'My favorite quote from a judge to my all state flute player: "What is a soliloquy?" '

No problem with that, and I do it all of the time when judging SandE (and sometimes even full band). Not knowing that an Allemande is a type of dance can be pretty obvious in the way that it is performed (or many other 'generic' titles). Knowing that a soliloquy is a dramatic internal conversation makes a huge difference in my performance. Not expecting them to have done a dissertation on the piece, but something as simple as knowing what the title means when it can greatly inform how you perform the piece is not too much to ask. Again, I ask when I am pretty sure that the answer I am going to get is an uncomfortable grin and 'I don't know.'