The 31st Annual Xmas Quiz

You know how there's always a time around the holidays when you have done so much and taking a break sounds swell, what are you going to do during those lazy hours? You could take a walk in the skittering leaves or find out what sporting events are on television, or you could try your hand at the Xmas Quiz.

The Xmas Quiz was started before Google existed, and it depended on people using their collective brainpower and perhaps a few reference books. Now you can Google the whole quiz, should you choose to. But why? There are no prizes. This is not a contest. So see what conversation and argumentation do for you.

You can even do it lying down.

You may wish to save the quiz for Xmas morning or do it right this second, but do save the questions. The answers will appear Monday, followed by the usual conflict and ritual jousting.

1. When the radical priest came to get us released, what happened then?

2. Who or what is Ni Ni? Why is (he, she, it) in the news lately?

3. (a) How did the automobile Toyota get its name? (b) How about the perfume Chanel No. 5? (c) How about Lucky Strike cigarettes?

4. What word in English can be a noun, verb, adjective, adverb or preposition?

5. Where did the city of Cairo get its name? (a) From the Arabic word "al-Qahira," which means "the Victorious," (b) After the cairo root, which when pounded and boiled makes a sweet syrup, (c) After the mythical oasis referenced in "The Arabian Nights," (d) From the Middle English word "cairn," which is a mound of stones, (e) From Cleopatra's beloved brother Kah-ron, who fled there from Alexandria.

6. Please compare and contrast: chifforobe, chigetai, chigger and chignon.

7. What was Kevin Costner's first film role?

8. As many people know, Pope John Paul I took a name never before chosen by a pope. Who was the previous pope to name himself in this manner: (a) Pope Octavius I (1632-1645), who came to power when a sudden enthusiasm for all things ancient and Roman swept the nation, (b) Pope Lando I (July 913-February 914), who never bothered to change his name at all, (c) Pope Millennium I (986-1007), who celebrated what was thought to be the end of days in A.D. 1000; (d) Pope Amos I (1238-1268), named after the biblical prophet, (e) Pope Reverence I (457-488), a pious if not particularly worldly man who nevertheless managed to hang on to power for 31 years.

9. What is the Kingsmill Group? (a) A U.S.-based military contractor that operates largely in Turkey and Kuwait. (b) A group of unique rodents found in the former mining colony of Kingsmill in Belize. (c) The think tank that presidential candidate Jon Huntsman founded. (d) Part of the Kiribati Islands in the western South Pacific. (e) A movie production company started by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

10. So here we are traveling north at 60 degrees longitude from Antarctica. We make landfall just a bit to the east of Patagonia near Buenos Aires. Isn't it lovely? Where do we exit the South American continent? At what location do we hit the North American continent, if we do? Do we perhaps pass over a famous bay, and if so, what is it?

11. What is Crna Gora?

12. What is firn air? How may it be contrasted with plein air?

13. What size shoes does Bozo the Clown wear?

14. Ronald Reagan and his wife Nancy appeared in just one movie together. What was the movie? They also did one TV drama together. What was that?

15. Who was Don Gaspar de Portola, and why do we see his name so much on the map of California? How is he related to El Rizo del Dulcísimo Nombe de Jesus de los Temblores?

16. PJ Harvey was (a) the founder of a chain of restaurants along the Santa Fe railroad line, (b) a brand of pants, (c) the leader of a post-punk power trio named for her, (d) the author of such darkly satirical books as "Gongelf Eats His Head" and "A Speedball for Hillary Clinton," (e) a popular drink in the '80s that combined vodka, Tequila and white rum.

That's it for this time. Remember to save these questions so the answers make sense. Thanks this time to Andrea Behr, Janos Gereben, Nick Farrah, Steve Cecil, Curt Reeves, Melanie Downey and Bill Van Niekerken. Answers Monday; be sure to have a real good time this weekend.

Riddle me this, riddle me a question. Riddle me that, and let us lie in the sun at eventide in jcarroll@sfchronicle.com.