Compiled by Kathryn Bromwich, Euan Ferguson, Guy Lodge, Emily Stevens and Holly Williams 

The Observer Christmas puzzles special: bumper quiz of the year

Test your mettle against our writers’ questions on film, music, politics, theatre and more
  
  

Clockwise from top left: Judi Dench, Lil Nas X, Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, Elton John, Diane Abbott, Lana Del Rey, PJ Harvey, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, an emperor penguin, Jarvis Cocker, The Pet Shop Boys and Richard Hawley.
Clockwise from top left: Judi Dench, Lil Nas X, Robbie Williams and Guy Chambers, Elton John, Diane Abbott, Lana Del Rey, PJ Harvey, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, an emperor penguin, Jarvis Cocker, The Pet Shop Boys and Richard Hawley. Composite: Rex/Getty Images

  1. Which of these bestselling novels has not been seen on British stages this year?

    1. Life of Pi – Yann Martel

    2. The Line of Beauty – Alan Hollinghurst

    3. Grief Is the Thing with Feathers – Max Porter

    4. Small Island – Andrea Levy

  2. A hugely successful revival of Harold Pinter’s Betrayal transferred from the West End to Broadway this year. Tom Hiddleston's casting in the starring role caused major excitement, so much so that one audience member was reported to have done what during a pivotal scene?

    1. Facetime her best friend who couldn’t afford a ticket

    2. Masturbate against her seat

    3. Storm the stage to ask him to marry her

    4. Faint

  3. When Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s original Fleabag play returned to the West End, media coverage became fixated on how many times she swore within the hour. Was it:

    1. 27 times

    2. 33 times

    3. 42 times

    4. 59 times

  4. Which musician wrote the songs for All About Eve, which starred Gillian Anderson and Lily Cole at the Noël Coward theatre?

    1. PJ Harvey

    2. Imogen Heap

    3. Fiona Apple

    4. Cat Power

  5. Two searing recreations of true-life investigations graced our televisions screen this year. In A Confession, Martin Freeman was DS Stephen Fulcher, who made a procedural mistake in seeking Sian O’Callaghan’s killer, Christopher Halliwell. But which actor, better known for more exuberant genres, played DCI Colin Sutton who doggedly tracked down Levi Bellfield, killer of Milly Dowler and others, in Manhunt?

    1. Bradley Walsh

    2. Martin Clunes

    3. Rob Lowe

    4. Tim McInnerny

  6. THE DARK CRYSTAL: AGE OF RESISTANCE

    The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance, produced by Netflix and the Jim Henson Company, is a prequel to the 1982 film of the same name. But where was Jim Henson when he wrote the original film?

    1. Snowed in at a hotel in New York during a blizzard

    2. Living in a shed in his parents’ garden six months after graduating

    3. Spending the night in custody for public intoxication

    4. On a cruise ship holiday with his family, after contracting severe gastroenteritis

  7. “I once brought a jackass and a honeycomb into a brothel,” was the last line of which show this year?

    1. Endeavour

    2. Upstart Crow

    3. Game of Thrones

    4. Rick Stein's Secret France

  8. Which Netflix series featured an all-female team of creators, writers and directors?

    1. Russian Doll

    2. Orange Is the New Black

    3. Sex Education

    4. Glow

  9. Seven Worlds, One Planet<br>Programme Name: Seven Worlds, One Planet - TX: n/a - Episode: n/a (No. n/a) - Picture Shows: Sir David Attenborough filming at Stokksnes beach in Iceland for Seven Worlds, One Planet. Social Media Use Unless specified to the contrary below, it is permitted to post the image on social network sites such as Facebook provided they are reduced to 72dpi and no more than 720 x 491 pixels in size and the programme title and full copyright credit. Sir David Attenborough - (C) BBC NHU - Photographer: Alex Board

    The BBC and Netflix allowed David Attenborough to finally tell it like it is with Our Planet and then Climate Change: The Facts. He followed up with the spirited, message-heavy and glorious Seven Worlds, One Planet. But what is the title of his beautifully filmed but somehow "meh" offering from early summer?

