Match Day 11 Overview

This set spans theatre, mathematics, women’s pro sports, country music, American literature, and modern diplomatic history. You met the soliloquy, a core dramatic device whose name comes from Latin solus (alone) + loqui (to speak), describing a character speaking thoughts aloud to the audience. From there the day jumped to Leonhard Euler’s famous Seven Bridges of Königsberg puzzle, which helped launch graph theory by formalizing the impossibility of walking a route that crossed each of Königsberg’s seven bridges over the Pregel (now Pregolya) River exactly once.

Place-based clues were everywhere. Portland’s NWSL club, the Thorns, takes its name and crest from Portland’s late‑19th‑century nickname “City of Roses,” tying into the Rose Festival and local rose-growing culture. Merle Haggard was identified through a web of song titles and biographical hints—“Okie from Muskogee,” “Mama Tried,” and his late‑1950s incarceration in California’s San Quentin State Prison. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished 1941 novel The Last Tycoon supplied Monroe Stahr, a Hollywood studio head modeled on MGM “boy wonder” producer Irving Thalberg. And in world history, Switzerland—host to major UN agencies like the WHO, ILO, and UNHCR in Geneva—was the late‑joining UN member, only entering in 2002 after a national referendum.

There are useful patterns to bank for future play: Latin and Greek roots that unlock vocabulary (soliloquy), classic “math history” chestnuts (Königsberg bridges), city nicknames that drive team names (Rose City → Thorns), and questions that weave multiple cultural references—song titles, collaborators, biographical beats—into a single ID (Haggard, Thalberg, Switzerland). Thinking in terms of these patterns makes it easier to reason through tough questions even when you only recognize part of the clue.

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Study Notes

Question 1: Soliloquy

THEATRE - Derived from the Latin for “speaking alone”, what theatrical term refers to a device in which a character voices their inner thoughts aloud, unheard by other characters, so the audience can understand their true feelings and motivations?

A soliloquy is a speech in drama where a character, typically alone on stage or ignored by others, speaks their thoughts aloud so the audience can access their inner feelings and plans. The term comes from Late Latin soliloquium, built from solus (“alone”) and loqui (“to speak”), literally “speaking alone.”

  • Reasoning Tips

    • The clue phrase “speaking alone” is almost a direct translation of the Latin roots solus + loqui → soliloquy.
    • Focus on the dramatic function: a character voicing private thoughts to be heard only by the audience, which distinguishes soliloquy from a monologue addressed to other characters.
    • Shakespeare is a strong associative anchor: Hamlet’s “To be, or not to be” is the textbook soliloquy.
    • Watch for phrasing like “alone on stage,” “inner thoughts,” or “unheard by other characters”—all standard signals for soliloquy in trivia questions.

  • Sources

Question 2: Königsberg and the Seven Bridges

MATH - What former Prussian city had, in Leonhard Euler’s time, seven bridges that crossed the Pregel (Pregolya) River, connecting the city’s northern and southern portions with the Kneiphof (Immanuel Kant) and Lomse (Oktyabrsky) islands?

The city is Königsberg, a former Prussian city on the Pregel (now Pregolya) River whose seven bridges inspired Euler’s famous “Seven Bridges of Königsberg” problem, foundational to graph theory and topology. The city is today known as Kaliningrad, Russia, and historically included the river islands Kneiphof (now Kant Island) and Lomse (now Oktyabrsky Island).

  • Reasoning Tips

    • “Seven bridges” and Leonhard Euler are classic trigger phrases for the Seven Bridges of Königsberg problem; once you see Euler + bridges, you should think Königsberg.
    • The question’s geography—former Prussian city, on the Pregel/Pregolya River, now Russian—fits Königsberg, later renamed Kaliningrad after World War II.
    • Island names are extra confirmation: Kneiphof (site of Königsberg Cathedral, now called Kant Island) and Lomse (now Oktyabrsky Island) are specific to Königsberg.
    • For math‑history questions, it’s worth memorizing a few canonical pairs: Euler ↔ Königsberg bridges, Fermat ↔ Last Theorem, etc.—they recur constantly.

  • Sources

    • Wikipedia – Seven Bridges of Königsberg – Describes the 18th‑century Königsberg layout, the seven bridges over the Pregel, and Euler’s solution founding graph theory.
    • Wikipedia – Königsberg – Identifies Königsberg as a historic Prussian city, now Kaliningrad, located on the Pregel/Pregolya River.
    • Wikipedia – Pregolya – Gives the river’s historical German name Pregel and notes its course through Kaliningrad.
    • Wikipedia – Kneiphof – Explains that Kneiphof was an island town in the Pregel, now part of Kaliningrad and known as Kant Island.
    • Wikipedia – Lomse – Describes Lomse as a Königsberg quarter on Lomse Island in the Pregel, now Oktyabrsky Island in Kaliningrad.
    • Britannica – Kaliningrad – Summarizes the city’s history as formerly Königsberg, capital of East Prussia, later transferred to the USSR.

