Quibbles May Arise: An Interview with Spencer Spencer

Quizmaster Spencer Spencer has run a monthly pub quiz at The Geese pub on Southover Street in Brighton for twelve years. On 2 July 2024, the quiz included a specialist round devised using Webster’s Timeline History: Secrecy, 393 BC–2007. Sally O’Reilly quizzed the quizmaster on how the evening played out. Curious readers can read Spencer’s quiz questions and answers here.

CABINET: What is your quizmaster modus operandi?

SPENCER SPENCER: Now that we live in a time when people can rummage for answers online while popping out for a puff or nipping to the loo, quizzers can’t be policed. Add to this the fact that answers found (even by the question setter) will often vary, depending on the reliability of the source, and the difficulties start stacking up against the quizmaster.

Therefore, I am a totalitarian. There can be no grey area; there must be true or false, correct or incorrect. Quibbles may arise, thankfully not too regularly and, so far, not more than once in a single evening. When they do, my persona will magically transform: the warm host becomes a bossy schoolteacher that takes charge of the rabble. I will loudly declare myself to be the quiz wizard, master of ceremonies, swift crusher of the mirthless heckle, and, critically, sovereign adjudicator of right and wrong within the borders of my realm—the pub.

Which sources do you frequently turn to when composing and compiling questions?

Wikipedia is great for subject matter that’s static, mostly immovable, or very slow or unlikely to change: scientific facts, geography, sports data, bibliographies, discographies. It’s less useful for subjective topics like history. History might well be written by the victors, but it’s edited by corporations, shadowy puppeteers of the Metaverse, and fanatics of every imaginable stripe and flavor.

Certain subjects have a huge public interest and thus warrant dedicated channels, which can be goldmines to quarry. IMDb has thorough, indisputable data on films and their casts, which prompted me to dedicate an entire round to cinema, and drastically improved the efficiency of my prep. Not only is it a popular round, with a varying number of teams pinning the actor, it is one that has never been aced by anyone, and probably never will be. I’m pretty chuffed with that format.

How do you select the subject matter of a specialist round?

The specialist round was born from my own needs rather than those of my punters. Having a specific topic to research can swiftly generate a good number of questions, rather like providing an artist with a brief instead of an oppressive blank canvas of infinite possibilities. It’s a round of six extended, multipoint questions on a surprise subject that’s pretty niche.