Starter for ten

Posted by Bob on May 14, 2005

In Reply to: Starter for ten posted by James Briggs on May 14, 2005

: : I'm wondering where the expression "starter for ten" came from, and what exactly does it mean? My best guess is that it indicates an easy question is about to follow. I've heard this among Brits, but being a native Texan, it's not used much in these parts.

: It's terminolgy used in a very popular TV quizz show - University Challenge. It's very intellectual. Two teams are in competetition. They are asked a common question. The team that gets the correct answer then goes on to three further questions. The starter question is worth 10 points - hence the phrase, and the other three questions 5 points each. It a yearly battle between 24 teams. We've just had the final, won by an Oxford collegs, Corpus Christie if my memory hasn't completely failed. Some of the things these students know is incredible.

We don't have an equivalent in the U.S,, but years ago there was the GE College Bowl, a similar concept. I have fond memories of participating, in 1964.