WORD FUN. By Otto De Costa. Foreword by Vijay Merchant BETTER YOURSELF BOOKS

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3 WORD FUN By Otto De Costa Foreword by Vijay Merchant BETTER YOURSELF BOOKS

4 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

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

8 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, Vijay Merchant

10 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 wordmeaning 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.

12 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

14 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.

16 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 IV Wordy Words V Introducing Palindromes VI Tongue-Twisting Time VII Humour In Variety VIII Word Pyramid IX Open Sesame! X Riddling You! XI Dunce Cap Limericks XII Solutions Model Skit- 73 Index 75 2.

18 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

19 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 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 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

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

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