Welcome to the Clay Lane blog
This page keeps you up-to-date with recent additions, alerts you to posts you may have missed, and invites you to tackle exercises similar to those NL Clay gave to pupils aged 12-13 in the 1930s.
Add Vowels Every Day • Think and Speak
Make as many words as you can by adding vowels (AEIOU) to these consonants.
frgs (5+1)
See Words
forages. foregoes. forges. forgoes. frogs.
frigs.
Spinners Every Day • Think and Speak
Pick any group of three words, and see if you can still remember them in an hour, and still remember them tomorrow. For a further challenge, try using all of your three words together in a single sentence.
The words in this puzzle are taken randomly from a list of 927 common words. You can change e.g. cat → cats, go → went, quick → quickly.
1 Daughter. Nation. Street.
2 Everything. Partner. Picture.
3 Home. Lead. Skin.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
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1
On This Day Old English Calendar ?
Stephen was the first person to lose his life because he was a follower of Jesus Christ.
2
On This Day Old English Calendar ?
By Divine providence, the shocking murder of Good King Wenceslas led to a flowering of Christian faith in Europe.
Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Wenceslaus gave alms to the poor. People remember him for this. He was also martyred.
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3
On This Day Modern Calendar ?
The Whitby man held his nerve to keep five enemy ships busy at Trafalgar, and subsequently led Nelson’s funeral procession.
Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
‘Revenge’ suffered heavy fire. His crew wanted him to respond. Moorsom waited.
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4
Anne Thackeray saw something in Jane Austen’s heroines that she missed in their more modern sisters.
Join each group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Austen’s heroines were often disappointed in love. They recovered quickly. Thackeray was envious. [Affection. Get over. Wish.]
The heroine of ‘Persuasion’ is Anne Elliot. There is a lot of Austen in Anne Elliot. It was her last novel. [Character. Draw. Plot.]
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5
The beginning of Robert Southey’s classic fairy tale.
Join each group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
The Bears cooked porridge. It was too hot to eat. They went for a walk. [Cool. Time. Wait.]
She saw a bowl of porridge. She ate greedily. She did not ask permission. [Eye. If. Tuck.]
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6
A Russian princess admitted defeat with a most gracious compliment.
Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Catherine offered Smeaton a job in Russia. She told him to name his terms. He declined the job. [Accept. Sum. Turn.]
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7
Henry Purcell: Rejoice in the Lord Alway (‘the Bell Anthem’)
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REJOICE in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Philippians 4:4-7
8
Show that each of these words might mean different things to different people.
Show that each of the following words might mean different things to different people. Which people would they be?
For example: Cannon.
To a soldier, a big gun.
To a billiard player, a shot in which the cue ball strikes two different object balls one after the other.
IBattery. IIAggregate. IIIDrum. IVFile. VFoil. VIMitre. VIIBall. VIIIBranch. IXNut. XBridge.
Developed from an exercise in Advanced English Exercises (1939) by NL Clay.
More Homonyms.
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9
Governments must not use ‘the good of society’ as an excuse to run our lives.
Join this group of ideas together to make a single sentence, in as many ways as you can.
Some people want to regulate everything. They mean well. They insult the public. [Aspect. Law. Who.]
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