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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 2.3 | Chapter 2.4.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What use of storage was added to the American meaning of the word "barn?"
(a) Horses.
(b) Crops.
(c) Cattle.
(d) Chickens.

2. According to Mencken, what did the first generations born in the New World value as a virtue over enterprise and resourcefulness?
(a) Niceness.
(b) Temperance.
(c) Courage.
(d) Ingenuity.

3. From what language does the English word "moose" come?
(a) Italian.
(b) Algonquin.
(c) English.
(d) Cherokee.

4. What word in American is used for the English word "shoe?"
(a) Slipper.
(b) Boot.
(c) Footing.
(d) Sandal.

5. Which London newspaper lamented the "menace" that American movies offer to the purity of the English language?
(a) The <i>Daily Herald</i>.
(b) The <i>Illustrated London News</i>.
(c) The <i>Daily News</i>.
(d) The <i>Times</i>.

Short Answer Questions

1. What term did John Witherspoon coin, framing it within the context of vulgarity?

2. What "great humorist" does Mencken cite in Chapter 1.3 as "celebrating 'the vigorous new vernacular of the occidental plains and mountains'"?

3. What is the principal reason Mencken states that the English language has not greatly diverged since the foundation of the United States of America?

4. Whose clarity of prevision does Mencken praise in the opening of Chapter 1.1?

5. What does Mencken state is neglected by those who are professional trained to investigate it?

(see the answer key)

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