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Last Week's Quiz

Created by Eli Robinson
Edited by Jonpaul Guinn

Read This First

  • Submit your answers by 7:28am ET 4/28/26
  • Don't cheat. Cheating is bad. Using Google/AI/ChatGPT/Gemini IS cheating.
  • Trivia graders don't care about spelling (but try your hardest)
  • No negative points for incorrect responses (so guess to your heart's content)
  • Email [email protected] for clarification on any questions

After just over eight years as the chairman of the Federal Reserve, Jay Powell is overseeing the last meeting of the governors next week.



Every American’s life is affected by the decisions that the central bank makes, but sometimes it sounds like they’re speaking a foreign language!

We’ve picked some of Chair Powell’s favorite jargon and given you an idea of how you and he may use them differently. You tell us the terms. We’ll even spot you the number of words and letters of the exact answer.

Q1. 1 Word, 9 Letters: To Jay, it’s the upward movement of prices for goods and services in an economy. To you, it’s what your kids’ new beach balls need before heading to the beach.



Q2. 1 Word, 11 Letters: To Jay, it’s when the economy is growing unsustainably fast, exceeding its productive capacity. To you, it’s what happens when you turn up the thermostat a little too high in the winter.



Q3. 1 Word, 6 Letters: To Jay, it’s the interest payment that a bond issuer promises to pay a bondholder regularly from the date of issuance until the date of maturity. To you, it's a little slip that'll get you buy one, get one on Grey Poupon.



Q4. 2 Words, 11 Letters: To Jay, it’s the process of an economy shifting from growth to slow-growth to potentially flat, as it approaches but avoids a recession. To you, it’s what you hope the pilots achieve when you finally get back to the ground after vacation.



Q5. 1 Word, 10 Letters: To Jay, it’s restricting monetary policy to slow spending. To you, it’s what happens to the fit of your jeans after over-indulging during the holiday season.



Q6. 1 Word, 12 Letters: To Jay, it’s how central bank policy changes actually spread through the economy. To you, it’s either how your kids pass viruses at daycare or a gearbox that connects the engine to the wheels.



Q7. 1 Word, 7 Letters: To Jay, it’s a security that entitles the holder to buy or sell stock, typically the stock of the issuing company, at a fixed price. To you, it’s what law enforcement needs from a judge if they’re going to execute a legal search and seizure.



Q8. 1 Word, 6 Letters: To Jay, it’s a description of an asset that’s easily convertible into cash with relatively little loss of value in the conversion process. To you, it’s a state of matter with a definite volume but no fixed shape.



Q9. 2 Words, 14 Letters: To Jay, it’s a central bank lending facility meant to help commercial banks manage short-term cash needs. To you, it’s what you purchase for your home renovation after you decide that a Pella or Andersen are too expensive.



Q10. 1 Word, 4 Letters: To Jay, it’s a description of a measurement that’s adjusted for the answer to question one. To you, and six strangers picked to live in a house and have your lives taped, it's what happens when people stop being polite.



TIEBREAKER When the FED talks about raising and lowering interest rates, they’re usually talking about the “Federal Funds Rate” or the interest rate at which U.S. banks lend their excess cash reserves to other banks overnight. In early 2026, the Fed Funds rate is between 3-4%. According to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, what’s the highest rate ever, recorded in June 1981?

Quiz is closed and your answers are now locked! Graders are grading and results will be sent on 4/28/26