Read Our Minds: February

Question: [This question is a Reverse Definition, meaning that I’m giving you the definition, and you have to supply the word that correctly applies to it.]

Definition: To give in
A: truckle
B: truffle
C: trugo
D: trundle

Word Puzzles

Do you find yourself walking into a room only to forget why you came in there? Short-term memory is essentially a practical memory, and a fundamental characteristic of this sort of memory is its volatility. It might be frustrating, but this filtering system prevents you from being constantly overwhelmed by a never-ending flow of information. 101 Ways to Improve your Memory contains many interesting facts about memory, as well as many tricks, games and strategies to improve it. These puzzles have been chosen from among its pages.





Anaphrases

Use all these letters indicated in colour to form anagrams that complete the sentence in a way that makes sense.

1. N S O A E C
........ can be paddled on rivers, lakes or .........

2. A N E S T E R
Visitors to ........ countries often look in ......... for their ......... embassy.

3. R O A D A B
Passengers climb ......... before going .........

Escaletters

Form new words by adding the letters given below, one at a time. Several solutions are possible.

TIP
+S _ _ _ _
+E _ _ _ _ _
+R _ _ _ _ _ _
+E _ _ _ _ _ _ _
+C _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
+K _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

Mixed Proverbs

The words of three proverbs have been mixed up. Untangle them to find the original proverbs.

Click here for the answers

Need A Laugh?

Words can be a source of confusion, and amusement. Reader’s Digest’s A Laugh a Minute has a special section, ‘Word Play’, dedicated to just this sort of humour. We had fun choosing a couple; we hope you enjoy them.



Looking in my local library for two books by communications expert Deborah Tannes turned into an Abbott and Costello routine.
‘What’s the first book?’ the librarian asked.
‘That’s Not What I Meant,’ I said.
‘Well, what did you mean?’
‘That’s the title of the book I want,’ I explained.
‘Okay,’ she said, looking at me sceptically. ‘And the other book?’
‘You Just Don’t Understand.’
‘Excuse me?’
I got both books. Eventually.



Harry drove over to the next town to buy a new bull for the farm. It cost more than expected, and he was left with only $1. This was a problem, since he needed to let his wife, Sue, know that he’d bought the bull so she could come and get it with the truck—and telegrams cost $1 per word. Harry thought hard for a minute. Finally he said, ‘All right. Here’s my dollar. Go ahead and just make it this one word: comfortable.’
‘How’s that going to get your point across?’ the clerk asked, scratching his head.
‘Don’t worry,’ Harry said. ‘Sue’s not the greatest reader. ‘She’ll say it really slowly.’