    1. Legacy

    2. Under One Sun

    3. Dynasties

    4. Extinction, Rebellion, Rebirth

  10. Who played Vivienne Rook, a populist politician who made voting mandatory in Russell T Davies’s near-future dystopia Years and Years?

    1. Emily Mortimer

    2. Emma Thompson

    3. Kelly Macdonald

    4. Julie Walters

  11. “You can’t be brave unless you’re scared.” Which acclaimed film does this quote come from?

    1. Black Panther

    2. The Irishman

    3. Eighth Grade

    4. Toy Story 4

  12. “I believe they messed the music up... the magic and joy were lost,” said Elton John in a GQ interview this year. Which 2019 film did he label “a huge disappointment”?

    1. Judy

    2. The Lion King

    3. Yesterday

    4. Rocketman

  13. Judi Dench stars as Old Deuteronomy in Cats, returning to the mega-musical 38 years after she dropped out of the original stage production. What happened?

    1. Her singing was deemed unsatisfactory

    2. She snapped her achilles tendon in rehearsal

    3. She left to film the sitcom A Fine Romance

    4. She proved allergic to her cat costume

  14. In March, director Jordan Peele returned to our screens with horror film Us. Which Bible verse is repeatedly alluded to in it?

    1. Deuteronomy 11:11

    2. 1 Corinthians 11:11

    3. Jeremiah 11:11

    4. Mark 11:11

  15. In January, an Oscar contender deleted their Twitter account after a pro-Trump tweet from 2015 resurfaced, and went on to win despite the ensuing controversy. Who was it?

    1. Graham King, producer of Bohemian Rhapsody

    2. Nick Vallelonga, screenwriter of Green Book

    3. Lady Gaga, star of A Star Is Born

    4. Spike Lee, director of BlacKkKlansman

  16. In November, Michael Gove embarrassed himself by quoting Stormzy in a Twitter exchange. But who, until then, had been his favourite rapper?

    1. Robert Van Winkle, AKA Florida-based rapper Vanilla Ice

    2. “Chap hop” artist Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer

    3. Rapper, producer and marijuana entrepreneur Snoop Dogg

    4. Dappy, N-Dubz lead singer and hat enthusiast

  17. Lana Del Rey gained acclaim with her August release Norman Fucking Rockwell!. But before she was Lana Del Rey, she assumed a number of stage names. Which of the following is not a former name?

    1. Sparkle Jump Rope Queen

    2. May Jailer

    3. Princess Marilyn

    4. Lizzy Grant

  18. Earlier this year, Lil Nas X’s country-rap hybrid Old Town Road set a new record for most weeks at No 1 in the US. Billy Ray Cyrus, who features on a remix of the song, later revealed the original lyrics to his line “Baby’s got a habit, diamond rings and Fendi sports bras.” What were they?

    1. “Baby’s got no habits, all she wanna do is yoga.”

    2. “Baby’s got a habit, diamond rings and marijuana.”

    3. “Baby’s gotta have it, otherwise she’s off to Utah.”

    4. “Baby’s got a habit, diamond rings and daily caviar.”

  19. Which of the following music videos was not one of YouTube’s top 10 most viewed globally this year?

    1. Ed Sheeran & Justin Bieber – I Don’t Care

    2. Daddy Yankee & Snow – Con Calma

    3. Billie Eilish - bad guy

    4. Shawn Mendes, Camila Cabello – Señorita

  20. At Camp Flog Gnaw Carnival, a Los Angeles festival curated by Tyler, the Creator, Drake was booed off stage. Which rumoured artist was the crowd expecting instead?

    1. Steve Lacy

    2. Childish Gambino

    3. Frank Ocean

    4. Vince Staples

  21. In politics, Diane Abbott made headlines for drinking a canned M&S cocktail on a London train. What drink was it?

    1. Piña colada

    2. Cosmopolitan

    3. Espresso martini

    4. Mojito

  22. Unaware of being filmed at the Nato summit earlier this month, Justin Trudeau was caught seemingly mocking Donald Trump for taking an impromptu 40-minute press conference, saying: “I just watched his team’s jaws drop to the floor.” But what did Trudeau later tell reporters his comment referred to?

