212]

I for one truly appreciate the lessons! Thank you for sharing!

[@margaretsparksrittenhouse8787]

I knew 18 out of 21, 2 of which were in part 1. 😂 I am 65, a native born English speaker with some college. I recently had to take a 2 hour psych/cog test after a brain illness to determine how it was all working. I did extremely well in the language department, excelled in my vocab. However, my “in my head” math skills have gone to he**.

[@aminabelmou4307]

sorry to hear about your brain illness. Please don't be discouraged abouth math; by today's standards, you're still very young and can get much much better with adequate health care. Good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Very well done, Margaret! Seems like your language/vocab skills are extremely astute (although I'm sorry you had to deal with a brain illness).

[@joysti00]

3:27 you misspelled “Otherworldly”

[@corneliaoeltze6967]

Oh, too bad😢

[@danielledouchet9280]

I was just coming in to say the same thing!

[@akahina]

Yeah, that bugged me.

[@kathlake4009]

84 year old native English speaker I scored 100% on this quiz. I describe myself as a word freak.

[@CynthiaWord-iq7in]

I only missed two, a writer...not a genius.

[@spiritcreek9813]

Reading a lot helps, especially the classics and older traditional British writers, Hardy, Trollope, Dickens.

[@paules3437]

Boom! Got 'em all! But then, I'm a word nerd and an English teacher (even got "faineant" thanks to my undergrad French degree... but see comment reply below). I would also add I have an M.A. in English... except that's not nec related. I know a lot of MA's in English who don't know basic grammar or fancy vocabulary!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Fantastic work getting all of them!

[@jillianbakke2567]

Got them all I knew reading the unabridged dictionary as a kid would pay off eventually.

[@terry_willis]

@@jillianbakke2567 😂😂 That was time well spent. Now you can use all those words conversing with others in the unemployment line. 😆😆😆

[@jillianbakke2567]

@@paules3437 I'm not worried about unemployment I'm retired

[@paules3437]

@@jillianbakke2567 Me too!

[@rahimtalukdar7987]

Except for two or three words,every single word seems to me to come from a different universe.

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

It's a very tricky quiz, Rahim- but I hope you feel like you learning a few new words!

[@alankent]

I am quite impressed. I only got 10 correct answers (not including guesses). People generally surprised at my expansive vocabulary. I attribute it to reading and having parents who were educators. But here I am, clueless to the meaning of more than half of the questions.

[@vincenzoditoma5757]

Chapeau to your honesty!

[@bluetigerlozano59]

That’s because few English speakers (especially in North America these days), use the majority of these words in conversational English. They tend to be used in more ‘scholarly’ settings… (ie if you are reading or putting together a dissertation for a university )

[@francesmeyer8478]

I got fifteen correct. I have a pretty good vocabulary but this was a difficult quiz.

[@corneliaoeltze6967]

Have you ever read any of these words in a book, not me. P.s. i am reading a lot.

[@rogerhuggettjr.7675]

I only did one better and I used to score 99% on Standford Achievement tests in school in the 80's. At least 3 of the 5 I missed I'd never heard of before and I'm 56.

[@bellyjewel]

All correct. Former editor, writer, word nerd, and occasional English teacher here.

[@nicholasharvey1232]

I only got 15 of these, and I'm a native English speaker but with no post-secondary education.

[@londonbobby]

I left school after A levels, but I read a lot which helps.

[@justinjefferson5831]

I got 'em all. Btw "apotheosis" does not mean the highest point in something's development. It means elevation to the status of a god.

[@gusloader123]

@justinjefferson5831 ---> I agree with you. The Page owner needs to fix the definition. My Webster's New World Dictionary, Third College Edition has 3 definitions of the word. None of which are what the Channel host said.

[@TheJhtlag]

I was kind of expecting "apogee" or some word that hasn't yet come to mind. (He has finally "arrived"?) I can see it being used in a sarcastic way when someone is getting gushed over, in say the media.

[@corneliaoeltze6967]

Tata

[@georgedunn320]

Give yourself a second "plus."

