THEY SAID NO!
Director Danny Boyle was offered a knighthood for his work on the London Olympics held in this year, but said no
2012
Founded in the 11th century, this capital lies at the head of a fjord
Oslo
The "data" type of this activity is looking for patterns; it's also what people do to get bitcoins
mining
The "Aeneid" is the source of the phrase "Beware of" these "bearing gifts"
Greeks
The founder of the Mongol Empire, he was great khan from 1206 to 1227
Genghis Khan
American James Watson took an honorary knighthood, but this British partner turned the real thing down
Francis Crick
This Italian island honors Napoleon with an annual mass on May 5, the anniversary of his death
Elba
In engineering the Rockwell test, measuring this, involves pressing a steel ball or diamond point into a surface
hardness
This Scottish phrase meaning "old long since" is used of times remembered with fondness
auld lang syne
Hulagu Khan's 1258 siege of this Iraqi city destroyed its standing in the Islamic world & ended the 500-year rule of the Abbasids
Baghdad
There would be no Sir Ziggy Stardust after this rocker turned down knighthood, saying, "I seriously don't know what it's for"
David Bowie
This capital of Hyogo Prefecture on Honshu is all the rage in beef
Kobe
Air traffic controllers know airmets are in-flight advisories about changes in this
weather
Mercutio says "a plague o' both your houses", but often people say this other "P" word instead of "plague"
pox
Empress Manduhai Khatun was known for this quality, like Solomon, & used it to unite the warring Mongols in the 15th century
wisdom
This 2013 Nobelist with a boson named for him didn't want to be a knight, saying the whole system is too political
(Peter) Higgs
Niger is to the west & Sudan to the east of this African country
Chad
Aerospace experts are familiar with nanometers, these tiny fractions of a meter
billionths of a meter
This biblical prophet "come to judgment" is someone who has given some sage advice
Daniel
Now in ruins, Shangdu is the site of this khan's former great capital where Marco Polo visited him
Kublai Khan
In 1918 this man refused a knighthood, saying King George V had betrayed the Arabs by not granting independence
Lawrence (of Arabia)
Your auto mechanic knows the PCV filter provides positive ventilation of this engine housing
the crankcase
Modification made tunics practical for work; one tweak allowed mobility & gave us this phrase meaning "to prepare for action"
to gird your loins
Batu Khan was the leader of this army that sacked & conquered westward as far as Poland & the Danube Valley
Golden Horde