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29
11 Apr
Suggest words or phrases that seem opposite in meaning to each of the following.
IBeneficial. IILevel. IIITawdry.
At an angle. Bumpy. Detrimental. Elegant. Harmful. Lopsided. Refined. Tasteful. Tilted.
30
10 Apr
For each item below, think of three varieties of it, e.g. cat → lion, tiger, tabby. See if you can write a scene appropriate for one but not the other two. Try to include a person, a location and some sort of action.
IClocks. IIFlowers. IIIBags.
Grandfather clock. Stopwatch. Timer on an explosive device. Roses. Carnations. Buttercups. Handbag. Shopping bag. Golf bag.
31
Monday
The Son of God Goes Forth to War
In The Man Who Would Be King (1888) by Rudyard Kipling, this hymn is sung by Dan’s friend Peachey Carnehan right at the end of the tale as he is going mad, as if it has meant something to him for a long time. It is a hymn for the Feast of St Stephen, the first Christian martyr, who is remembered each year on December 26th.
32
Monday
Report this conversation from Tolstoy’s War and Peace. You could begin: “Anna Pávlovna asked M. Pierre...”.
Anna Pávlovna: “Do you know the Abbé Morio? He is a most interesting man.”
Monsieur Pierre: “Yes, I have heard of his scheme for perpetual peace, and it is very interesting but hardly feasible.”
For example
Here is a line from the same novel:
“I am very glad I did not go to the ambassador’s,” said Prince Hippolyte “— so dull.”
This may be reported as:
Prince Hippolyte said that he was very glad that he had not gone to the Ambassador’s, as it would have been insufferably dull.
33
Sunday
Rewrite each sentence below, keeping the same idea but avoiding the use of the highlighted metaphor, either by replacing it with another or by not using a metaphor at all.
1Kevin was shaken by the news.
2Nice try, but I’m not going to take the bait.
3That remark was below the belt.
Based on an exercise in Straightforward English (1949) by NL Clay.
34
Sunday
We tend to use the word ‘tyrant’ today with a mental picture of some apoplectic dictator raving and stamping. This is hardly adequate, and it allows much tyranny to pass unnoticed. Aristotle gave us a more carefully drawn word-portrait: of a man (or of men) whose goal is to keep a grip on power by systematically dividing, demeaning and disheartening the public.