[@jimhunt1592]

I just googled apotheosis and the first definition is the highest point of something; culmination, or climax. The Greek root does mean elevation of the status of a god or deification, so both definitions are correct, or at least acceptable.

[@buddyrichable1]

This is the perfect forum to ask this question. What is the correct spelling of the word: Dilemna or Dilemma It is a mandela effect. I always knew it as dilemna but now it has changed to dilemma. The former no longer exists. For those interested the Gettysburg Address has changed from: Four score and seven years ago our forefathers to Four score and seven years ago our fathers

[@vivienhodgson3299]

21/21. There were no words I had never heard before, but if you had given me them and asked for a definition, there were several I would have found hard to explain; the multiple choice method worked for me. I speak French, which definitely helped with 'elan' and 'faineant', both of which we pinched from them!

[@korneliakecskemetinebakti2904]

I'm Hungarian and we use quite a few of the words of Latin origin, like elan, exegesis, labile... so yeah.

[@margretenglesson5834]

​@@korneliakecskemetinebakti2904 Well, weren't you still using Latin for official business right up to 1848?

[@korneliakecskemetinebakti2904]

​@@margretenglesson5834 lol Official doesn't mean people actually used it... they still spoke Hungarian, only the most educated used Latin for official or scientific purposes. People not part of the elite or didn't live in town didn't even go to school. 🤷‍♀️ And not to mention German as official language, which was also just imposed on Hungary but only part of the nobility spoke it as a foreign language.

[@joycemiller-bean1814]

Excellent quiz! I thoroughly enjoyed it and am pleased to note that the only word with which I was not familiar was faineant. I delight in learning new words, so thanks for this quiz.👍🏾

[@ellianemartinez5038]

80 yr old spanish native speaker missed two words. Wonderful way to learn even a couple of words!

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Fantastic work, Elliane!

[@justinjefferson5831]

Wow that's fantastic. Which did you miss?

[@briseboy]

What a BEAUTIFUL name, Elliane is!

[@jolaiikey1015]

Well, ,I more or less guessed 7 out of the offered options....never heard of allmost all of them...way to go🙂‍↕️

[@acb9896]

Having an extensive vocabulary has zero to do with genius. Genius is measured by ability. There is no other way.

[@GWNorth-db8vn]

Saved me saying it. I'm living proof.

[@mamziemay1575]

Even though I am generally considered to have an excellent vocabulary, I got several of the questions wrong. I enjoy these videos because it illustrates to me I can always learn new things and improve myself. Thank you from a new subscriber.

[@CarlSteyn]

I am 83 and not native English speaking. I learnt only by reading both English and American literature voraciously and finding word meanings in my Roget's. I missed 2, # 15: bromide, wavering between two options and guessing wrongly, and # 20 labile, which l cannot recall ever encountering before.

[@walidhamdy9808]

Got 17 correct! Not bad for one for whom English is his second language! 😊

[@rosiemackenzie5976]

Histrionic is not just dramatic and emotional but also has a element of verbally replaying events that have happened in the past.

[@russellbrown7024]

I got about half correct, mostly in round one. This was better than I expected to do given the subject - I never considered vocabulary or language my strong suit (I handle numbers and math much better on any day). Several terms I have never heard or seen written, including several in the answers, not just the questions. Difficult to get an answer correct when all the terms appear foriegn.

[@sylvisterling8782]

I got all of them, even sussing out Fainéant, a word I had not heard of until today! Basically, I paused the video and looked at the word. I remembered the archaic word 'fain' as applied to intended actions and 'faked it'.

[@DawitAlemayehu-sq6hk]

An immense tribute to your exceptional videos. and continue with this exceptional caliber of work and make a lot of videos like this A LOT. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thank you very much, Dawit- and I'm so glad you found the video to be useful!

[@fredceely]

I missed three or four, but I'm content with my solid B. "Faineant" was the death word, the word that you include to insure that no one gets them all correct. This quiz was fun, and thanks for your efforts. Like many of the commenters, the dictionary was my favorite toy as a boy. As an adult I had dictionaries for six or seven languages on my shelves. I speak three languages: I count my English to be excellent; my German was very good as a younger man, but it's rusty at this point; my Thai is fine for everyday use, and I have learned to make all of the tones so that Thais can understand me. (I confess that I can read music, or Latin, or a Romance language, faster and more successfully than I can read Thai.)

