Rice Purity Test Questions Explained (Most Confusing Items)

The Rice Purity Test is simple to score, but some of the 100 questions can feel confusing, outdated, or open to interpretation. If you and your friends are getting different scores and arguing about what a question “really means,” this guide is for you.

Below are the most commonly misunderstood items on the test and how to interpret them in a consistent, common-sense way.

If you haven’t taken the quiz yet, start here: The Rice Purity Test →

1) “MPS (Member of Preferred Sex)”

This is the most common confusion on the entire test.

Meaning: “Member of the Preferred Sex”, a person you’re personally attracted to, regardless of their gender.

The phrase appears in several questions (like “Undressed or been undressed by a MPS” and “Spent the night with a MPS”). It’s an older convention from the original test designed to make the questions inclusive of all sexual orientations.

For the full breakdown, see our What Does MPS Mean in Rice Purity Test? guide.

2) “Danced without leaving room for Jesus”

This phrase confuses a lot of younger users who haven’t heard the expression.

Meaning: It refers to dancing very close to someone, close enough that there’s no physical space between you. The phrase comes from an old chaperone joke at school dances (“leave room for Jesus” meaning “stay an arm’s length apart”). If you’ve ever slow-danced or grinded with someone close, check the box.

3) “Kissed horizontally”

Sounds odd, but it’s straightforward.

Meaning: Kissed someone while you were both lying down, typically on a bed, couch, or floor. This is meant to distinguish casual standing kisses from more intimate situations.

4) “Had or given ‘blue balls'”

Slang term that some people aren’t familiar with.

Meaning: Refers to the discomfort someone may feel after sustained sexual arousal without release. The question is asking whether you’ve experienced it personally or caused that situation for someone else. If unsure, you probably haven’t.

5) “Gone through the motions of intercourse while fully dressed”

This describes a specific situation people often miss.

Meaning: Sometimes called “dry humping”, physical movements simulating intercourse with both people still clothed. If this has happened in any context, check it.

6) “Ingested someone else’s genital secretion”

Bluntly worded, but the meaning is clear once you read it carefully.

Meaning: A direct way of asking about oral sex involving fluids. Most people who have given or received oral sex with completion would check this. If you’re unsure whether your situation counts, default to your honest interpretation.

7) “Faked sobriety to parents or teachers”

Common but easy to overlook.

Meaning: Have you ever pretended to be sober (when you weren’t) in front of a parent, teacher, or other authority figure? This includes coming home drunk and acting normal, or showing up to class buzzed and faking it. If yes, check it.

8) “Severe memory loss due to alcohol”

This one trips people up because of the word “severe.”

Meaning: Often called “blacking out”, losing memory of events while drinking, even though you were technically conscious at the time. If you’ve ever woken up unable to remember parts of a night you were drinking, that counts.

9) “Booty call”

The phrase is dated, but the meaning is specific.

Meaning: Contacting someone (usually late at night) for the explicit purpose of a casual hookup, with no romantic relationship attached. If you’ve initiated or received one, check it.

10) “Mile high club”

Another slang term that not everyone knows.

Meaning: Having sexual intercourse on an airplane while in flight. The “mile high” refers to flying altitude. Either participant qualifies.

How to Avoid Confusing Scoring

If you want your score to be useful, and not just random, follow these three rules:

1. Take the test once normally. Trust your first instinct on each question.
2. Decide your interpretation for vague items. If a question feels ambiguous, pick the most natural reading and stick with it.
3. Use the same interpretations next time. If you retake the test in six months, your score should change because your life changed — not because you interpreted the questions differently.

Consistency matters more than perfection. The test is a personal benchmark, not a standardized exam.

The “Even Once” Rule

When a question asks if you’ve ever done something, the convention is: if it happened even one time, check the box.

This rule is what keeps scores comparable between people and across retakes. Bending the rule (e.g., only checking “yes” if it happened multiple times) is technically allowed since there’s no quiz police, but it makes your score harder to compare to anyone else’s.

Want to Understand Your Score After Finishing?

Once you’ve completed the test, see our Rice Purity Test Score Meaning guide for what your number actually means and how to interpret it fairly.

Confused questions are the #1 reason friends end up with wildly different scores on the same test. Now that you know how to interpret the trickier items consistently, you’ll get a score that actually reflects your experiences instead of your guesswork. Ready to put your interpretations to use? Take the Rice Purity Test →