10Q (August 22, 2024)

1. The name of this business might make you feel it has a Spanish origin, but it was simply chosen because it's a short, memorable word that can be written without taking up too much space. The origins of the business lie in a weekend roadside stall selling clothes, set up in 1973 on the Portobello Road Market by three brothers of Indian descent: Nitin, Arun and Milan Shah. What company?

2. [A] is a 4-letter word for the introductory section of a journalistic piece in a newspaper or magazine, sometimes used for the intro piece itself. It comes from the regular English word [B] for something that comes first, but it's spelt differently because [B], pronounced differently, also refers to something more basic and technical in moveable-type printing. What are the two words?

3. Different spellings again. What name, spelt differently in each case, connects the man of Goan origin who was co-founder of the Board for Control of Cricket in India, the All India Radio commentator who spoke through the entirety of Mahatma Gandhi's 7-hour funeral broadcast, and Satish Shah's character in the 1983 black comedy film 'Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro'?

4. Which much-translated author of 'Ficciones' ('Fictions') and 'El Aleph' ('The Aleph'), both first published in the 1940s, said the following?
"I respect translators, and my stories have sometimes been greatly bettered by them. One of them told me so himself. Besides, I am so fond of English that I like anything better in English than in Spanish."
He was a well-regarded translator himself, having translated works of literature in English, French, German, Old English, and Old Norse into Spanish.

5. The dictionary provides these as meanings of the word [X]:
 
1 : relating to or characterized by occultism or abstruseness : recondite
 
2a : airtight

b : impervious to external influence

c : recluse, solitary
     
When it first entered English in the early 17th century, [X] was associated with writings attributed to Thoth, the Egyptian god of wisdom. Thoth, whom the Greeks called ______ Trismegistus ("thrice-great ______"), was believed to be the author of a number of mystical, philosophical, and alchemistic works. The obscure subject matter of these works may have made them difficult to wade through, for soon English speakers were also applying [X] to things that were beyond ordinary human comprehension. Additionally, ______ Trismegistus was said to have invented a magic seal that could keep vessels airtight. [X] thus came to mean 'airtight', both literally and figuratively. What is [X]? The blanks above are all the same, the name of the herald of the gods in Greek mythology.

6. In the picture below, taken during Mahatma Gandhi's visit to Britain in 1930-31, the robed woman to Gandhi's left was born Madeleine Slade, daughter of British Rear-Admiral Sir Edmond Slade and his wife Florence. After reading Romain Rolland's biography of Gandhi, she became a disciple of the Mahatma, and moved to Sabarmati Ashram to live as an ascetic. What name from Indian classical history did she adopt from then on?

 

 

7. The first rule of design in this field is the rule of tincture: metal should not be put on metal, nor colour on colour. This means that or and argent (gold and silver, which are represented by yellow and white) may not be placed on each other; nor may any of the colours (azure, gules, sable, vert and purpure) be placed on another colour. In the design of what are these rules of paramount importance?

 

8. Mutton-bustin' is an event held at rodeos similar to bull riding or bronc riding, but with two 'small' differences -- the rider and the ridee. The practice has been documented as having been introduced to the National Western Stock Show at least by the 1980s when an event was sponsored by Nancy Stockdale Cervi, a former rodeo queen. What does mutton-bustin' consist of?

 

9. French and Spanish sailors between the 17th and 19th centuries used a dame de voyage (French) or dama de viaje (Spanish), made of sewn cloth or old clothes. In Japan, there were 'Dutch Wives' ('dattchi waifu'), inspired by the thick rattan or bamboo bolster used to aid sleep in humid countries. What were these early examples of?

 

10. In Hindu mythology, sea god Varuna’s vahana, Jaladhi, was born from [X]'s earwax, while Paundraka, the black buffalo that Yama rides, was born from [X]’s thigh. Who is this multi-utility deity associated with storms, wildness and anger, whose name is generally translated as 'the roarer'?

 

 

Answers
1. Pepe Jeans
2. Lede and lead (which metal type was made of)
3. D'Mello – Anthony de Mello, Melville de Mellow, and Commissioner D'Mello
4. Jorge Luis Borges
5. Hermetic
6. Mira Behn
7. Heraldry
8. Children riding or racing sheep

9. Sex dolls
10. Rudra (half points for Shiva, whom Rudra evolved into in post-Vedic times)