[@Cynicalgeek743]

I was quite surprised to get these all right, as some of the words were quite obscure and required me to search my memory banks quickly in the limited time allowed. I’ve always enjoyed reading mind, am a native speaker and have never been content to skip over a word I couldn’t define. Probably helped

[@drexelmildraff7580]

19 out of 21. Faineant is the only word I hadn't encountered before. Got a top 800 score on the Verbal GRE test (the SAT for graduate school) even though I had majored in math, but that was a few decades ago.

[@ChimeraActual]

78 year old reader, missed two. Can't believe I missed labile, as I was a psychologist for much of my life, and I must admit that faineant was new to me. Other than faineant it was easy as I had spoken or written every previous word. Eff'n "labile"...

[@Anniearchy]

Goodness gracious, I have an English-Writing degree, and these were HARD!!!!

[@krisinsaigon]

I am a professional english teacher, and a native english speaker from england, and I got 3 wrong- puckish (i thought another answer was closer), exegecis, and sybaritic. Nobody knows every word in english, it's too vast a language. I used to teach a pig farmer, and if you think your english is good, there is a about twenty words for a pig you won't know. Every kind of pig you can think of- a boy, a girl, a girl who has reached maturity but not yet had litter, a girl who has had one litter but not yet a second, a male whose testicles have not dropped despite reaching maturity. There are a lot of words in english for every possible thing you could imagine. I should have known puckish though

[@Shelora]

I got a perfect score, although two of my correct answers were educated guesses. I now know two new words , “coruscate” and “feiniant.” I knew they were right because the other three choices were clearly wrong. Thanks for the challenge! (By the way, I’m 81 and had the benefit of a Canadian education. I also win all the spelling bees in school.

[@Wilhuf1]

100% of questions answered correctly. 😀

[@elainepotgieter9403]

My English is pretty good but, I just learnt a lot of new words 😅 Thank you Brian

[@E-Stories-Vocabulary-Boost]

The videos you create are top-notch, and they serve as a model for my own learning. I’ve subscribed and will continue to learn from you.❤🎉

[@debblouin]

Fey. Dammit. Meretricious. Grrr. Elan-totally missed it Sybaritic-never heard the word Labile-oops I need to read more. 🤫

[@theophilos0910]

The only reason I scored 20/21 words correctly (I missed ‘coruscate’, darn it !!) on this quiz is because when as a 17-year old I did my A-levels in Beds. (which included (3) English Literature examinations) I began to compile a note-book of my own-listing ‘fun and rare English & Foreign words’ - which over a year of reading British authors (like Charlotte Bronte with her somewhat pretentious vocabulary at times in her novels) who don’t have the self-same vocabulary as the Americans (I was born & raised in Hollywood, so you can imagine the teen-age culture shock I endured !) My list eventually came out to 1,561 fun ‘English’ words - the vast majority of which are very rarely (if ever) used in modern English (outside of academic journals !) v.g. ‘Stochastic’ (‘randomly probable’) … &c. -but the really fun words are the ‘foreign’ imports into English from other languages such as French, Latin, Greek, German & Hindi &c. (such as ‘Paranaesis’ [‘exhortation’], or Mjolnir [= Thor’s Hammer] or ‘Deknamen’ [‘coded language’] !! LoL

[@londonbobby]

Feineant was a guess, it sounds like feining so got that one right. Thought gloaming was dawn rather than dusk, I remember the phrase "roaming through the gloaming" from some musical. Not come across meretricious or labile before so got those wrong too. Just three wrong do happy with that 😊.

[@paulsymanski489]

Thank you. I did not get them all, but I learned something new. Now, if only my 86 year old memory will remember what it learned.

[@michaeljlouw620]

I'm 63 and I've been saying for years that my memory is perfect; it's my recall that's shot! BTW, I've always been a voracious reader and I got all 21 right.

