Word Fun

WORD FUN

By Otto De Costa

Foreword by Vijay Merchant

BETTER YOURSELF BOOKS

© 1983 Better Yourself Books No.

58

Printed by Dominic V. at St Paul Press Training School, Bandra and published by Better Yourself Books, Bandra, Bombay 400 050. 1985

i:

EPIGRAPH Polonius : What do you read, my Lord? Hamlet : Words, words, words. —Hamlet, 2,2, 190.

FOREWORD I have been asked by Mr Otto De Costa to write a Foreword for his book — «WORD FUN», the manuscript of which I have gone through at some length. Although, at first, I hesitated to agree to his request since I had never before ventured to do so in respect of any literary production which is obviously outside my province, I ultimately agreed when I realized that the book is of a kind which could appeal even to grown-ups—apart from the student community for whom it is primarily meant— because of its intrinsic value in engendering fun and frolic through the medium of WORDS. In that respect, I consider Mr De Costa's book of an innovative character. The power of words is universally recognized; however, the conventional method of imparting knowledge by placing before the reader merely a list of words with their meanings, is certainly not the best. Mr De Costa has broken fresh ground by attempting to fulfil his objective in a practical manner—namely, through the twin method of «Knowledge-with-Fun». He seems to have achieved a measure of success in his experiment by the employment of Word Puzzles, Vocabulary Quizzes, Riddles, w>rd Teasers, Anagrams, Palindromes etc., coupled with a sprinkling of Tit-Bits and Jokes, as well as Tongue-Twisters and Limericks of a distinct variety—all of which brush up one's wits. Mr De Costa's book covers a fairly wide range of various facets of life in a selective manner, so that one is able to derive knowledge of the correct usage and force of words, as well as other useful information, without feeling bored. At the same time, the presentation is in a simple and lucid manner. In short, the book serves as a useful compendium of knowledge and information. I am confident that Mr De Costa's publication will not only be well received by the student community, but will also find favour with the grown-ups—especially to drive away their blues in their daily humdrum existence. I commend Mr De Costa's effort and wish his publication every possible success. July 28, 1983.

Vijay Merchant

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PREFACE (First Edition)

Word Fun is a celebration of the word. The word is pregnant with meaning, and when I state this, I am in the eminent company of Pope, Shakespeare, Swift and Alice's Humpty Dumpty. Yes, it was Humpty Dumpty who said that he could give the word the meaning his mood wanted. The word, being loaded with significance, is, as a consequence, full of fun. The twin barrels of the w o r d meaning and fun—are highlighted in every chapter. I had great fun writing this book; it even saved my sanity. That's no exaggeration! I had met with a serious motor car accident in November of '82. I was laid up on bed, with a set of broken legs to mend, for a painful period of six months. During those dark days, my writing of this book kept me both busy and in fine fettle. Have fun with the varied word play each chapter contains and you will profit through your pleasure. Better, more effective and witty speech will be yours," without your even knowing it! Otto De Costa Bombay, September 17, 1983.

PREFACE (Second Edition)

It has been exhilirating to learn that the first edition of Word Fun is out of print. That the book has proved useful to readers as varied as students and bankers has been a source of joy. A number of leading schools have adopted it for their language classes and a number of banks have recommended it to their staff for sharpening word skills. Word Fun is a handy tool for bettering speaking abilities. I have used it personally and with great success in the courses on Speaking Skills that I have conducted at the YMCA Institute of Commerce and Management. It not only provides word play and language exercises but even conversational pieces and skits for the daring. For those who are uncertain as to how the book can be utilized for speech training, I have provided a model skit. With a little inventiveness on the part of the reader, an entire world of word potential can be discovered through the pages of Word Fun. Happy hunting! Otto De Costa Bombay, June 30,1985

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Permission to reprint material acquired from: Mirror magazine: Fun With Words bv Otto De Costa (Feb. 81 Sept. '83). Home Life magazine: Fun Jumble bv Otto De Costa (Sept. '80 Nov. '83). The Teenager magazine: Costa (Nov. '83).

Fun Roundabout bv Otto De

And Thanks to Fr Joe Narivelil for his encouragement all the way.

CONTENTS Dedication Epigraph foreword Preface (First and Second Editions) Acknowledgements I Fun In The Pun! ...

1

II

7

Ill

You Can Be A Word Architect! ... Nonsense Jokes ...

IV Wordy Words ... V Introducing Palindromes ... VI VII VIII

12 17 23

Tongue-Twisting Time ...

28

Humour In Variety ...

32

Word Pyramid ...

35

IX Open Sesame! ...

40

X Riddling You! ...

45

XI Dunce Cap Limericks ...

49

XII Solutions ...

53

Model SkitIndex

73

2.

75

I

4

•

a J

CHAPTER ONE

Fun In The Pan! The pun is a jest consisting in the play on words having more than one meaning. For instance:— An ambassador is an honest man who «lies» abroad for the good of his country. In this example, the word «lies» has two meanings: the first refers to «stays» and the second to cteDs a lie*. Thus, you can now see why the example produces a ludicrous effect. Try answering the following riddles in the form of puns:— a) Why is your hand only eleven inches long? b) When is life worth living? Word Jumble Mumble to a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j)

Re-arrange the letters of the jumbled words in order get the names of some popular games:— tiekcrc cokhey , sechs ginmmiws bofollat teelabsinnt flog betballask dintabmon sillibard

Anagram Puzzlers Anagrams are word puzzles in which new words are to be built with the letters of'the words already given. An anagram of «how», for instance, is «who». 1

Make one anagram from each of the ten words given. The time limit is 2 minutes and 30 seconds. a) b) c) d) e) f) g) h) i) j)

on bag steal dear pot drop pore ink oils star

v

Yon Can Be A Word Detectivc! You can be a word detective by trying the given puzzle. On each line below are three clues to a wellknown word: a rhyme; what the word means when it is spelt backward; and a word which can be used along with it. The Word Rhymes With i) ii)

Bed Cat

iii)

Lap

iv) v)

Draw Rhyme

Spelt Backwards. It Means

Accompanying Word

Platform Dark thick liquid from coal A gentle encouraging touch Skin blemishes Discharge

Well Field Leaky Last Standard

Vocabulary Quizzing For each of the following descriptions/explanations. find a suitable descriptive term and Score one point for every correct answer:(i) Earthenware, stoneware, or glass vessel with or without handle(s) usually cylindrical. (ii) Music and dance of U.S. Negro origin^ (iii). Principal name of God in Old Testament. (iv) Sanitary science. 2

(v) (vi)

Song sung at burial. System of winds rotating round a centre of minimum pressure. (vii) Short wise saying in general use. (viii) Meeting place agreed on. (ix) The chief Veda. (x)

The ordinary bird with the sweetest song.

Plav With Words! Words are a great deal of fun when you turn them into word pictures as follows: — clima X PUL L INCOMPLET LON E LY Have fun adding to this list. Try A Surprise! Write down as it comes spontaneously to you, the name of an animal, a flower, a fruit, a colour, and a single digit number. Now compare your answers with the ones which are given below:— Very common responses: monkey, rose, apple, red, one. Can You CC' Through It? The letter 'c' added to each of the nonsensical words, when properly rearranged will c them through their meaningless attempts at expression into a realm of meaningful expression:— a. chou b. droaunl c. teanr d. tatrcenone e. fusnoed f. suea Sl- tiomm l-i. dur

i. tu j. mopyan How you rate yourself:— Ten correct: excellent; nine to six: good; five or four: fair. Vocabulary Riddle Which is that word in the English language which starts with alphabet V, has seven letters and contains its own opposite? Pairing Words Each word in the numbered column can be inserted into a word in the lettered column. If you make the right insertion, and if necessary, re-arrangement of letters, then you will have a new word. For example:— Fear (1) can be put into Less (f) and you get the new word: Fearless. Time how long you take to complete the remaining ten pairs. 25 minutes is fair, 20 good, 15 excellent. (1) Fear (2) We (3) Rue (4) For (5) To (6) Ale (7) Head (8) Strong (9) Mom (10) Of (11) Men (a) Hit (b) Ad (c) Ache (d) Set (e) Aced (f) Less (g) Ten (h) Even 4

(i) To U) On / (k) Gel Mishmash Mishmash is the name of a word game said to be invented by Lewis Carroll, the author of «Alice in Wonderland:*. What you have to do is think of an English word, after being given a set of letters, and the word should contain this set in such a way that it lies withjn the word and the order of the given set of letters should remain unchanged. Here's an example:— Suppose the set of letters are: shm; then, the correct response would be Mishmash. Are you ready for Mishmash? Twenty-five sets of letters are given and you should make twenty-five words in the manner already shown wjjthin a span of twelve minutes. Each correct word carries one point. A score of 2325: exceptional; 20-22: excellent: 17-19: very good; 1416: good; 12-13: fair. It should be noted that there can be more than one correct response. Check a dictionary when in doubt. 1. ar 2. ig 3. eet 4. ush 5. ra 6. on 7. mi 8. wa 9. so 10. ct n . ta 12. sio 13. ho 14. ric 15. Oth 16. nsi 17. sci

18. ic 19. tt 20. gn 21. ctu 22. ea 23. rs 24. vi 25. cto Answers on pages 53-54.