Question 3: Portland Thorns FC and the “Rose City”

GAMES/SPORT - What is the team name of Portland’s National Women’s Soccer League franchise, a pointed nod to the city’s nickname dating back to the late 19th century?

Portland’s NWSL club is Portland Thorns FC, named so that the “Thorns” and rose imagery in the crest directly reference the city’s long‑standing nickname “City of Roses” or “Rose City.” Portland has been known as the City of Roses since at least the 1880s, with early rose shows and, from 1907, the annual Portland Rose Festival cementing the nickname.

  • Reasoning Tips

    • Start from league + city: the NWSL team in Portland is Portland Thorns FC; knowing the basic NWSL map pays off in sports categories.
    • The clue about a nickname from the late 19th century points to Portland’s “City of Roses” identity—so a plant‑ or rose‑themed team name makes sense. “Thorns” is a clever, tougher‑sounding derivative.
    • Remember that the men’s MLS team is the Portland Timbers; the women’s club keeps the “PTFC” initials via Thorns, which is even mentioned in early press around the name choice.
    • Many trivia questions test city nickname ↔ team name pairs (e.g., New Orleans Pelicans, Pittsburgh Steelers). Banking “Rose City → Thorns” gives you a reliable association.

  • Sources

Question 4: Merle Haggard, “Okie from Muskogee”

POP MUSIC - Name the country music legend and “Okie from Muskogee”, the “Lefty” to Willie Nelson’s “Pancho”, whose “Mama Tried” but was unable to keep her son from spending nearly three years in San Quentin in the late 1950s?

The answer is Merle Haggard, the influential country singer‑songwriter whose hits include “Okie from Muskogee” and “Mama Tried,” and who served about two years and nine months in California’s San Quentin State Prison after a 1957 attempted robbery. He later recorded “Pancho and Lefty” with Willie Nelson, in which Nelson plays Pancho and Haggard sings the role of Lefty in the song and music video.

  • Reasoning Tips

    • The titles “Okie from Muskogee” and “Mama Tried” together very strongly point to Merle Haggard; both are signature songs from his late‑1960s peak.
    • The biographical clue about serving nearly three years in San Quentin after a late‑1950s robbery attempt matches Haggard’s 1958–1960 imprisonment for an attempted roadhouse robbery in Bakersfield.
    • “Lefty to Willie Nelson’s Pancho” alludes to their 1983 duet hit “Pancho and Lefty,” where Willie and Merle split the titular roles; that cross‑reference is a common trivia way to point at Haggard without naming him.
    • For country‑music ID questions, notice when multiple song titles, a collaborator (Willie Nelson), and a vivid life event (prison) all converge on a single artist—that constellation is unlikely to fit anyone else.

  • Sources

Question 5: Monroe Stahr and The Last Tycoon

LITERATURE - F. Scott Fitzgerald’s character Monroe Stahr, said to be based on “boy wonder” producer Irving Thalberg, is described by the author as “The Last” what, in the title of his unfinished novel from 1941?

Monroe Stahr is “The Last Tycoon,” the central figure of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s unfinished 1941 novel The Last Tycoon, published posthumously and widely regarded as a roman à clef about MGM production chief Irving Thalberg. Fitzgerald’s friend Edmund Wilson edited the incomplete manuscript for its first 1941 release.

  • Reasoning Tips

    • The key is connecting Monroe Stahr to Hollywood studio moguls: sources routinely note he is modeled on Irving Thalberg, the MGM “boy wonder” producer.
    • Once you think “Hollywood studio boss,” the phrase “the last ___” in the title suggests tycoon, a common English word for a powerful business magnate and the actual title of the novel.
    • Recognize that Fitzgerald’s major works for trivia purposes are This Side of Paradise, The Beautiful and Damned, The Great Gatsby, Tender Is the Night, and his posthumous, unfinished Hollywood novel The Last Tycoon—memorizing that short list helps in literature questions.
    • The clue year, 1941, also aligns with the posthumous publication of The Last Tycoon, confirming you’re on the right track if you recall Fitzgerald died in 1940.

  • Sources

Question 6: Switzerland and the United Nations

WORLD HIST - What country, despite being home to various UN and UN-aligned organizations including the World Health Organization, International Labour Organization, and Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, did not join the United Nations as a member until 2002?

The country is Switzerland, which long maintained UN observer status while hosting many UN bodies in Geneva—including the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Labour Organization (ILO), and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)—before finally becoming a full UN member in 2002. Following a March 2002 referendum in which about 55% of Swiss voters supported accession, the UN General Assembly admitted Switzerland as its 190th member state on 10 September 2002.