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; how-
ever, 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 ob-
jective 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, Rid-
dles, 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, with-
out 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 publi-
cation every possible success.

July 28, 1983. Vijay Merchant

i:
 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: Fun Roundabout bv Otto De
Costa (Nov. '83).
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 You Can Be A Word Architect! ... 7

Ill Nonsense Jokes ... 12

IV Wordy Words ... 17

V Introducing Palindromes ... 23

VI Tongue-Twisting Time ... 28

VII Humour In Variety ... 32

VIII Word Pyramid ... 35

IX Open Sesame! ... 40

X Riddling You! ... 45

XI Dunce Cap Limericks ... 49

XII Solutions ... 53

Model Skit- 73
Index 75

2.
 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
Re-arrange the letters of the jumbled words in order
to get the names of some popular games:—
a) tiekcrc
b) cokhey ,
c) sechs
d) ginmmiws
e) bofollat
f) teelabsinnt
g) flog
h) betballask
i) dintabmon
j) 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) on
b) bag
c) steal
d) dear
e) pot v
f) drop
g) pore
h) ink
i) oils
j) star
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 well-
known word: a rhyme; what the word means when it is
spelt backward; and a word which can be used along
with it.

The Word Spelt Backwards. Accompanying

Rhymes With It Means Word

i) Bed Platform Well

ii) Cat Dark thick liquid
from coal Field
iii) Lap A gentle encouraging
touch Leaky
iv) Draw Skin blemishes Last
v) Rhyme Discharge 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) Song sung at burial.
(vi) System of winds rotating round a centre of mini-
mum 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 comp-
lete 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 Won-
derland:*. 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 23-
25: exceptional; 20-22: excellent: 17-19: very good; 14-
16: 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 Goes With
Spelt Baekwards
a. Log A supreme divine power Days
b. Tap Shallow vessel used in
cooking Cat
c. Sit The finer end of
a thing Bottomless

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 con-
tinual 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 humor-
ous reading. Try to sort out the jumbled words to make
five intelligible and familiar notices:
1) House On Grass
2) Closed For Adults
3) Don't Walk Full
4) Only Credit
5) 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!
Make anagrams of the given words:—
1) 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 mo-
ments. 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 2) rehotm 3) teubrit 4) cispe
5) isered 6) urces 7) negrenoita 8) tdusryin
9) uyetba 10 veenmtpromi
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 com-
monly abused by Indians and wbich lias one of its mean-
ings 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, dis-
course, 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. In which country did tea originate?

2. Where are the E ephanta Caves situated?
3. Which is the largest desert in Asia?
4. To which country did Christopher Columbus belong?
5. When did Florence Nightingale first achieve fame?
6. Name the country which invented paper money.
7. In which year was Mount Everest finally scaled?
8. Which is heavier: milk or cream?
9. What is the 'funny bone'?
10. 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 chal-
lenged 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 meaning-
ful.
How you rate yourself:—Every word turned meaning-
ful 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 your-
self 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 rail-
way 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 bet-
ween 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 boy was shown his two twin brothers just
born. After examining them scruplously, the boy, point-
ing to one. declared: «According to me, this as the one
we have to 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 acti-
vity. 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 know-
to 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 exam-
ination.
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 dif-
ferent things. You must indicate two different meanings
of the same word and the time limit to complete the
list is 1 minute.
1) watch 2) fair 3) ring 4) post 5) stole
6) 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 signi-
fies. You will discover a pearl of wisdom in each con-
fused 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:— Re-
arrange 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 3. Idle 4. Dinar 5. Alter
6. Romeo

Column B
Phone Beg Falsehood Sanitation That which
comes after English Poet
The time limit is 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Making Sense

Turn the given nonsensical words into meaningful

ones:—

i. veol ii. supdostenu iii. diosrep iv. rirbohel

v. nifsih vi. meoc vii. runioj viii. suountinco
ix. talrizhoon 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 re-
quired 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 mess-
ages 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 cer-
tain 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 cer-
tain 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 cups of «love»;
4 cups of Royalty*;
3 cups of «forgiveness»;
2 cups of friendship*;
1 cup of «kindness»;
5 spoons of «hope»;
3 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: hand-
picked 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 per-
fect 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. already
2. all right
3. separate
4. coming
5. February
6. mystery
7. sincerely
8. writing
9. surprise
10. studying
11. gratiintair
12. fourth
13. receive
14 . business
15. athletics
16. amateur
17. committee
18. occasion
10. government
20. restaurant
21. conscientious
22. 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) tan
ii) who
iii) prod
iv) stale
v) reel
vi) report

Will You Try Mr Detective?