6

CHAPTER TWO You Can Be A Word Architect! Let s take the word words. From it make as many new words as you can. If you build, eight words and over, your grade is excellent; seven words — good; six words — satisfactory; five words — passable. However plurals should not be counted as separate words. You Can Be A Detective! Find out familiar words from the clues provided. It Rhymes With

Its Meaning When Spelt Baekwards

a. Log b. Tap

A supreme divine power Days Shallow vessel used in cooking Cat The finer end of a thing Bottomless

c.

Sit

Goes With

Punning Fun! An employer was extremely disgusted with his lazy employees. One day, a famous line inspired him: «Bread is the staff of life». Sobn, he put up this notice on the office board: «Many people here think that since bread is the staff of life, the life of our staff shall be one continual loaf.» Why is the camel an irritable animal? . Can you think of an answer in the form of a pun for this riddle? Nonsensical Notices! Here are some well-known notices made nonsensical as they are terribly jumbled. A few even make humorous reading. Try to sort out the jumbled words to make five intelligible and familiar notices:

1) 2) 3) 4) 5)

House On Grass Closed For Adults Don't Walk Full Only Credit The No On

Letters after the first word are capitalised as a hint to show how they appear in the original. A time limit of one minute and 30 seconds is the maximum. Building Sentences Here are ten sentences with two important words missing in each of them. Construct complete sentences by inserting suitable words where required. A time limit of one minute is excellent; one minute and 15 seconds is good and one minute and 30 seconds is fair. 1) The interview is the...step in the...for the job. 2) Suddenly they became...of approaching... 6) Omy the children's...was a...of liveliness. 4) This experience of city...was...to him. 5) Nature had been...to him in the...of his life. 6) The city is...and full of... 7) The Acropolis is one of the most...monuments in the... 8) He put his arm around...and steered her to the... 9) In many cases our own...have...in warning systems. 10) Jogging like any...has to be done within a person's own... limits. Anagrams Calling! 1)

Make anagrams of the given words:— emit 2) told 3) sobs 4) not 5) two

'Monsoon' Teaser The monsoon may be a wet time, but here's one way in which it can provide you with some interesting moments. The word 'monsoon' is a good word base from which to build more words. Try and see how many words 8

you can make from 'monsoon'; if you can build six within 15 seconds that would be excellent; if you do it in 20 seconds, that's good; if in 25 seconds, that's fair. Nonsensical Words 1) thuoy 5) isered 9) uyetba

2) rehotm 3) teubrit 6) urces 7) negrenoita 10 veenmtpromi

4) cispe 8) tdusryin

Build a word of sense from each nonsensical word given. Time limit: 2 minutes. Vocabulary Punier Which is that word in the English language most commonly abused by Indians and wbich lias one of its meanings as 'good'? Vocabulary Quizzing Again! Here's a test on word power. You must be aware that almost every word has more than a single meaning when applied differently. Take this example: The word «address» can have as many as 13 meanings! The 13 meanings are: greet, approach,- speak to, speech, discourse, oration, direct, court, woo, accost, street and number, residence, home. Now, for the following five words given, can you supply atleast five different meanings for each? Check your list of meanings with the one provided in the answers column. How to score:— Every correct meaning carries a point. So, the maximum score is 25. How you rate yourself;— 25—excellent; 21 to 24—very good; 16 to 20-good; 12 to 15—fair. Hie Ave words are:— abrupt, alive, donation, power, second. Building Anagrams 1) bat 2) came 3) pin 4) mile 5) ties Build anagrams of the five words given. 9

How Knowledgeable Are You?

r' Try this quickie quiz to find out what your general knowledge rating is! Score one point for every correct answer. A score of 8-10 is excellent; 6-7 is good; 4-5 is fair; and a score of 3 and below indicates a desperate need to wrap yourself in general knowledge books! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

In which country did tea originate? Where are the E ephanta Caves situated? Which is the largest desert in Asia? To which country did Christopher Columbus belong? When did Florence Nightingale first achieve fame? Name the country which invented paper money. In which year was Mount Everest finally scaled? Which is heavier: milk or cream? What is the 'funny bone'? Name the organization which has a flag with five interlinked circles.

Word Fun Words express certain meanings and it's fun when you also make them picturize their meanings. Have a look at my list of such words and then add to the list with a few of your own. Have fun! EXTRAA YOGV mistaked e gg s JMBUL junior Senior N t o e pattern 10

Dare The Open C! You can dare the open C even though you are challenged by words and not waves! To each nonsensical group of letters of the twenty-five given, add the letter 'C' in either its lower case or higher case form in such a way that the respective group of letters turn meaningful. How you rate yourself:—Every word turned meaningful carries one point. Time limit: 12 minutes. If you C yourself through with 23-25 points, that's exceptional and you win the dare hands down; 20-22: excellent; 17-19: very good; 14-16: good; 12-13: fair. If less, count yourself not C worthy! 1. eulr 2. talliem 3. redin 4. desfuno 5. mae 6. cuttaal 7. annuhged 8. 11a 9. era 10. sterlu 11. hrist 12. ael 13. puml 14. reos 15. sae 16. ichnek 17. pxeeoitlan 18. paleus 19. liforaain 20. pae 21. cirtek 22. naryditic 23. routyes 24. styral 25. ae Answers on pages 55 - 56. 11

CHAPTER THREE Nonsense Jokes A Dose Of Laughter! Teacher: «So you are the boy who wrote on the board: Teacher is a fool?» Pupil: «Yes, Sir.» Teacher: «Well, at least I am glad you have told the truth.» Chuckles! Teacher: cGoodness Ram!» Ram: «Ye&, ..teacher?* Teacher: «Haven't you finished washing the blackboard yet? You haye been cleaning it for an hour!» Ram: «Uhat's true. The more I clean the blackboard, the blacker it becomes.* Conductor: «Children under twelve may ride half-fare. How old Jure you, little girl?» Little girl: «Eleven.» Conductor: «And when will you be twelve?* Little girl: «As soon as I get off the bus.» A man who stammered was asked why he did so. «It's my pe-p-p-pecuiiarity» he answered. «Everybody has s-s-s-some p-p-p-p-peculiarity.* «I don't have any,* said the questioner. «Don't y-y-you s-stir your c-c-c-coffee with y-y-yonr r-r-right hand?» 12

«Yes, of course.* «That's your p-p-p-peculiarity. Most people u-a-use a s-s-s-spoon.* Tickle Your Funny Bone! School Master: «What are you laughing at?» Pupil: «Nothing the matter, sir. I'm Just practising, so that I can be ready when you say something fanny.* Mother: «Why are you rolling the dust-bin?* Lata: «To amuse baby.* Mother: «And where is baby?* Lata: «In the dnst-bin.» First man: «When will the 'Punjab Mail' arrive?* Second man: «At 9 o' clock?* First man: «And the 'Deccan Queen'?* Second man: «At 8 o' clock!* First man: «And the 'Nagpur Express'?* Second man: «At 10 o' clock! By which train will you travel?* First man: «By none. I merely wanted to cross the railway trades.* Cricket Chuckles In a village match, a batsman came in wearing only one pad. When this was pointed out to him the batsman replied: «Yes, I know. But we have only five pads between us.* «But,» he was told, «you have got it on the wrong leg-* «Oh no,* said the batsman. «I thought I would be batting at the other end.* 13

At a Bombay Vs Delhi match at Bombay, Father arrived half an hour after the start of play, breathless and pale with excitement. «Son,» he said, «I have £(nt some terrible news for you. The house is on fire.» «Yes,» replied his son. «Mother's been taken to hospital with bad burns—* «Yes,» replied his son. «And she says she forgot to send the Insurance money—» «Yes. and I have bad news for you too: Uttom is out.» A Flash Of Laughter One dark, silent night a policeman was doing his rounds. He stopped at a window when he heard these words:— «Vasant, you. cut the neck, I will in that time cut the hands.* «No, you will'not be able to cut the neck.» The policeman went quickly and knocked on the door. The door opened and he found two men busy iit tailoring a shirt! A Ripple Of Laughter «Is your mother a good cook?» asked an uncle. «I'm not sure about it,» said the little one, «because before we begin eating, mummy always makes us say a prayer.* A Wave Of Laughter A little born. After ing to one. we have to

boy was shown his two twin brothers just examining them scruplously, the boy, pointdeclared: «According to me, this as the one keep! )

During the shooting of the film «Don Camillo» the famous actor Fernandel was approached by a little girl: «Father, please give me your blessing.* 14

