The Nerve New Year's Eve quiz of the year

1. In November, Zohran K Mamdani was elected Mayor of New York City, making him the city’s youngest mayor since 1892, its first Muslim mayor, and first mayor born in Africa. But what does the “K” in his name stand for?

2. Donald Trump released a classy, “satirical” AI-generated video of himself dumping human excrement over protesters from a plane. What song from what film formed the soundtrack?

3. At the Labour party conference, prime minister Keir Starmer identified the values that make up the “real Britain”. Complete the sentence: “Painting a fence, running the raffle…”

4. In September, a young actress made waves at the Zurich film festival, attracting the attention of multiple talent agents. Conveniently, she can’t age, complain, or object to nudity, seeing as she is AI-generated. What is her name?

5. Which tech company did the EU fine €120m in 2025 for breaching multiple terms of the Digital Services Act?

1. Crisp charcuterie boards were all the rage on social media in 2025: trays loaded with an assortment of crisps and topped with olives, cheese and salami, then briefly grilled. But which inert gas is used in crisp packets to stop them oxidising?

2. In the Christmas instalment of her Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex revealed her husband Harry’s four most hated ingredients: black olives, fennel, pickled vegetables and which colourful salad ingredient?

3. In December, 24 restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland were added to the Michelin Guide, including Beau in Belfast and Bar Cerdita in Norwich. But what is the meaning of Shwen Shwen, the restaurant in Sevenoaks serving “colourful, unfussy and joyous” specialties from West Africa?

4. The pistachio trend was everywhere this year, from croissants to lattes to Dubai chocolate. Also known as “happy nut” or “smiling nut” due to the natural curvature of its shell, it is one of only two nuts mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 43:11). What is the other?

5. On her critically acclaimed album Euro-Country, Irish singer-songwriter CMAT rails against a famous TV chef: “I needed deli but God, I hate him / That man should not have his face on posters”. But what is the name of the song?

1. Which acclaimed British musician returned with an album that included a collaboration with author Zadie Smith?  

2. Olivia Rodrigo, Phil Collins, Rihanna, the Rolling Stones: there is an ever-growing list of artists who have requested that Trump stop using their music in his campaigns. Who is the latest to have objected to being sampled in an ICE video, calling it “evil and disgusting”?

3. “I was wrestling with a coat hanger, can you guess who won?" and “You were wearing rainbow gloves with matching socks” are lyrics from which band’s long-awaited eighth album? Bonus point for the name of the album.

4. Canada’s former PM Justin Trudeau unexpectedly started dating a pop star. Who? 

5. In the pop development no one saw coming, one of the records of the year was a multi-language album exploring the history of female saints. Who is the artist and what was the album’s title?

1. How did the Bear become the Boss in 2025?

2. In which remake of 2025 did Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman replace Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner?

3. In which film from late 2025 did Idris Elba follow in the footsteps of Michael Douglas, Morgan Freeman, Henry Fonda, Bill Pullman, Harrison Ford, Peter Sellers, Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline and Jack Nicholson?

4. How did Adrien Brody equal Jack Nicholson (but not Meryl Streep) on 3 March this year?

5. Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another topped a number of end-of-year lists for best film. What is the unusual name of the scene-stealing actor who played Leo DiCaprio’s daughter?

1. Who wore this (below) to the Grammys in February?

2. Who wore this to the London film festival?

3. Who wore this to a Halloween party?

4. Who wore this to the Met Gala?

5. Who wore this to the Screen Actors Guild awards in February?

1. Which two British soap operas will unite in their first ever crossover episode in January 2026?

2. Multiple choice question: in season 1 of The Studio on Apple TV, which actor does Matt Remick, Seth Rogan’s character, desperately entreat to mention him in their Golden Globes acceptance speech? 

(a) Emma Stone

(b) Alexander Skarsgård

(c) Emma Corrin

(d) Zoe Kravitz 

3. What was the name of Jack’s pet fish in Jack Rooke’s Big Boys, which came to an end after three series on Channel 4 in 2025? (Clue: it’s the name of a TV presenter.)

4. Multiple choice question: following its breakout success on Netflix, which member of the Adolescence team set a new record when they picked up an Emmy at the September 2025 ceremony?

(a) Erin Doherty

(b) Owen Cooper 

(c) Stephen Graham

(d) Jack Thorne

5. The Channel 4 series Trespasses brought mid-70s Belfast vividly to life as it told the tale of Catholic teacher Cushla (Lola Petticrew) and her forbidden romance with married Protestant Michael (Tom Cullen). But who wrote the novel the series was adapted from?

1. Which internet meme was Dictionary.com’s Word of the Year?

2. What word describes the abundance of low-quality creative content produced by generative AI?

3. The word of 2025 according to Cambridge University Press – publisher of the Cambridge Dictionary – is described as “involving or relating to a connection that someone feels between themselves and a famous person they do not know, a character in a book, film, TV series, etc, or an artificial intelligence.” What is the word?

4. Whose online sign-off is: “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”

5. What was Google’s most-searched term in 2025?

1. Which of boxer Jake Paul’s bones did Anthony Joshua break in a match in December?

2. England won a world championship this September. In which sport?

3. Which highly anticipated Liverpool FC men's signing failed to register a single goal or assist in his first 15 premier league games? 

4. Who won the Masters golf championship in April, completing a career grand slam?

5. What was the score in the women’s Wimbledon final this summer?

1. Multiple choice question: what clothing and drink combo became a joke among teens for indicating maturity?

Was it:

(a) Quarter-zip and matcha

(b) Converse and Pepsi Max

(c) North Face jacket and caramel latte

2. This man (below) became a viral sensation – what was the nickname given to him by the internet?

3. Which TV channel had to rapidly abandon its new TikTok channel for women after a backlash from young women and girls over its patronising, "infantilising" content? 

4. Multiple choice question: what internet streamer thought he’d “fooled the internet” with “seven stages”

(a) Mr Beast

(b) Marlon

(c) Ironmouse

5. What term became popular to describe a man or boy who says he collects Labubus and is seen reading in public?

Answers here

Questions set by Sarah Donaldson and Karl French. Language round set by Joshua Blackburn, author of The Language-Lover's Lexipedia (Bloomsbury)