[@MPSitler]

Hey! Got em all right. The only one I hadn’t encountered before was faineant but was able to figure it out. That was fun. I’m an old lady who has always been a voracious reader.

[@scloftin8861]

20. OK, I kinda guessed the last one. and meretricious tripped me up as I'd only ever run into it in a joke ... Wishing one a Meretricious and a Happy New Year.

[@maargenbx1454]

That’s the only one I missed too…I’ve come across the word before and thought I knew what it meant!

[@monroeclewis1973]

Got them all without hesitation. But then I love words. Only the last word is challenging because of its rarity.

[@ftlpopeepopltf541]

Age 67 English graduate from the UK got about 18 correct but I would doubt that some of the latter ones have been used anywhere in decades. I know what Bromide is but I have never seen it used as a metaphor.

[@serdip]

Thank you for this fun and educational video quiz! I scored 19/21, so not terrible. Never heard of 'faineant" and couldn't guess what it was. Never heard of "coruscate" but correctly guessed its meaning. 😊

[@FlexibleFlyer50]

20/21. Never saw or heard of the word "cavil" before. Old, but this old dog can still learn some new vocab words.

[@nokomarie1963]

Whelp, I got them all. I would assume most well-read people got most of them, although I would argue that faineant is more the employee pretending to be busy than merely idle.

[@Galbereth]

Hmmm, I got 17 of those. I am educated to merely 'O' level then left school to start work. I am fond of learning though so i s'pose that's a help and i like your channel! Love, Mel in Devon UK 🍰 🌻

[@eddiebermeo429]

I got a C!

[@KaiHenningsen]

Missed 2 (16 and 21), as a 64-year-old German. All but 2 of the rest I had an answer while he was still speaking.

[@robheyes6470]

21 but I guessed on faineant. I was proud when I came up with 'apotheosis' as an apposite word before the options appeared.

[@cristianabarsuglia629]

This was another fun one! I got 20 correct (admittedly, two were just lucky guesses), and missed "meretricious".

[@mikeryan2319]

Hey! I got 23 out of 21. Along with my vocab skills, I am a whiz at numbers. Next, try me on geografee.

[@sharonmartin4036]

My score was 18, and I have a bachelor's degree in English. I am looking at the commenters that claim to have got them all correct and find myself saying "really?". I have never heard of the 3 words in the questions that I missed, despite also being an avid reader.

[@darcash1738]

Got em all right, but nearly got one wrong. So im probably gonna compile some words from the dictionary and get chatgpt to work with it to alphabetize, and sort by meaning, and create latex files to study them. Back when I was learning Beowulf in old english, I told it the following instructions: "I am learning Beowulf and would like you to create a study guide of the Old English language, levels k1-k5 (beginner to advanced). I will say kn to you to indicate to move onto the next latex file, where n is a number which is the level of the current file. Each level will include 10*n files of theory, followed by 4*n files of reading practice. Plan these practice readings such that they will effectively, comprehensively review what was learned in the 10*n theory files. Be sure to do exactly 10*n theory files and 4*n reading practice files. After the last reading practice file for that level, let me know that you are done with the level so i can move on to k(n+1) By the end of k5, I expect significant fluency in reading. Eg, I will say k1 to you 10*1 + 4*1 times, for 10 files of theory, 4 files of reading practice involving that theory, k2 for 10*2 + 4*2, ... and so on to 5. " So long as it's very specific, chatgpt does well. Not sure if there is a better way to automize the sourcing of studying from beginner to advanced in something. I like doing sort of short latex files, they are very helpful, and make it easy because you don't need to ask yourself what you want to study in a particular day. just plan to get through the kn level by a certain date, and keep yourself on track. Also learning mandarin rn, but it's not just reading practice like with old english, i actually care about the pronunciation. just that idk what i want to listen to/watch really. maybe learning songs would be good, but i feel like it might be bad bc they prob do creative freedom to make it work considering it is tonal? I have a bunch of songs i like but idk what series/shows are good

[@22448824]

I got them all but one. Never read a book since leaving school but I had an English grammar school education in the 60’s to 70’s. The zenith of academic rigour in Britain.

[@colleenkochman9656]

missed exegesis and faineant...won't miss them the next time! Thanks.