    1. David Holmes’s testimony during the Trump impeachment inquiry

    2. The president’s announcement that the next G7 summit would be held at Camp David

    3. Trump’s attack on Jeremy Corbyn, which claimed his leadership would be “so bad” for the UK

    4. One of Trump’s tweets, calling Kim Jong-un “little rocket man”

  23. Which of the following was not a feature of the Conservative party’s social media campaign?

    1. The rebranding of an official Conservative Twitter account as a fact-checking service

    2. A Twitter image, in Comic Sans font, urging MPs to “come together and get Brexit done”

    3. A meme outlining the benefits of fiscal responsibility

    4. A site made to attack Labour, along with an official ad presenting it as the Labour manifesto

  24. This year, Donald Trump made headlines with his tweets. According to a New York Times analysis, between January 2017 and November 2019, how many of his tweets have promoted conspiracy theories?

    1. 190

    2. 550

    3. 1,710

    4. 4,030

  25. How many of Trump’s tweets have praised himself?

    1. 50

    2. 670

    3. 1,259

    4. 2,026

  26. And how many have praised dictators?

    1. 47

    2. 132

    3. 244

    4. 706

Solutions

1:B, 2:B, 3:B, 4:A, 5:B, 6:A, 7:C, 8:A, 9:C, 10:B, 11:C, 12:B, 13:B, 14:C, 15:B, 16:B, 17:C, 18:B, 19:A, 20:C, 21:D, 22:B, 23:C, 24:C, 25:D, 26:B

Scores

  1. 26 and above.

    Ho ho ho! Congratulations on your incredible discernment, wit and erudition. May the rain fall on your enemies.

  2. 25 and above.

    Ho ho ho! Congratulations on your incredible discernment, wit and erudition. May the rain fall on your enemies.

  3. 24 and above.

    Ho ho ho! Congratulations on your incredible discernment, wit and erudition. May the rain fall on your enemies.

  4. 23 and above.

    Ho ho ho! Congratulations on your incredible discernment, wit and erudition. May the rain fall on your enemies.

  5. 22 and above.

    Ho ho ho! Congratulations on your incredible discernment, wit and erudition. May the rain fall on your enemies.

  6. 21 and above.

    Ho ho ho! Congratulations on your incredible discernment, wit and erudition. May the rain fall on your enemies.

  7. 20 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  8. 19 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  9. 18 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  10. 17 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  11. 16 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  12. 15 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  13. 14 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  14. 13 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  15. 12 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  16. 11 and above.

    Almost there. Strong "always second in the local pub quiz" vibes. Better step up your efforts if you want to win that bottle of novelty schnapps.

  17. 10 and above.

    Christmas time comes but once a year. And that's just as well, since festive quizzes aren't really your thing, are they?

  18. 9 and above.

    Christmas time comes but once a year. And that's just as well, since festive quizzes aren't really your thing, are they?

  19. 8 and above.

    Christmas time comes but once a year. And that's just as well, since festive quizzes aren't really your thing, are they?

  20. 7 and above.

    Christmas time comes but once a year. And that's just as well, since festive quizzes aren't really your thing, are they?

  21. 6 and above.

    Christmas time comes but once a year. And that's just as well, since festive quizzes aren't really your thing, are they?

  22. 5 and above.

    Oh dear. Did you heed Morrissey's advice and "stop watching the news"? Might be about time to start keeping up.

  23. 4 and above.

    Oh dear. Did you heed Morrissey's advice and "stop watching the news"? Might be about time to start keeping up.

  24. 3 and above.

    Oh dear. Did you heed Morrissey's advice and "stop watching the news"? Might be about time to start keeping up.

  25. 2 and above.

    Oh dear. Did you heed Morrissey's advice and "stop watching the news"? Might be about time to start keeping up.

  26. 1 and above.

    Oh dear. Did you heed Morrissey's advice and "stop watching the news"? Might be about time to start keeping up.

  27. 0 and above.

    Oh dear. Did you heed Morrissey's advice and "stop watching the news"? Might be about time to start keeping up.
 

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