The embarrassed actor in priest's attire explained: «I am not a real priest, darling.* Replied the girl «Ah! No? Then bless my doll!» A gentleman who used to eat in the same restaurant for years, one day called the waiter and said, «Today I am really satisfied. Eversince I have eaten here,- this is the first time I enjoyed a tender beaf-steak, cooked to the point.* Exclaimed the worried waiter: «Oh! Poor me! Hope 1 haven't served you the proprietor's plate !» A couple had invited some of their friends to dinner Before the friends arrived the husband collected all the umbrellas in the house and enclosed them in a shelf. «What are you doing,* asked the wife in surprise, «are you afraid they will steal them?* «No,» replied he, «I am afraid they will recognise them.» Explained one to his friend, «We found a coupon in a packet of washing powder which won us a car in which we sleep now.* «Sleeping in the car you mean?* «Yes, because the house is filled with packets of washing powder.* When a class of eight year olds were asked to write an essay on Thomas Edison, there was a flurry of activity. Here is the effort of one of the lads: «Thomas Edison was born in 1047, on his birthday. He was the inventor of the indecent lamp. He expired in 1147 and later died from it.» «Write hundred times: I don't know to count,* the teacher punished little Jim for his poor performance in maths. Jim worked hard and after an hour presented his note book to the teacher. —Why, you have written only 30 times, exclaimed the teacher. —Excuse me sir, you are right.; I really don't knowto count. 15 3

In a post office a man with a broken arm requested of another gentleman to write out a letter for him. The gentleman obliged. And when he had finished the letter the handicapped man said, «Please add a P.S.: Excuse this horrible handwriting since I have a broken arm!* It was examination evaluation time. The teacher of a boys' school had come across an answer booklet with nothing written in it except the words: I don't know but God knows. Happy Diwali! The examiner, therefore, wrote the following remark for the boy to read: God scores 100 but you score a duck. Happy festival season! Classroom Jokes The teacher who wanted to teach a poem on crows asked in class:* «Give me the name of creatures that have no teeth in their mouths?* A back bencher immediately got up and answered, «My granny, Sir.* Father: «How are you doing in your school?* Son: «This is not fair, dad. I never ask you how you are doing in your office.* Geography Teacher: «Now, tell me where Chanda is?* Student: «It is on page 24, Sir.* Father: My son was very unlucky not to do well in his examination. Friend: Why unlucky? Father: He hardly had a day to prepare for the examination. Friend: But the examination dates were out a month ago! Father: That's true. But he got the leaked question paper only the day before the examination! 16

CHAPTER FOUR Wordy Words Many words carry a lot of weight—literally. When used in different contexts they could mean different things. Here's a telling though humorous instance. A boss admonished his secretary for her punctuation usage whilst typing. He told her that her colon was bad. The flabbergasted girl wanted to know how he could make such an observation. She nervously told him that her doctor had not reported anything wrong with her colon! I have provided a list of words, which, when used individually in differing situations, mean entirely different things. You must indicate two different meanings of the same word and the time limit to complete the list is 1 minute. 1) 6)

watch 2) fair 3) ring 4) post 5) stole right How to score: all correct — excellent; 5 correct — good; 3-4 correct —- fair.

Sentence Mazes Try your skill with the following sentence mazes. Straighten out each sentence maze and thus find out what each line of letters forming the sentence actually signifies. You will discover a pearl of wisdom in each confused set of words. A ghitl eahtr ivies glon. Ami fro eht ratss. To rer si muhna. To tnhei oseflwn eb ture. Fdneirpsih plisitumle osyj nad disevid gfsrie. 17

Hunting Anagrams! Here's an interesting way to find anagrams:— Rearrange the letters of the words in column A to form anagrams with the aid of the clues provided in column B. Column A 1. Dali 2. Pedal 6. Romeo

3. Idle

4.

Dinar

5. Alter

Column B Phone Beg comes after

Falsehood English Poet

Sanitation

That which

The time limit is 1 minute and 30 seconds. Making Sense Turn the given nonsensical words into meaningful ones:— i. veol v. nifsih

ii. supdostenu vi. meoc

ix. talrizhoon

iii. diosrep vii. runioj

iv. rirbohel

viii. suountinco

x. voberes

On no account should any of the meaningful words be a proper noun. The time limit is 2 minutes and 30 seconds. How to score:— 8-10 correct: excellent; 6-7: good: 5: satisfactory; 4: passable. Newspaper Quiz In the given nonsensical word are hidden the names of well-known Indian newspapers. If you unravel these names within 30 sees, you score excellent; 35 sees.—fair; 40 sees.—passable; 41 sees, and above indicates that it is high time to catch up on your newspaper reading! 18

Nonsensical word: IndExpindThelyiaDianressTheofsemiTia. Descriptive Anagrams The given list contains five adjectives. You are required to turn them into anagrams. If you complete the list in 30 sees., you can give yourself the title, 'Anagram King'. (i)

sad

(ii)

bad

(iii)

mad

(iv)

two

(v)

left

Vocabulary Riddler With the help of the following clues, find out what is the word, within a time limit of 1 min. (i) It is a word of 8 letters. (ii) It contains 3 e's. (iii) It is a proper noun. (iv) It is a commonly used word. (v) It begins with 'D\ Do It Yourself: Invisible Writing You will need: paper, a pen with a nib and the juice of lemon. There is a good way of sending secret messages to your friends—providing that they know how to make the message appear! Make sure the pen-nib is clean and using the lemon juice as 'ink' write your message. It will disappear as it dries. To make the message re-appear, just warm the paper over an electric light bulb or a radiator! A 'Trying' Crossword Puzzle Find out the names of the seven Tyre Companies by filling in the blank blocks downwards with the help of 19

the name of the respective Tyre Company; C.B.—Column Blocks.

People Who Became Words Many common words are actually the names of certain people. The reasons are usually scientific, practical and even trivial. Here is a sampling:— August—the eighth month of the year. Named after Augustus Caesar. Pasteurization—The process of heating milk for a certain period of time and at a certain level to kill germs. Named after Louis Pasteur, its discoverer. Can you make your own list of people who became words? 20

Recipe For A Good Life 6 4 3 2 1 5 3

cups of «love»; cups of Royalty*; cups of «forgiveness»; cups of friendship*; cup of «kindness»; spoons of «hope»; spoons of «faith»;

1 spoon of slaughter*. Procedure:—Take love and loyalty and mix them together with faith. Blend with kindness and forgiveness. Add friendship and hope. Sprinkle abundantly with laughter. Bake with sunshine. Serve daily with generous helpings. You don't have to be a cook to give this recipe a try! Today's Quotations Absence makes the heart grow forgetful (fonder). A friend in need is a friend avoided (indeed). All work and no play makes Jack a genius (dull boy). Common sense is uncommon. Truth is weaker (stranger) than fiction. How about continuing where I left off? Spelling Demons Spelling is fun when it is in the form of a test. Let this test be given to you by your family members or friends and in turn you can do the testing. Your regular spelling mistakes are your very personal spelling demons and more likely than not, you will come across a few in the test list. The list contains a total of twenty-five words: handpicked by me for their frequency as spelling demons to school and college students, businessmen, white-collar workers and adults in general. If you can reach a perfect score: 26, then you are certainly a super-spelling expert as even the experts stumble over the spellings 21

of some ordinary words; 20-24 rates ex', very good; 14-16: good; 12-13: satisfactory. 12 indicate a poor speller who needs to catch* spelling to avoid the demons casting their spe' 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14 . 15. 16. 17. 18. 10. 20. 21. 22.

already all right separate coming February mystery sincerely writing surprise studying gratiintair fourth receive business athletics amateur committee occasion government restaurant conscientious correspondence

23. privilege 24. &rtmoisteur 25. ecstasy Answers on pages 57 - 58.

22

CHAPTER FIVE

Introducing Palindromes You may have never heard of the word palindromes. It sounds like a medical term but it is in actual fact a word, verse or sentence that reads the same forward well as backwards. It is derived from the Greek word palindromes which means raining back. Hereare a few famous palindromes: i) Amor Roma. ii) Won't lovers revolt now? iii) I roamed under it as a tired, nude Maori. Now do try your hand at making a few home-made palindromes. Fan With Anagrams Makeanagrams from:— i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi)

tan who prod stale reel report

Will You Try Mr Detective? Try the given puzzle and make it as a word detective! On each line below are three dues to a well known word: a rhyme; what the word means when it is spelt backward; and a word with which it turns into a phrase.

23

'A

Rtttan — The Simpleton

.

. I would like you to meet Ratan. He's a simple Boy but so very simple that he's a simpleton. He is also very . forgetful. Sweeping stateinerits? Well; I'll leave you to { Judge from the following incident:— Ratan's mother wished to do some urgent shopping. She was hesitant to leave the house as there was only Eatan at home. She was also expecting a visitor. However, as the shopping was urgently required, she decided to go ahead and do " i£. instructed Ratatt to stay at home until she re; turned. Also relating to the visitor she told him to greet him with, «Have you anything left?» He followed his mother's instruction and stayed at home but he handled the sentence he had to say so badly that the visitor ransacked the house with his voluntary permission. Can you guess how? Word Play V E R T I C A L This is a word picture. Here are some more exarn^ 24

pies given:— -

' A

N R . G Y Close F A R ap art raising

Try ytiur handat addingto thelist.