[@sirclarkmarz]

I got 17 out of 21 and I'm a high school dropout. Started working full time at 16 and learn more in real world experience than I ever did in school .

[@julieshelley-fd5kp]

I am an English Lit major--have not heard of half these words.. LOL..

[@aminabelmou4307]

don't confuse language and litterature, which is a quite small specialised part of language and has its own code, usage and vocabulary.......................

[@winstonelston5743]

9: I've always seen _meretricious_ defined as _to or for, by, with, or from prostitutes._ I believe it was Alexander Woollcott who used it in the sentence _I wish you a meretricious and a happy new year._ Post script: I looked it up, and the prostitution reference is one meaning of the word. Got them all.

[@justinjefferson5831]

lol

[@banba317]

I got a B... 16 correct.

[@djr093r5]

Thought this was gonna be click-bait, was pleasantly surprised to have been genuinely stumped a few times! I didn't properly keep score, I'll need to watch it again to remember exactly which ones I got wrong, but I THINK it was 16 I got right, and a couple of those were educated guesses. 😊

[@johnnymercado-th7gr]

I have a special fascination for words and list down the unusual and catchy ones I come across. It also helps that my line of work has something to do with writing (as a Legal Assistant to a Supreme Court Associate Justice) I scored a 20. But that one I missed (exegesis) belonged to the middle group. While I got all the difficult ones, the last (faineant) was a wild guess …🤔 It is now part of my list …

[@mc4661]

I'm 78, and left school at 15 after a very choppy education. My first job was stacking tins in Tesco's. I kid you not. Have since become a published writer in a small way. (That’s not false modesty, unfortunately.) Got 17, guessed 1.

[@DawnDavidson]

20/21. Missed meretricious. Guessed a bit on faineant, but it was an educated guess. Interesting quiz. Thanks!

[@DC-id2ih]

Huh! ...I'm an avid reader of all kinds of books (both classical and contemporary)....I was so sure I would get every answer correct after scoring 100% in round#1 (I mistakenly thought : "this is going to be a piece of cake")...lol!... ..I ended up with a final B score (17/21) with 1 wrong answer in round#2 and 3 wrong answers in round#3 (and actually - to be honest - one additional question in round#3 I could've easily gotten wrong, i.e. I guessed at the answer and got lucky)......Thanks for putting together this fun quiz!

[@cocoaswann2095]

Thanks dude! I Love Learning new words!

[@ChrisZ70]

I got all but the last 3 right. I had read/heard sybaritic and labile before, but just forgot their meanings, but I had never heard "faineant" before. I have degrees in English and philosophy. I've also read the dictionary (the American Heritage College Dictionary, my favorite!) from cover to cover, skimming/scanning for words that look good to know.

[@arthurwatts1680]

OK,. I was forced to guess in several of the 'Expert' questions and I have never heard or read the word 'meretricious' anywhere. Live and learn.

[@beeimaginative]

Fun quiz. Only meretricious tripped me up! More please.

[@consuelobettinelli9746]

I'm Italian and married to a British Navy officer. I missed 1 word. The majority of "difficult" words are Latin-based rather than Anglosaxon, which allowed me to guess their meaning.

[@kimbirch1202]

Its no wonder some of these words are never used , when there are more common alternatives, that everyone understands. After all, the only purpose of language is to communicate effectively.

[@terry_willis]

Now you can be unburdened by what has been. 😂😂😂 Tell that to you know who.

[@germankitty]

18/20; meretricious and cavil tripped me up -- although I did understand them in context even without the explanation. (Seen both used, they're just not part of my active vocabulary.) As a 68-year-old ESL, I'm not displeased. 🙂

[@asynchronicity]

This guy is very a)realistic b)nervous c)mature d)moist

[@jeroldmccarty2619]

I have an IQ of over 150 assessed on the Wechsler. I write for a living (technical) for a fortune 200 company. I did not know a fair few of these words. But thank you for this anyway.

[@MmmSsjs]

Thank you for this great information. Keep it up.❤❤❤

[@BrianWilesLanguages]

Thanks so much!