Christmas Quiz: the answers

Verb sap? 1. The Prince of Wales; 2. Lord Palumbo; 3. John Major; 4, David Banks, the editor of the Daily Mirror; 5. George Michael; 6. Lady Thatcher; 7. Lord Howe; 8. Peter Lil- ley; 9. Michael Aspel; 10 John Major.

Up and down

1. The Pope; 2. 17.5 per cent VAT; 3. Queens Moat Houses; 4. Backbench MPs; 5. The Royal Yacht Britannia; 6. San Mari- no; 7. Nicosia; 8. City of Angels; 9. Sydney; 10. Salman Rushdie.

Sport

1. Lillehanuner, Norway; Victoria, Cana- da; the United States; 2. Shane Warne; 3. A Scot, Gavin Hastings; 4. Harold Lar- wood; 5. Terry Venables, from Tottenham Hotspur; 6. Notts v. Hants, G.W. Mike c V.P. Terry b K.D. James; 7. Start cock- up, race void; 8. Jo Chamberlain captain of the England women's cricket team; 9. Eng- land soccer XI beaten by United States; 10. Retired.

Spades ... 1. Wordsworth; 2. Cowper; 3. A sword; 4. Belinda (`The Rape of the Lock'); 5. Gwendolen.

. or clubs

6. Diogenes; 7. Junior Ganymede; 8. Par- liament; 9. White's (1693); 10. Ivy Lane.

Evergreens 1. Verdant Green; 2. The Green Knight; 3. Graham Greene; 4. Robert Greene; 5. Nuuk (Godthab); 6. Greenwich; 7. Ver- mont; 8 John Richard Green; 9. Kate Greenaway; 10 `Greensleeves'.

Mother tongue 1. g; 2. j; 3. h; 4. f; 5. a; 6. b; 7. c; 8. i; 9. e; 10. d.

Florilegium

1. The florin; 2. Flora Macdonald; 3. Flori- da; 4. Joseph of Arimathea; 5. Keats (`Ode to a Nightingale'); 6. April, May and June; 7. Shelley; 8. The Winter's Tale; 9 i Remembrance, ii Thoughts; 10. A Spanish cloister (Browning).

Abecedary

A. Ag; B. A Boojum; C. Lord Chesterfield; D. The dog-star; E. Echidna; F. Fashanu's; G. Gerontius; H. A habergeon; I. The ich- neumon; J. Jack Ketch; K. Kumiss; L. Lin- colnshire; M. Mecca to Medina; N. Nim- rod; 0. Ogpu; P. Paracelsus; Q. Quasimo- do; R. 'Rock of Ages'; S. Saki; T. The Thistle; U. Utah; V. Venus; W. Window tax; X. Xanthippe; Y. Yew; Z. Zenith.

Gratia artis

1. Whistler's mother; 2. St Teresa; 3. Hol- bein's; 4. One; 6. White harts; 7. Goya, 1746 (David, 1748); 8. Blake, 1827 (Con- stable, 1837); 9. Hogarth; 10. Eggs.