,

Active Anagram* Build anagrams which should be' verbs of the f o l d ing words:— 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

"tea . 7 ••'••••• pelts tops tis tip .'

•

'

•:-"5

'

.,

•'•'•• . '

"

•

Wordy Pnzzler Here's your chance to fight against injustice! Are you ready? Here's how:— You may not have heard of Wutawop. It is a kingdom in the wild tropics of Africa, ruled by a despotic king. One brave young man decided to tell the king that he should step down. The king became so angry with what the young roan said that he ordered him to be forever imprisoned in a house with no doors and windows. He wanted him to die of starvation. When the young man was put into the cell, he found it was an empty room having no doors and windows. The only furniture was a round shaped table. How could he escape? : You can help him escape by using certain suitable words that may be spelt differently but sound the same. 25

These words should in some way be related teethe. situation in the cell. To give you an example: the wM&'sale' This word is spelt differently from the word 'sa^Jbut is pronounced in the same way. By making use vi^Mph words, try to get our young hero out of the impMflHfe to escape jail. With Rain! It could be raining cats and dogs when you turn to this page. The expression raining cats and dogs has an interesting origin. The source is Scandinavia,- where the cat is associated with storms and the wolf with the wind. So, this imported expression means heavy rain with wind. Even though there may be a downpour outside, don't let the rain spoil your appetite for fun. Here's one way how:— Build six new words out of the word rain. Do not count proper names of persons as words to be used. Time limit: 1 minute. Is It A Fact Or Fiction? Try this quiz to discover to what extent you hold misconceptions as facts: Indicate that a particular state* ' ment is a fact by using 'T' in the brackets provided against it and that a statement is false by using 'X' in the relevant bracket; 1. Sandwiches were invented by the Earl of Saifcftrich' 2. Marie Antoinette said, «Let them eat cake». 3. King John signed the Magna Carta. 4. Powdered glass is a poison. 5. The heart is on the left side of the body. 6. You should feed a cold and starve a fever. 7. Shaving makes for faster growth of hair. 8. Ostriches hide their heads in the sand. 26

( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

9. 10. 11. 12.

Music charms snakes. BuUs are angered by rags of a red colour. Drowning people submerge thrice. Fright can cure hiccups.

C ( ( (

) ) ) )

What's Missing? In the list of jumbled words given below, you have not only to straighten them out to make meaningful words but you have ty complete each of them by supplying the necessary missing letter. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

pcse halen pwder anticiset larci leasp ynoh htweg tchw " mrror

r'r

•• , ; • ,

:

, .

*,

Solntidns on pages 59 -61.

27

CHAPTER s i x

•

Tongue-Twisting Time

•

Can you get your tongue around these tongue-twisters; Without a slip? Repeat each one six times and as quick as you can. Select your, own method of scoring and see whether you can twist them around your thumb! The boy bubbles double bubble gum. The weeping washerwoman waits. She sells silver at the store. The cat with a hat sleeps on the mat. There are six sick striking mills. The little leaves glimmer and glow. Three People Who Became Words Here are the names of three people, which for better or for worse, have become common words. J.I. Guillotin — a French physician who developed a machine used for beheading a person. This machine called €guiUotme». Epicurus — the Greek philosopher who believed in the good Hfe. Now, 'epicure' is used to describe a fastidious follower of good food and drink. Anders Dahl — the eighteenth century Swedish beta nist who developed the flower that takes its name from him—Dahlia. Can you add to the list? October Quiz The month of October is significant in the cycle of, seasons. It heralds the end of the monsoon and is the 28

stepping stone to the cold winter. October has another significancefor you. Itake the word as a base fqr wordbuilding. From tiie seven letters of October, : can you make ten words, only two or three letters each, within a minute? Well, try if you dare! Spot The Missing Letters! Can you spot the two missing letters in each incomplete word in the given list of words within five minutes? 1. yogster 2. rur 3. ty , 4.. peel, 5. ,tal 6. nmbe 7. mtri 8. igh 9. betr 10. inih How to score: 8-10 correct: exqelleint .. .< 6-7 correct: good 3 correct: satisfactory 4 correct: passable

,

Word Jumble Re-arrange the letters of the jumbled wonts in order to get the names of some popular hobbies:— a. nitens b. dinrgea c. fckSygfn d. ritwfng e. suimc , The Foany Pair The pun can be fun. It can also be an advantage. Recently, a pun came to the rescue of aschoolgtit wrtio, would have otherwise not won a prize. Fofr a i>hW> caption competition, her title for a particular photograph was:cJust like A Philosopher Wise.» I am mor6 pertain than not that the girl was using 'just' to mean 'exacuy' and not as an adjective. However, the pun gave her the benefit of the doubt! Try to answer the given riddles using puns:— a. Why are flowers lazy? b. What did the candle say to the matchstick? 29

Word Maze Re-arrange the alphabets of each word separately to make a sentence of sense;*Edraign thmaek ulfl emn.

\

Action Anagrams Build anagrams of these action words:— a, eat

b. stop

c. saw

d. bat

e. leap

Can You Bjrild Words? With the help of each set of given letters build a single English Wortf. Ratings: 9-10 correct—excellent; &-8 correct—good: 4-5 correct—fair. 1. uegnot 5. mermilg 9. uereven

2. terepa 3. twtsi 4. mutbh 6. serinniot 7. lesfesar 8. tewih 10. lecesdet

Say It With Silent letters! In everyday discourse you use words some of which have letters that are silent. These silent letters though not pronounced are necessary for the collect spelling of words. Thus; the h in 'honest' and "hour' are silent. Here is a list of words, some of which contain silent letters and some not. 411 you have to do is underline the silent letters wherever they appear. This is one test where you do not have to race with the clock. So, take your time to score silently! How to score:—Correct responses carry a point each.

A score of 23-25: exceptional; 20-22: excellent; 17-lf: very good; 14-16: good; 12-13: fair. 1. pronunciation 2. listen 30

,

i

3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

wrong rhyme follow receipt February

8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13.

escape handle circumstances corps elephant apostle

14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.

minute handkerchief previous gristle answers, reign twenty rhythm terrible parliament Wednesday athlete

Solntions on pages 62 63.

48

CHAPTER SEVEN Humour In Variety An elderly lady noticed a group of boys around a little puppy. Curious, she asked: What are you lads doing? One of the boys answered: Swapping lies. The one who tells the biggest lie gets the pup. The lady observed: When I was of your age; I never even thought of telling a lie. A voice from the group: All right then, the pap is yours! One friend to another: Well, what is your new year resolution? The other friend: Not to make one! A student: Why is there a need to study so tiaftl for the examination in advance? His friend: I have to if I am to get a first class. Student: I can get a distinction by preparing on the day of the examination itself. Friend: Why, you must be a genius! Student: Not me! The one who manages to get ine the leaked question paper certainly is! '' 1 At the beach: Sunbather: Is that your son, lady? Lady: Which one? ^ Sunbather: The one who is throwing sand on my clothes. 32

Lady: He is my nephew. The one who js now emptying your son (an lotion on your clothes is my darling SOB. Father: Son, why have you kept my black suit pressed? San: Dad, I don't want Santa Clans to get dirty climbing through the chimney! One boy to another: I don't lite you. The other boy: I don't like your-twic?! Optimist:—It's February once more. Pessimist: Oh, no! Not againf Optimist:—I like February. Why don't you? Pessimist:— I find it too short a month! It was a lesson in Geometry. The teacher had explained to the class about lines, points and planes. After he had finished, he asked a student, «What is formed when two planes intersect?* The student's answer: «An aircrask.» Daughter : «Dad, I am taking three courses in college —French, Spanish and Algebra.* Father: «A11 right, I want you to say 'good morning* in Algebra.* A boy approached his mother and -asked her* «Mom, can you write in the dax%?» His mother replied, «I guess so.» The boy said, «I would like you to write your name on my report card.* A taxicab went out of control and raced crasdly through traffic. «Can't you stop it?» the passenger yelled. «No!» shouted the driver. «Well,» said the passenger* cat least turn off the metre!*

33

Mother (to daughter): «What were you doing till ! eight?* Daughter: «Mr Smith and I were discussing about our kith ami ktn> Son: (to support his sister) «Yeth Mother! I heard Mr Smith asked her for a kith and sis replied *Yon Overheard a conversation between two deaf men. What will you be doing today? Will you come today? No, I asked you what will yon be doing today?

f

Yes, what will yon be doing today? Simpleton: It's March! Friend: So? Simjyfeton: HI need a new pair of shoes, soon.