Try the given puzzle and make it as a word detec-
tive! 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:—

- ' N R .
A 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. "tea . 7 ••'••••• • ' ., "
2. pelts
3. tops
4. tis •'•'•• •
5. 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 king-
dom 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 win-
dows. 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. situa-
tion 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. Music charms snakes. C )
10. BuUs are angered by rags of a red colour. ( )
11. Drowning people submerge thrice. ( )
12. Fright can cure hiccups. ( )

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. pcse r'r

2. halen
3. pwder
4. anticiset
5. larci
6. leasp
7. ynoh •• , ; • : , .
8. htweg
9. tchw " , *,
10. mrror
Solntidns on pages 59 -61.

27
 CHAPTER s i x •

Tongue-Twisting Time •

Can you get your tongue around these tongue-twis-

ters; 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 fasti-
dious 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 word-
building. 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 incom-
plete 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 2. terepa 3. twtsi 4. mutbh
5. mermilg 6. serinniot 7. lesfesar 8. tewih
9. uereven 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 ,
i
30
3. wrong
4. rhyme
5. follow
6. receipt
7. February
8. escape
9. handle
10. circumstances
11. corps
12. elephant
13. apostle
14. minute
15. handkerchief
16. previous
17. gristle
18. answers,
19. reign
20. twenty
21. rhythm
22. terrible
23. parliament
24. Wednesday
25. 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 empty-
ing 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 explain-

ed 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 num-
ber 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 men-
tioned, 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 in-
vitation to play around with the word 'March' by form-
ing at least five words from it.
Time limit: 30 seconds-
Have 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 clock-
wise way. Player number one starts the game by an-
nouncing 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 in-
troduce 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) veigotem eht ifli I veol.
ii) I mcae, I was, I queconred.
iii) kool forbee you peal.
iv) venhea pelhs oseth ohw leph veslesmeth.
v) kobos rae the tseb tifurnure.

Jambled Words
Sort out the following jumbled words to make
well-known notices:— • ;
1) Beware of lunch.
2) No Admission Without Universal 'Exhibition.
3)- Closed fofrthe Do®
4) 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 accord-
ing 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) carefulness; (ii) pleasantness;
(iii) kindness. >
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. Lief is an tuvenread. v

2. Ot eb or ton ot eb.
3. Lai eth do'wrls a gates. t ,
4. Rwok si wrohpsi.
5.t! ldScMiie is legend.
6. Eht leray ibrd actehsc eht wmor.
7. Tonhsey spya.
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 laugh-
ter: 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 4. tueong 5. hitgl
6. peesh 7. stogh 8. iethg 9. sadsthoun
10. rutecip

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 mean-
ingful 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 fami-
liar with it. The following questions will reveal to you
how well you know the Bible. So, go ahead and answer
them.
1. What is Armageddon?
2. Who was Jeremiah?
3. What was the Exodus?
4. Who was Judas?
5. What does the phrase «Widow's mite» refer to?
6. 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) What did the kneeling lion say to the praying priest?
w) How can you best catch a squirrel?
x) What did the candle say to the matchstick?
y) When is a fool a wise man?
z) 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) Which alphabet is an insect?
ii) Which alphabet relates to water?
iii) Which alphabet is a human organ?
iv) Which alphabet is the name of a girl?
v) Which alphabet indicates the singular?
vi) Which alphabets are pronouns?
vii) Which alphabet is an unknown number?
viii) Which alphabet asks a question?
ix) Which 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 sit-
ting 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, humo-
rous 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 the
word 'sniff'?

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) What is the scientific formula for water?
(iii) What colour are rain clouds?
(iv) How much percent of the earth's surface is co-
vered by water?

51
 (v) What are the parts into which a river breaks up
called? i
(vi) Who said the line: «Water, water, everywhere
and not a drop to drink»? If
(vii) What is a lagoon?
(viii) Which gets heated faster: water or land?
(ix) What gets cooled faster: water or land?
(x) 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 2. page 3. dal 4. ruse 5. pear
6. deal 7. leap 8. grin 9. nib 10. end

Solutions on pages 71-72.

52
 CHAPTER TWELVE

Solutions
Chapter One
pun In The Punl
a) As twelve inches would make a foot.
b) 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 d. Concen-
trate e. Confused f. Cause g. Commit
h. Curd i. Cut j. Company
Vocabulary Riddle
The word 'economy'; for example, economy soap flakes
and economy cars.

53
Pairing Words
(1) into (f) = Fearless
(2) into (a) = W (Hit) e
(3) into (h) = R (Even) ue
(4) into (k) = Forget
(5) into (b) = Toad
(6) into (j) = A1 (On) e
(7) into (c) = Headache
(8) into (d) = Strongest
(9) into (g) = Moment
(10) into (i) = Foot
(11) into (e) = Menaced

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

54
 Chapter Two

You Can Be A Word Architect!

