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Animals by Alternate Etymology

Can you guess these animals based on a totally made up explanation of their name?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: January 12, 2022
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First submittedJanuary 12, 2022
Times taken8,099
Average score55.0%
Rating3.25
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Name meaning
Animal
Because these insects are often found on sports fields in India
Cricket
Named for the city in New York state where they first evolved
Buffalo
Named after Volkswagen's all-time best selling car
Beetle
This bovid was so-named because of its tendency to blab and gossip
Yak
This spider was rebranded in 2021 to advertise a superhero movie
Black Widow
This big cat was named for a British car brand
Jaguar
Like many plumbing companies, this animal changed its name
so it would be first in the phone book
Aardvark
While in Siam, if you hear a "grrr" sound coming from the jungle, you better watch out!
Tiger
Because they love rotten pears
Parrot
Ancient people in northern Scandinavia thought they could cause precipitation
Reindeer
Named for the people who discovered it: Jack Palance and Al Gore
Jackal
Because early safari goers were disappointed that this lazy predator was
always just lying around
Lion
The first people to see them thought they were "merely cats"
Meerkat
Do ring the gong, if you ever see one of these
Dugong
Because this insect was often found swarming around churns
Butterfly
One person might not be able to spot this bird, but two can
Toucan
Rupert Murdoch bought the naming rights to this animal
Fox
Early Caribbean explorers thought it was just a man in a T-shirt
Manatee
An acronym that means Extremely Elusive Lamprey
Eel
Because they are such good swimmers they are like the U.S. navy's special forces
Seal
tofani
+3
Level 80
Jan 15, 2022
Fantastic quiz - thanks!
brandybuck96
+6
Level 82
Jan 15, 2022
The butterfly one is surprisingly close to the truth, it's thought that it comes from a belief that butterflies stole butter and milk
vittoriaa
+5
Level 37
Jan 15, 2022
lovely quiz, tho i think there's an error: the space where the animals should appear is under the name of "country", i believe that should be "animal"
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Jan 15, 2022
Stupid copy/paste! Fixed.
Dblingah
+5
Level 76
Jan 15, 2022
Ah, didn't know who Rupert Murdoch was so I tried dachshund thinking it was going for 'doch's hound. Really fun quiz!
pinkysbrain
+1
Level 80
Jan 15, 2022
Fun.
sumguy
+1
Level 83
Jan 16, 2022
Apparently there's an animal called a "dugong".
blizzrd33
+4
Level 78
Jan 16, 2022
Close relative of the manatee.
DonTheLamplighter
+2
Level 84
Jan 16, 2022
Volkwagen? Missing the "s".
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jan 17, 2022
Fixed
Jato
+2
Level 68
Jan 19, 2022
That’s why everyone hates Vokzwagon so much, it was founded by drunken Nazis who came up with a very hard-to-spell name.
prs17
+1
Level 74
Jan 17, 2022
Named for the guy who sells them at K-Mart: caiman

And while we're here, Was seen washing its plastic shoes with bar soap: crocodile.

mf3
+3
Level 86
Jan 18, 2022
Darn! I was sure that banging a gong meant t-rex. (Post-boomers, see Wikipedia.)
paulus1
+1
Level 70
Jan 19, 2022
I answered boxer for dugong. If boxers here the gong ring they go and sit in the corner.
JudgeRudy
+1
Level 65
Jan 19, 2022
City Slickers IV with Al Gore lamenting the environmental impact of cattle drives much to Curly's chagrin. Kind of a clunker, but at least it lead to the discovery of Jackals.
blizzrd33
+4
Level 78
Jan 20, 2022
Is it just me, or does "parrot" only sound vaguely similar to rotten pears if you say the first syllable of parrot with a strong American accent?
kalbahamut
+2
Level 84
Jan 25, 2022
That wouldn't be unusual, though, if a thing named for something else had its pronunciation change over time to the point where it no longer sounded like the thing it was named for. For example America doesn't sound exactly like Amerigo. And though the word "holiday" comes from Old English hāligdæg, the literal translation "holy day" is also still used in contemporary English but pronounced differently.
Remster
+5
Level 75
Jan 25, 2022
::eyeroll::
kalbahamut
+1
Level 84
Jan 28, 2022
Here you go, Remster
Remster
+1
Level 75
Feb 1, 2022
::eyeroll::
Quagga50
+1
Level 79
Jan 25, 2022
What's a strong American accent?
Remster
+1
Level 75
Jan 30, 2022
It's whatever American accent sounds least like BBC English.
mf3
+8
Level 86
Jan 22, 2022
How about, this animal was named because it was the "greatest of all time".
Iamnotreallyhere
+2
Level 69
Jan 22, 2022
I spent ages trying to make Sun bear work for the Murdoch one :(
mpepperdine
+2
Level 69
Jan 25, 2022
Hah, I made the exact same mistake
reegis
+1
Level 65
Jan 25, 2022
Me three! Was quite proud of myself when I thought of it too
JWatson24
+4
Level 71
Jan 25, 2022
I tried "Dewgong" several times for the first question and was wondering why it wasn't working. Only when I finished the quiz and saw the correct spelling did I realize I was typing out the name of a Pokemon. *facepalm*
JWatson24
+1
Level 71
Jan 25, 2022
*not the first question, the one about the gong :P
Tragic
+2
Level 69
Jan 25, 2022
Completely spaced on the Jack & Al clue. Only thought was Jackass.
XYU
+1
Level 60
Jan 25, 2022
Enjoyed this - the stoopid contrived ones are pretty funny. Would be good to see another, maybe with plants or something.
YantheMan
+1
Level 66
Jan 25, 2022
This was a lot of fun - cool idea for a quiz!
Kahikatea
+2
Level 76
Jan 25, 2022
how do you get 'rotten pears' from parrot. Is this based on a regional accent somewhere?
AlexThirkell
+3
Level 73
Jan 25, 2022
I was wondering this too - is "parrot" pronounced "pear-rot" by people?
Quagga50
+1
Level 79
Jan 25, 2022
I've never heard anything other than "pear-it."
Jayjaysciz
+1
Level 55
Jan 28, 2022
I mean it's close enough. I say pair-aught. So it wasn't hard to figure out , just changing what letter to emphasize on.
FatSpartanJediLlama
+1
Level 61
Jan 26, 2022
I somehow misspelled dugong and missed it
mal
+1
Level 59
Jan 26, 2022
Wow, real lateral thinking needed and it's to early in the morning for that LOL
MrKenny
+2
Level 66
Jan 27, 2022
damn .. in french vw beetle is called "coccinelle" (ladybug) ..
ajc2270
+1
Level 75
Jan 28, 2022
Some of these were a little weird and a bit of a stretch for me. I like the idea, but I feel like the execution was a bit off.
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