'

Friend: Why? Simpleton: I'll wear (Hit my present pan: of shoes In double quick time. Friend: How? Simpleton: I need to march. Don't you know it's the month of March? Evaluation wort; is not all that tiresome as some make it out to be. Many a time, sparkKng gena of laughter are to be found scattered in the examination answer booklets and these are certainly welcome as they add spice. Here's a sampling:— Found at the bottom of a written page: Please Vomit. ' At the end of an examination answer page: Best of Lack. Instead of writing 'the hammering in the smithy' a student in the school I teach wrote:— the hammering of the smith. < 34

CHAPTER EIGHT Word Pyramid

,

The pyramids in Egypt are one of the Seven wonders of the world. You cannot, of course, build a pyramid now, but you certainly can build one of words! Here's how: The starting or base word will be given by me. It will be a word of five letters. Taking the last letter of that word, build another word on top it starting with that last letter. This new word should have only four letters. Again, pick any one letter of the new word and use form a word of only three letters. In this way you can top the word pyramid by a word of only one letter and the sentence reading from top to base should make sense. The time limit for completing the word pyramid is 1 min. 30 sees. The base word is: HASTE.

35

Tongue-Twisting Time! Can you manage these tongue-twisters wgfaput slip? Repeat each one six times quickly. Choose yoi own method of scoring and see how you fare! J Pink pretty petals.

^

Six sick sheep.

"i

Three tree twigs

?»

Truly true. The boy bubbles bubble gum. The ghost gauntly goes.

;

Make Your Own WordLie Detector! All you need is a key and a piece of string. ! Tie the toppart of the key with the string so that wfaa you hold th© end of the string .with your hand, key stands erect.

Your lie detector is now ready! When you wish to test the truth of a statement p a l by someone, tell that person to hold the edge of the stflll 36

#

tied to the key with his hand, in such a way that the key keeps erect, tie must keep the key in that position and see that it does not move. As soon as this happens, make him repeat the statement where validity is in doubt, a number of times, till the key starts moving in any one of the following fashions: either like the pendulum of a clock or like the same movement but in the length-wise direction. If the person's key moves in the first way mentioned, then, it indicates that he is lying; if it moves in the second manner specified, then, it reveals that he is speaking the truth. A word of caution! Do not develop a weeding-out falsehood complex! Wordy March You may be in the mpnth of March. Here's, an invitation to play around with the word 'March' by forming at least five words from it. Time limit: 30 secondsHave Some Wordy Fan! Are you short of an interesting-game to play? Here's one you $hpuld enjoy playing and with profit! Arrange the players in a circular group. Give them each a number starting from one by moving in a clockwise way. Player number one starts the game by announcing a sentence. As soon as he does this, number two player will say a sentence starting with the first letter of the sentence of number one player. In this way every player in the group gets his chance. The players who are not able to give fairly correct sentences are out of the game! When the next round comes about introduce a variation: number one player could build a sentence, starting with the last letter of the sentence of the last player in the first round Have fun! Anagrams From Verbs a) sit b) bat c) tip d) stop e) came Tjme limit: If you are able to build the five anagrams 37

within ten seconds you grade: excellent; within seconds: good; and between twelve and fifteen fair.' Word Mazes Re-arrange the letters of each of the jumbled w given on each line separately to make sentences sense:— i) ii) iii) iv) v)

veigotem eht ifli I veol. I mcae, I was, I queconred. kool forbee you peal. venhea pelhs oseth ohw leph veslesmeth. kobos rae the tseb tifurnure.

Jambled Words Sort out the following jumbled words to make well-known notices:— • ; 1) 2) 3)4)

Beware of lunch. No Admission Without Universal 'Exhibition. Closed fofrthe Do® Keep for Permission.

5) To the Left. Word Pozde Form three three-letter words using only the gi group & alphabets;— RRROOOBBBIIINNN Summer Stole! Take the word 'summer.' From it form not less five words in a minute. If you do it, you score 8/10 you can write two more words, you score the score of 10/10. 38

'A' Vocabulary Quizzing Attempt this vocabulary quiz in which all the words begin with the letter 'a'. Select the word whicn according to you is the closest in meaning to the word given. 1. Abandon: (i) give up; (ii) to be alone; (iii) not to make an attempt 2. Abate: (i) to serve; (ii) to help; (iii) to diminish. 3. Abound: (i) be plentiful; (ii) to stay; (iii) around. 4. Abstract: (i) not practical; (ii) concrete; (iii) not theoretical, 5. Accord: (i) likeness; (ii) consent; (iii) praise. 6. Adamant: (i) a thing that is fruitless; (ii) a thing impenetrably hard; (iii) a person/thing of nuisance value. 7. Aesthete: (i) a sage; (ii) professed appreciator of the beautiful; (iii) an educated person. 8.

Amenity: (i) (iii) kindness.

carefulness;

(ii) pleasantness; >

9. Analyse: (i) dissect; (ii) examine minutely by the constitution of; (iii) study. 10. Atheism: (i) love of beauty; (ii) a political systems; (iii) disbelief in the existence of a god. How to score: 5-6 words correct: fair 6-8 words correct: good. . AboM»e 8 words correct: excellent. Word Teasers With the help of each group of letters a single English word can be made. Ratings:— 9-1(1 correct: excellent; 6-8 correct: good; 4-5: fair. 1) lepfhul 2) domisw 3) hsint 4) servil 5) hityweg 6) rorrim 7) poperc 8) ractattonis 9) prosiemomc 10) sciceconen Solutions on pages 64-65. 39

•ft0 CHAPTER NINE

JVhiM'

Open Sesame! A boss asked his lady secretary to type out inspiring lines and get them put on the notice the benefit of his staff. However, her effort produced ! following:— 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.t! 6. 7.

Lief is an tuvenread. Ot eb or ton ot eb. Lai eth do'wrls a gates. Rwok si wrohpsi. ldScMiie is legend. Eht leray ibrd actehsc eht wmor. Tonhsey spya.

v

t

,

8. Awyals od yruo tbes. 9. Dt'on pkee rfo tmowrroo htaw oyu nac od ytoad. 10. Mtie si onmey. t Unfortunately for her she could not say Sesame' and get the words to straighten themselves j meaningful sentences. So, can't you. Can you stra out these sentence mazes and find out what each line letters forming a sentence actually means? The words in each sentence have already been broken ,vd'<j that you do not give up easily. Naming Anagrams Make anagrams which should be nouns of the words:— 1. but

2. eat

3. was

4. tops

5. speit^

40

-Wj

It's Not April Fool! Come April and it is time for some healthy fooling. I remember an incident which still Alls me with laughter: On 1st April 1981, a friend received a telephonic message from one of has firieqds. He was toid to rush speedily to his house 'on account ot a death. My poor friend rim ckwnlongffigbts of stairs, hailed a cab and reached panting at his doorstep, to find his friend wait; ing for him with a cheerful smile and no sign of death. Then* his friend Calmly told him that he Would like his debt paid! A punning horror, certainly! It is up to you to play around in April but I would like you to engage in word play with the word 'April'. Using some or all the letters of 'April'* write down five different words. The capital 'A' in 'April' is optional; you can also turn it lower case but either one of these two. Time limit: 30 seconds. Be A Word BafUfaffX You may never make it as an architect but you can always make it as a word builder. With the help of e&ch group of alphabets given, buildasingle English word1. How to score:— 10-9 correct: excellent;' 8-6 correct: good; 5-4 correct: fair. Whatever happens, do not exceed the time limit of 1 minute, 30 seconds for this test. 1. molsyb 2. cicler 3. cide 6. peesh 7. stogh 8. iethg 10. rutecip

4. tueong 5. hitgl 9. sadsthoun

Rhyme Time It's time for a puzzle on rhyme. If the word 'rhyme' itself is a puzzle, then let me quickly add that it is merely a similarity of sounds usually in the end-words of lines. Here's one:— It is now high time/ To try your hand at rhyme. 41

The italicised words are rhymes. Within a span of five minutes, make at least five common rnymes of the live words given. Your rating would then be satisfactory. If you complete the rhyming in four minutes, you rate good; if in three minutes, you score very good; if in two minutes, excellent; if in one minute, you should be a poet if not already one! The five words are:— i)

sit

ii)

light

iii)

dot

iv)

good

v)

pace

Word Squares

This is not an architectural model. It is a puzzle christened Word Squares by me. As is obvious there is only a single square on top, under which are two squares, under which are three squares and so on, tiil we end with five squares. What you are required to do is fill in these squares starting with the top one and ending with the bottom ones with a letter each. If that is all you had to do, it would be child's play. However, the letters running down-

4Z

wards should make a complete, meaningful sentence. Can you? Centipede Clues You must have surely seen a centipede—that snaky insect with many legs—if you haven't, then its humorous illustration will suffice.

The centipede in the drawing has nine circular blanks which should be filled in with nine words, one for each blank, totally forming a complete and meaningful sentence. No word should have more than ten letters. Each pair of words in successive order, omitting the odd word of the fifth blank, should have at least one common letter between them. Can you fill in the centipede? Bible Quiz The Bible is the most widely read book. It is the world's greatest bestseller! As such you should be familiar with it. The following questions will reveal to you how well you know the Bible. So, go ahead and answer them. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

What is Armageddon? Who was Jeremiah? What was the Exodus? Who was Judas? What does the phrase «Widow's mite» refer to? Name the prostitute whom Christ forgave. 43

7. What does 'Eden' refer to? 8. What is the meaning of 'shibboleth'? 9. Who were the Pharisees? 10. Name the hill on which Christ was crucified. Solutions on pages 66-68.

