Ten Answers to the Odd Questions That Appear Under the Dictionary.com Banner When You Look up a Word.

* You can play Jeopardy and work out the question.
** Due to the questions seemingly never being updated, I have had to steal a couple from alternative sources.

Answer:

1. Twenty days before and after the conjunction of Sirius (the Dog Star) and the Sun. In the middle ages, in the Meditteranean, this would fall in line with the hottest days of summer, and be associated with disease and discomfort.
2. A greyish yellow.
3. An inexperienced person.
4. Hypocorism.
5. Theodore Suess Geisel.
6. Where one stands.
7. A framework of sticks.
8. To grapple or struggle with or as if with the claws of hands.
9. The dot on top of the little letter 'i'.
10. Ancient clans who wanted people removed from their community (without actually murdering them) would burn down their houses.

Answer—which is actually the question, or, Question—which is actually the answer:

1. Why is the phrase 'dog days of summer' named for something in outer space?
2. What colour does the Spanish name Isabella refer to?
Irony: A friend by the same name associates words with colours. There’s a name for that. That will have to be another question.
3. What does the jay in jay-walking mean?
4. What is the technical name for what couples do when they call each other 'Sweet-knees and light; honey-bunchells and being', or, 'Mint Cream Deluxe'?
5. What is the still rather wacky, real name of Dr Suess?
6. What does the -stan at the end of Pakistan or Kyrgyzstan or any number of other -stans literally mean?
7. What is the original meaning of the word 'barbecue'?
8. Scrabble is a fun game, but what is the not-so-fun definition of 'to scrabble'? That sounds a lot more like the last game of scrabble I played.
9. Without being rude,what is the meaning of the word 'tittle'?
10. What is the origin of the phrase 'to get fired'?

Ten Questions Worth Asking.

1. When you sleep, where do your fingers go? (Thanks Cake).
2. Why is belly button lint blue? (Thanks V——).
3. If you had a science degree, would you become an astronaut or a Mythbusters scientist?
4. Kylie or Dannii? Or Sam or Dean? Or, for the older vampire lovers, Angel or Spike? For the newer, Edward or Jacob?
5. Why do Sandra Sully and Jennifer Kyte manage to keep their jobs despite the advance of age, but most other female broadcasters get processed pronto?
6. Why do we have to deal with other human beings?
7. Why do pineapples make your tongue hurt; and omelets make your teeth feel weird but not scrambled eggs?
8. Why do first class train seats all face backwards——it's not like that class goes faster, or has higher g-forces.
9. Why are you able to have pimples and wrinkles at the same time? They should be mutually exclusive.
10. Why did Bodhi have better eyelashes than me?