quiz

to earn permission to waive a college course by successful completion of a quiz or exam. Andrew was able to quiz out of calculus. After studying very hard, he quizzed out.

to ask someone many questions about someone or something. The general quizzed the soldier about the incident. The officer quizzed her about Randy.

to give someone a quiz or test over the subject of someone or something. The teacher quizzed the students on the chapter she had assigned for homework. I hope they quiz me on George Washington. I am prepared.

A very smart youngster. A popular radio show during the 1940s and '50s and later a television series, Quiz Kids featured a panel of five youngsters, none over the age of sixteen, with extraordinarily high IQs. They answered difficult questions on a wide range of topics that were submitted by listeners. Among the panelists who went on to bigger and better things was James Watson, the Nobel scientist who codiscovered DNA. People used the phrase as both a compliment (“My son is so smart, he could be a Quiz Kid”) and sarcasm (“You flunked another test?—nice going, Quiz Kid!”).