CHAPTER TEN Riddling Yon! a) What will you answer but never speak to? b) What has four legs, a back but no body? c) What is that you never put in your pocket but yet find it there? d) What has teeth but cannot bite? e) When does 2 and 2 make more than four? f) Why do kings hold their heads high? g) What rope cannot be used for tying things? h) Name the first bus that went to America. i) What has legs but cannot walk? j) What is that which is very cold and sweats all the time? k) If you twist his ear, he will shout, but if you hit him on the head, he will stop. Who is he? 1) What has a hundred legs but cannot walk? m) What is bought by the yard but worn by the foot? n)

A is the son of B. But B is not the father of A. Who is B? o) What did the big chimney say to the small chimney? p) What did the piece of wood say to the electric drill? q) Why does the hen lay eggs? r) What sea has waves but no water? s) What is that room which has no doors, no windows, and no walls? t) Which insect goes «Zzub, zzub, zzub»? u) What is that which unlike a cow has only one horn and yet gives milk? 45

v) w) x) y) z)

What did the kneeling lion say to the praying priest? How can you best catch a squirrel? What did the candle say to the matchstick? When is a fool a wise man? How much earth is present in a hole measuring one foot by one foot?

Riddle Me Do! A noble lady lived 55 years, 6 months and 21 days. When she died her age was engraved on the tombstone but by using neither the words: «years», «months» or «days» nor the numbers, 55, 6, 21 in any script. How was it possible? What Is It? Look! Can you see that dainty, fragile little object on the window sill? It has a cool feel and is as soft as a feather. It is white in colour. When I looked close at it, I found it had six delicate arms. You can't see it, can you? Very well, from my information about it, can you tell me what is it? What Am I? «I am a poor object. My worth is 20 paise. The colour of my body is brown. Inside my stomach there is only water and from it starts my neck. My colour is white and my head is yellowish-blue. I am a very useful thing for any festival. What am I?» January Riddles i)

Why is January an Italian month of the year?

ii)

Why is January a sad month for some?

Nonsense Riddles 1. Why is blue not red? 2. How can you always win? 46

3. Where is Joe? 4. What is another way of spelling 'bee ? 5. Why did the Bombay police wear short pants? Alphabetic Quiz Here are riddles which require you to answer quickly with one or two suitable alphabets for each:— i) ii) iii) iv) v) vi) vii) viii) ix)

Which Which Which Which Which Which Which Which Which

alphabet is an insect? alphabet relates to water? alphabet is a human organ? alphabet is the name of a girl? alphabet indicates the singular? alphabets are pronouns? alphabet is an unknown number? alphabet asks a question? alphabet is a drink?

x) Which alphabet is a vegetable? xi) Which alphabet is an exclamation? xii)

Which two alphabets mean a composition?

Riddle Me Three! 1) Why is language called mother tongue and not father tongue? 2) When should we not say our prayers before eating? 3) When are low marks not low? Brush Up Your Wits! 1. Ian, Anne, Mark and Anthony start from the same point to walk round a circular track, the circumference of which is one mile. Ian walks at the rate of 5 miles per hour, 'Anne at 4 miles, Mark at 3 miles and Anthony at 2 miles per hour. How much time will be taken before all four are together again at the starting point? 47

2. If each bird out of a group of birds will sit on a different tree, one bird out of that group. will not be able to sit on a tree. If two birds of the same group sit on one tree, then, one tree will not have any birds sitting on it. How many trees and how many birds are there? 3. There are five apples in a basket and there are five people in the room. How can you give an apple to each person and yet leave an apple in the basket? 4. Two fathers and two sons each shot a duck. None of them shot the same duck, but still only three ducks were shot. Why? Think And Answer 1. If six of the ten people at a party take cake, and seven take coffee, while only one takes neither, how many take both cake and coffee? 2. A writer in Bombay had a sister in Calcutta who was a teacher but the teacher in Calcutta did not ha v e a sister in Bombay who was a writer. How? 3. Once an insect flew into the ear of a friend. Can you tell how he was able to get it out even when it had gone so deep inside that he could not reach it? 4. Why did the little boy take a ladder .on his first day to high school? 5. How far can a child run into a forest? Solutions on pages 69-70.

48

CHAPTER ELEVEN Dunce Cap Limericks Limericks—not another soft drink—are short, humorous verses of five lineis each, popularised by Edward Lear in his "Book of Nonsense". The rhyme scheme is: aa, bb, a. If that reads like nonsense to you, then, let me tell you that it simply means: the last words of the first, second and fifth lines rhyme and the last words of the third and fourth lines rhyme. Here's a sampling of a few limericks written with the Indian scene in mind:— Power flows from the Razor There was a barber of Bombay Who always had a lot to say, Holding the customer's chin And with a hellish grin, He shouted and sermonised all the way. The school Boy The school boy who walks to school Tries very hard to keep cool, But with tons of baggage And his head a boiled cabbage, He would like very much to drool. The fat man from Darjeeling There was a fat man from Darjeeling Who liked to look at the ceilings When he read on the door Avoid spitting on the floor, He looked up and spat on the ceiling. Now try and make some homemade limericks. Have fun! A Tricky Poser What will you get if you sell a pair of shoes for Rs. 100 when you actually bought them for Rs. 50? 49

Tongue-Twisters Can you manage the given tongue-twisters without a mistake? Repeat each of them six times rapidly. Select your own method of scoring and see how you fare! The poor pretty princesses. Happy and honest is he. Three three's are thirty-three. Sea shells on Hie sea shore. Pink printed page. Home Lite's leading and living. Play With Words

doubble Now make your own list. Incomplete Limericks Here are two incomplete limericks. Try completing them as well as you can. 50

The pottticiaa from India There was a politician from India Who was never without an idea, But the idea ... His secretary thought up this, The politician swore ... The Hindi Film The Hindi film it's the same With only a change in name, It has songs, ... Heroes that dare, ... It's money ... It's Time To Sniff! You are provided with the following:— a) One rectangle (•) b) One triangle (A) c) One dot (.) d) One alphabet c (c) e) Four alphabet L's (LLLL) With the help of the above, can you express word 'sniff'?

the

Whatta Water Quiz! Attempt this watery quiz to find out whether there is a leak in your general knowledge! (i)

Which water is easier to swim in: sea water or fresh water?

(ii) (iii)

What is the scientific formula for water? What colour are rain clouds?

(iv)

How much percent of the earth's surface is covered by water? 51

(v)

What are the parts into which a river breaks up called? i

(vi)

Who said the line: «Water, and not a drop to drink»?

(vii)

What is a lagoon?

(viii)

Which gets heated faster: water or land?

(ix) (x)

water, everywhere

What gets cooled faster: water or land? Is sea-water heavier than, lighter than, or the same weight as a similar quantity of fresh water? J

Anagram Posers

;

Build anagrams of the following words:— 1. dog 6. deal

2. page 7. leap

3. dal 8. grin

Solutions on pages 71-72.

52

If

4. ruse 5. pear 9. nib 10. end

CHAPTER TWELVE Solutions Chapter One pun In The Punl a) b)

As twelve inches would make a foot. When it indicates a healthy liver.

Word Jumble Mumble a) cricket b) hockey c) chess d) swimming e) football f) table tennis g) golf h) basket ball i) badminton j) billiards Anagram Puzzlers a) no b) gab c) stale d) read e) top f) prod g) rope h) kin i) soil j) rats How you score: Each correct answer carries one point. You can Be A Word Detective i)

Said

ii)

Rat

iii)

Tap

iv)

Straw v)

Time

Vocabulary Quizzing (i) Jar (ii) Jazz (iii) Jehovah (iv) Hygiene (v) Dirge (vi) Cyclone (vii) Maxim (viii) Rendezvous (ix) Rig Veda (x) Nightingale Can You 'C' Through It? a. Couch b. Cauldron c. Canter trate e. Confused f. Cause g. h. Curd i. Cut j. Company

d. ConcenCommit

Vocabulary Riddle The word 'economy'; for example, economy soap flakes and economy cars. 53

Pairing Words (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7)

into into into into into into into

(f) = Fearless (a) = W (Hit) e (h) = R (Even) ue (k) = Forget (b) = Toad (j) = A1 (On) e (c) = Headache

(8) into (d) = Strongest (9) into (g) = Moment (10) into (i) = Foot (11) into (e) = Menaced Mishmash 1. 5. 9. 12. 16. 19. 23.