1. or 2. do 3. so 4. rod 5. sod 6. row 7. sow
8. sword

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 2) Closed On Monday 3) Don't Walk
On The Grass 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: sudden, hasty, short, curt, precipitous, steep,
sheer, sharp.
alive: living, animate, breathing, quick, quick-witted,
alert, brisk, spry.
donation: gift, present, benefaction, contribution, grant.
power: might, force, sway, control, omnipotence, autho
rity.
second: 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. cruel 2. metallic 3. cinder 4. confused
5. mace 6. Calcutta 7. unchanged 8. call
9. race 10. cluster 11. Christ 12. lace
13. clump 14. score 15. case 16. chicken
17. exceptional 18. capsule 19. California
20. pace 21. cricket 22. dictionary 23. courtesy
24. crystal 25. ace.

56
 Chapter Four

Wordy Words:
1) Watch: look/mechanism to tell time/guard duty
2) fair: beautiful/light-skinned/carnival
3) ring: an ornament for the finger/call/sound of a bell
4) post: mail/job/pillar
5) stole: robbed/fur wrap/left unnoticed
6) 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 3. Lied 4. Drain 5. Later
6. Moore
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 iii) drop iv) tales v) leer

vi) porter

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 sim-
pleton ways, was alone at home, decided to take advan-
tage 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 Sand-
wich 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 state-
ment appears in many school history books but it is
incorrect.
3. This statement which appears in many school his-
tory 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 be-
lieved 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 starv-
ing 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 ex-
ternal 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 ap-
proaching, they may bend their necks parallel with
the ground and listen carefully.
10. Bulls are not angered by red rags as they are co-
lourblind. They are made angry by the movements
of the cloak.

60
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 2. inhale 3. powder 4. antiseptic
5. garlic 6. pearls 7. honey 8. weight
9. watch 10. mirror

61
 Chapter Eleven

October Quiz
i) to ii) be iii) or iv) coo v) bet
vi) rob vii) toe viii) roe ix) rot x) cot
xi) boo xii) cob

Spot The Missing Letters!

1. youngster 2. ruler 3. tray 4. pencil
5. table 6. number 7. metric 8. eight
9. better 10. finish

Word Jumble
a. tennis b. reading c. cycling d. writing
e. music

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)
62 revenue 10) selected
Say It With Si'ent Letters!

2. listen
3. wrong
6. receipt
11. corps
13. apostle
15. handkerchief
17. gristle
18. answers
19. reign
21. rhythm
23. parliament
24. Wednesday
25. athlete

63
6.
 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) mace

Word Mazes
i) Give to me the life I love.
ii) I came, I saw, I conquered.
iii) Look before you leap.
iv) Heaven helps those who help themselves.
v) Books are the best furniture.

Jumbled Words
1) Beware of the Dog.

64
 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 ii) rum iii) mum iv) me v) rue
vi) ruse vii) muse

'A' Vocabulary Quizzing

1 (i); 2 (iii); 3 (i); 4 (i); 5 (ii); 6 (ii); 7 (ii);
8 (ii); 9 (ii); 10 (iii).

Word Teasers
1) helpful 2) wisdom 3) hints 4) silver 5) weighty
6) mirror 7) copper 8) attraction 9) compromise
10. conscience

65
 Chapter Eleven

Open Sesame!
1. Life is an adventure.
2. To be or not to be.
3. All the world's a stage.
4. Work is worship.
5. Silence is golden.
6. The early bird catches the worm.
7. Honesty pays.
8. Always do your best.
9. Don't keep for tomorrow what you can do today.
10. 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) pit; lit; kit; hit; bit.
ii) might; height; sight; kite; fight.
iii) cot; lot; got; pot; hot.
iv) food; hood; mood; could; would,
v) race; ace; case; face; grace.

66
Word Squares

Centipede Clues

Bible Quiz
1. It is the name of the place where the Bible prophe-
sies 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 trous-
ers. 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) Mush-
room. 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) It is named after the Italian god, Janus.
ii) It is a sad month for those who make resolutions and
soon find that they cannot keep them.

Nonsense Riddles
1. Blue is not red because red is not blue.
2. By never taking part.
3. Who is Joe?
4. 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. 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.
2. Three trees and four birds.
3. You give one of them the basket with an apple inside
it!
4. 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. Four must take both cake and coffee.
2. The writer in Bombay was brother to the teacher
in Calcutta. So, the teacher in Calcutta had a brother
in Bombay.
3. He w^g able to get out the insect from within his
ear by placing a bright light close to his ear.
4 The little boy thought that high school meant a school
on a height. So, he took a ladder to climb up to it!
5. A little way. The remainder of the running is in
the opposite direction!

70
 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. (ii) H2 0. (iii) Grey. (iv) 71%.
(v) Tributaries. (vi) Coleridge's. «Ancicnt Mariner».

71
(vii) A salt-water lake. (viii) Land. (ix) Water,
(x) Heavier.
Anagram Posers
1. god 2. gape 3. lad 4. sure 5. reap
6. lead 7. peal 8. ring 9. bin 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."

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 maga-
zines 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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