Tonton Macoute

The answer on the question sheet was "Haitian paramilitary 'secret police', set up by Papa Doc Duvalier in 1959".

I've said this before, but a rule of thumb that I always like to apply is: if the answer is longer than the question, either ask it the other way round or scrap it.

You could argue that the answer is "Haitian paramilitary 'secret police'", and the rest is just background information; but this is not made clear. And is the word "paramilitary" really essential? I know a lot of question masters who, if you answered "Haitian secret police" would insist on a bit more, just because they've got it written down in front of them.

Why not ask, "What was the name of the Haitian paramilitary 'secret police', set up by Papa Doc Duvalier in 1959"?

It certainly wouldn't be too difficult for a Cup semi–final.

And don't give me "It's only a supplementary." Supplementaries are for when there's been a dispute, or the question master has made a mistake, and tension is likely to be raised (particularly in a Cup semi-final). Supplementaries need to be, if anything, more bomb-proof than those in the main set.

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