54

start 2. right 3. meeting 4. cushion straight 6. contain 7. limit 8. sidewalk handsome 10. directly 11. understand vision 13. school 14. apricot 15. clothes transistor 17. conscience 18. fiction mutter 20. signal 21. punctuality 22. heaven course 24. movie 25. victory

Chapter Two You Can Be A Word Architect! 1. or 2. do 8. sword

3. so

4. rod

5. sod

6. row

7. sow

You Can Be A Detective! a. Dog

b. Nap

c. Pit

Punning Fun! The camel is an irritable animal because it always keeps its back up. Nonsensical Notices! 1) House Full On The Grass

2) Closed On Monday 3) Don't Walk 4) No Credit 5) Adults Only

Building Sentences The missing words are:— 1) final, bid 2) aware, footsteps 3) mirth, source 4) life, strange 5) cruel, prime 6) alive, excite ment 7) loved, world 8) her, window 9) bodies, built 10) exercise, physical Anagrams Calling! 1)

mite

2)

dolt

3)

boss

4)

ton

5)

tow

'Monsoon' Teaser Six suggested words: on. soon, so, no, son and moon. Nonsensical Words 1) youth 2) mother 3) tribute 4) spice 5) desire 6) curse 7) generation 8) industry 9) beauty 10) improvement 55

Vocabulary Puzzler The word 'nice': for example, nice man, nice book, nice movie, nice idea, nice ice-cream. Vocabulary Quizzing Again abrupt: alive:

sudden, hasty, short, curt, precipitous, steep, sheer, sharp. living, animate, breathing, quick, quick-witted, alert, brisk, spry.

donation: power: second:

gift, present, benefaction, contribution, grant.

might, force, sway, control, omnipotence, autho rity. moment, trice, interval, lower part, lower voice, supporter, assistant.

Building Anagrams: 1. tab

2. mace

3. nip

4. lime

5. site

How Knowledgeable Are You? 1. China 2. Elephanta Island, near Bombay Harbour. 3. Arabian Desert. 4. Italy. 5. The Crimean War, 1853-56. 6. China. 7. 1953. 8. Milk. 9. The bone which gives a funny tingling feeling when struck. 10. The Olympic Committee. Dare the Open C! 1. 5. 9. 13. 17. 20. 24. 56

cruel 2. metallic 3. cinder 4. confused mace 6. Calcutta 7. unchanged 8. call race 10. cluster 11. Christ 12. lace clump 14. score 15. case 16. chicken exceptional 18. capsule 19. California pace 21. cricket 22. dictionary 23. courtesy crystal 25. ace.

Chapter

Four

Wordy Words: 1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

Watch: look/mechanism to tell time/guard duty fair: beautiful/light-skinned/carnival ring: an ornament for the finger/call/sound of a bell post: mail/job/pillar stole: robbed/fur wrap/left unnoticed right: correct/particular direction/okay

Sentence Mazes: A light heart lives long. Aim for the stars. To err is human. To thine ownself be true. Friendship multiplies joys and divides griefs. Hunting Anagrams! 1. Dial 2. Plead 6. Moore

3. Lied

4. Drain

5. Later

Making Sense i. love ii. stupendous iii. periods iv. horrible v. finish vi. come vii. junior viii. continuous ix. horizontal x. observe Newspaper Quiz The Daily; The Times of India; Indian Express. Descriptive Anagrams i) ads ii) dab iii) dam

iv)

tow

v) felt 57

Vocabulary Riddier December. A 'Trying' Crossword Puzzle

58

Chapter Four Fun With Anagrams i) ant ii) how vi) porter

iii)

drop

iv) tales

v)

leer

Will You Try Mr Detective? (i)

Plug

(ii)

Sleep

(iii)

Keep (iv)

Part

Ratan—The Simpleton A thief knowing that Ratan, well known for his simpleton ways, was alone at home, decided to take advantage of the situation and knocked on the front door. Ratan unknowingly questioned him forgetfully, «&ave yon left anything?® The thief did not need another invitation! Active Anagrams 1. eat

2. spelt

3. stop

4. sit

5. spit

Wordy Puzzler Our young hero saw the situation in his cell. He took the saw and cut the round shaped table into two halves. He joined the two halves together and made a whole. Through the (w)hole he was out of the jail. He shouted and shouted till he became hoarse. On the back of the ho(a)rse, he fled to safety out of the reach of the cruel king. Fun With Rain! The six words are:— a, an, I, in, ran, air. Is It A Fact Or Fiction? It may surprise you to know that all the statements are untrue! 59

1.

Sandwiches were not invented by the Earl of Sandwich as the early Romans did so. They called it 'offula'. The Earl of Sandwich provided this snack a name in English.

2.

There is no actual proof that the words were said by Marie Antoinette. It is more probable that it was merely related to her by her enemies. This statement appears in many school history books but it is incorrect.

3.

This statement which appears in many school history books is incorrect. King John did not sign the Magna Carta; he sealed it.

4.

Powdered glass has been tried as a poison but without effect. It is too fine to have any bad effects on the digestive system. In early times, it was believed to have medicinal properties!

5.

The heart is not on the left side of the chest but more or less dead centre.

6.

The statement can have no possible justification as feeding a cold results in over-indulgence and starving a fever leads to loss of energy. A reasonable amount of food should be taken whether it is a cold or a fever.

7.

Shaving certainly does not make hair grow faster as beard growth is determined by heredity and external factors cannot influence it.

8.

Snakes cannot be charmed by music as they have no ears. They may be influenced by the vibrations of the charmer's foot striking the ground.

9. It is a myth as ostriches never hide their heads in the sand. However, when they hear someone approaching, they may bend their necks parallel with the ground and listen carefully. 10.

60

Bulls are not angered by red rags as they are colourblind. They are made angry by the movements of the cloak.

11.

There is certainly no set number of times a drow n ing man rises to the surface.

12.

Hiccups cannot be cured by fright; more people have died of fright than of hiccups!

What's Missing? 1. spice 5. garlic 9. watch

2. inhale 3. powder 6. pearls 7. honey 10. mirror

4. antiseptic 8. weight

61

Chapter Eleven October Quiz i) to ii) be iii) vi) rob vii) toe xi) boo xii) cob

or iv) coo v) bet viii) roe ix) rot x)

cot

Spot The Missing Letters! 1. youngster 2. ruler 3. tray 5. table 6. number 7. metric 9. better 10. finish

4. pencil 8. eight

Word Jumble a. tennis e. music

b.

reading

c.

cycling

d.

writing

The Fanny Pun a. Flowers are lazy because they are usually found in beds. b. «I am the light of your life.» Word Maze Reading maketh full men. Action Anagrams a. tea

b. pots

c.

was

d. tab

e. peal

Can You Build Words? 1) tongue 2) repeat 3) twist 4) thumb 5) glimmer 6) insertion 7) fearless 8) white 9) revenue 10) selected 62

Say It With Si'ent Letters! 2. 3. 6. 11. 13. 15. 17. 18. 19. 21. 23. 24. 25.

6.

listen wrong receipt corps apostle handkerchief gristle answers reign rhythm parliament Wednesday athlete

63

Chapter Eleven Word Pyramid

Wordy March Suggested five words: mar: ram; car; ham; arc. Anagrams From Verbs a) tis b) tab c) pit

d)

pots

e)

Word Mazes i) ii) iii) iv) v)

Give to me the life I love. I came, I saw, I conquered. Look before you leap. Heaven helps those who help themselves. Books are the best furniture.

Jumbled Words 1) 64

Beware of the Dog.

mace

2) Closed for lunch.. 3) No Admission without Permission. 4) Keep to the Left. 5) For Universal Exhibition. Word Puzzle i)

rob

ii)

bin

iii)

rib

Summer Sizzle! i) sum vi) ruse

ii)

rum iii) vii) muse

mum

iv)

me

v)

rue

'A' Vocabulary Quizzing 1 (i); 2 (iii); 3 (i); 4 (i); 8 (ii); 9 (ii); 10 (iii).

5 (ii);

6 (ii);

7 (ii);

Word Teasers 1) helpful 2) wisdom 6) mirror 7) copper 10. conscience

3) hints 4) silver 5) weighty 8) attraction 9) compromise

65

Chapter Eleven Open Sesame! 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.

Life is an adventure. To be or not to be. All the world's a stage. Work is worship. Silence is golden. The early bird catches the worm. Honesty pays. Always do your best. Don't keep for tomorrow what you can do today. Time is money. ^

Naming Anagrams 1. tub

2. tea

3. saw

4. pots

5. pelts

It's Not April Fool! 'My five words: lip; air; rip; rap; par. Be A Word Builder! 1. symbol 2. circle 3. dice 4. tongue 5. light 6. sheep 7. ghost 8. eight 9. thousands 10. picture Rhyme Time i) ii) iii) iv) v)

66

pit; lit; kit; hit; bit. might; height; sight; kite; fight. cot; lot; got; pot; hot. food; hood; mood; could; would, race; ace; case; face; grace.

Word Squares

Centipede Clues

Bible Quiz 1.

It is the name of the place where the Bible prophesies that the final battle between good and evil will be fought at the end of the world (Revelation 16:16). 2. Jeremiah was a Judean prophet who was greatly distressed over the ruin of Jerusalem. 3. The departure of the Israelites from Egypt under Moses, described in «Exodus», the second book of the Old Testament. 4. The disciple of Christ who betrayed him with a kiss. 67

5.

The phrase refers to a poor woman whom Christ praised for her selfless generosity. 6. The reformed prostitute, Mary Magdalene. 7. 'Eden' refers to the Garden of Eden or Paradise (Genesis 2:8). 8. A word used by Jephthah as a test word; so it means a pass word (Judges 12:4-6). 9. An ancient Jewish sect that strictly followed Mosaic law. 10. Calvary.

68

Chapter Eleven Riddling Yon! a) Door-bell, b) Chair c) Hole, d) Comb, e) When it is 22. f) To keep their crowns from falling, g) Europe. h) Columbus. i) A chair or a table, j) Ice. k) An alarm clock. 1) Fifty pairs of trousers. m) Carpet, n) Mother, o) You are too yonng to smoke, p) You bore me. q) Because if she let them drop, they would break, r) B.B.C. s) Mushroom. t) Bee. u) The milk truck, v) «Say your gracc before meals.» w) By acting like a nut. x) «Light up my life!» y) When he knows he is a fool, z) None, of course. It's a hftle! Riddle Me Do! The noble lady's age was engraved: «Half a century, a lustrum^ a semester and three weeks.» What Is It? Snow Flake. What Am I? «A lamp made of mud.» January Riddles i) ii)

It is named after the Italian god, Janus. It is a sad month for those who make resolutions and soon find that they cannot keep them.

Nonsense Riddles 1. 2. 3. 4.

Blue is not red because red is not blue. By never taking part. Who is Joe? Buzz. 69

5.

To show they are men.

Alphabetic Quiz i) b(bee). ii) s(sea). iii) i(eye). -iv) k(kay). v) a. vi) u(You) and v(We). vii) x. viii) y (Why). ix) t(tea). x) p(pea). xi) 0 ( 0 h ! ) . xii) s, a(essay). Riddle Me Three! 1) Because most of the time the mother speaks and the father listens. 2) When mummy is a good cook. 3) When they are the highest among the failures. Brush Up Your Wits! 1.

2. 3. 4.

It would take one hour before all four are together again at the starting point: in which time Ian will have circled the track five times; Anne four times; Mark thrice and Anthony twice. Three trees and four birds. You give one of them the basket with an apple inside it! An old man, his son jand his grandson each shot a duck. The old man and his son were the two fathers and the son and grandson were the two sons!

Think And Answer 1. 2. 3. 4 5. 70

Four must take both cake and coffee. The writer in Bombay was brother to the teacher in Calcutta. So, the teacher in Calcutta had a brother in Bombay. He w^g able to get out the insect from within his ear by placing a bright light close to his ear. The little boy thought that high school meant a school on a height. So, he took a ladder to climb up to it! A little way. The remainder of the running is in the opposite direction!

Chapter Eleven A Tricky Poser Three months in jail. Incomplete Limericks The politician from India There was a politician from India Who was never without an idea, But the idea was never his His secretary thought up this, The politician swore the truth of his idea. The Hindi Film The Hindi film it's the same With only a change in name, It has songs, music and dance Heroes that dare, heroines that prance, It's money that shames the game. It's Time to Sniff!

Whatta Water Quiz! Ci) Sea-water. (v) Tributaries.

(ii) H2 0. (iii) Grey. (iv) 71%. (vi) Coleridge's. «Ancicnt Mariner». 71

(vii) A salt-water lake. (x) Heavier.

(viii)

Land.

(ix)

Water,

Anagram Posers 1. god 6. lead

/

2. gape 7. peal

3. lad 8. ring

4. sure 9. bin

5. reap 10. den

Author's Note

A few answers, particularly the ones of Bnilding Sentences (Ch. 2), Word Pyramid (Ch. 8), Word Squares and Centipede Clues (Ch. 9), are suggested ones as there are a number of possible answers for each of them. A variety of possible answers provide more scope for word dexterity. Treat the suggested solutions as models of reference with which to test the strengths and weaknesses of your own solutions. And don't hesitate to consult a dictionary when in doubt. 72

Model Skit T H E CRAZY CLASS Cast 1. Class Teacher 2. Nine selected students 3. A class of students

Class Teacher: "Good morning, boys." Class: "Good morning, Miss." Class Teacher: "It is good morning, Sir." Class: "Good morning, Sir." C. Teacher: "So, you are the boy who wrote on the board: Teacher is a fool?" Pupil One: "Yes, sir."

Teacher: "Well, at least I am glad you have told the truth." C. Teacher: "What are you laughing at?" Student Two: "Nothing the matter, sir. I'm practising so that I can be ready when you say something funny."

C. Teacher: "Goodness Ram!" Student Three: "Yes, sir?" Teacher: "Haven't you finished washing the blackboard yet? You have been cleaning it for an hour!" Student Three: "That's true. The more I dean the blackboard the blacker it becomes." C. Teacher : "Let's begin with a lesson in Geometry. Yesterday, I had explained to you about lines, points and planes. So, can you tell me what is formed when two planes intersect?" Student Four: "An air crash." C. Teacher: "Jim come here. Write hundred times: I don't know to count." "Why you have written only 30 times." Student Five: "Excuse me, sir, you are right; I really don'tknow how to count." C. Teacher: "Let's begin with poetry." (Aside) "I want to teach them a poem on crows. Let's see whether they can come out with the names of the birds." 73

"Give me the name of creatures that have no teeth in their mouths?" Student Six: "My granny, sir." C. Teacher: (Aside) "This class is a crazy one." "Well, we will now begin with a lesson in Geography. Tell me where is Chanda?" Student Seven: "It is on page 24, Sir." A bell rings. Class Teacher: (Aside) " T h a n k heavens! That's the bell."

"Thank you, boys." Class: "Thank you Miss." Teacher: "Oh, no!" Student eight: "Now, we have made our own recess." (Rings the bell joyfully.)

Student Nine: "Thank you, Miss and Sir."

I

74

INDEX Active Anagrams : 25, 30, 37, Alphabetic Riddles : 47. Anagrams : 1, 8. 9, 18, 19, 23, 25 , 30, 37, 40, 52. Bible Q u i z : 43. Building words : 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 11, 18, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30. 37, 38. 39, 41. Centipede : 43. Classroom Jokes : 16. Cricket chuckles : 13. Crossword : 19. Descriptive Anagrams : 19. Detective Puzzles : 2, 7, 23. Fun Notices : 7, 38, 40. Funny Pun : 29. Geometrical Dog : 51. Humor : 32-34. Incomplete Limericks : 50. Invisible writing :

19.

Jokes : 12-16. Jumbled sentences : 30, 38. 40. Jumbled words : 1. 29. 38. Knowledge : 10, 21, 26, 43, 51. Lie Detector : 36. Limericks : 49, 51. Mathematical Teasers : 47, 48.

Mishmash : 5. Missing letters : 27, 29. Monsoon* teaser :

8.

Naming Anagrams : 40. Newspaper Quiz : 18. Nonsensical words : 3, 9, 11, 18. October Quiz : 28. Origin of words : 20, 28. Pairing words : 4. Palindromes : 23. Pun : 1, 7, 17, 29, 41. Puzzles : 9, 25, 38, 47, 48, 50. Pyramid : 35. Quizzes : 2, 9, 26, 28, 39, 43, 47, 51. Quotations : 21. Recipe : 21. Vlhymes : 41. Riddles : 1, 4, 7, 19, 29, 45, 47. Sentences : 8, 17, 30, 38, 40. Silent Letters : 30. Spelling Demons : 21. Squares : 42. Tongue - twisters : 28, 36, 50. Tricks : 19, 36. Tricky poser : 49. Vocabulary : 2, 4, 9, 17, 19, 20, 26, 28, 37, 38, 39, 41. Word games : 2, 5, 7, 19, 23, 24. 25, 35, 37, 42, 43. Word play : 3, 10, 24, 50, 51.

76

Word Fun is a celebration of the word. The word, being loaded with significance, is, as a consequence, full of fun. The twin barrels of the word—meaning and fun— are highlighted in every chapter. This is done through varied word play: anagrams, puns, palindromes, puzzles, riddles, rhymes, limericks, tongue-twisters, quizzes, games, and generous helpings of humour. Besides, various language tests such as those on spellings and silent letters as also general knowledge teasers are present. Read the book and reap while you have fun. Better speech will be yours, without your even knowing it!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Otto De Gosta is a post-graduate in English Literature from Bombay University. He did his B.Ed, at St. Xavier's Institute of Education. He is a Speech therapist at the prestigious YMCA. His regular feature articles, in magazines like Mirror, Home Life and The Teenager, *md newspapers like The Daily and Free Press, particularly * those on language, are highly popular. He is Deputy Editor of Indian Shipping Review. He stays with his parents at Mahim, Bombay.

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