These mental agility puzzles are similar to those NL Clay gave to pupils aged 12-13 between the Wars. They are not tick-box interrogations, but invitations to free, clear and creative thinking using your own ideas, observations and imagination. Think and Speak (1929) was Clay’s first book.
Featured
Express the idea behind each of these proverbs using different words as much as you can.
On this page you will a find a selection of brief sayings, including short quotations from English literature as well as traditional proverbs. Choose a saying, and try to express the idea in different words as much as you can. In what circumstances might you use this quotation?
Choose one of these words and use it metaphorically, not literally.
A metaphor is a figure of speech in which something is said to be X when it is really only like X. For example, “He is my rock”; “I’m drowning in a sea of paperwork”; “Thy word is a lantern unto my feet”. See if you can make some interesting metaphors with the words suggested in this exercise.
Find a way of saying something can’t be measured, admitted, or changed — in just one word.
For each of the actions below, suggest a single adjective you could use to say that it can’t be done. For example, ‘That which cannot be measured’ is immeasurable. You may be able to think of more than one adjective for each action, and you may also be able to think of words not in our list of suggestions.
Say whether these short utterances make whole sentences or not; and if they don’t, add whatever is necessary.
Examine each group of words and say whether it is a complete sentence or not. If it is not, make whatever changes you think necessary, until you are satisfied that you have a complete sentence.
These sentences, taken from English literature, have been jumbled up like an anagram; see if you can piece them back together.
The sentences below, taken from well-known authors, have been jumbled up. See if you can restore them to their original order, with appropriate punctuation. Just as the word ‘listen’ can make meaningless anagrams (ilnets) and also meaningful ones (tinsel, silent, enlist), so also these jumbled sentences could make more than one intelligible sentence — but which one did our author write?
See if you can imagine an appropriate situation for these phrases, all taken from the English Bible published in 1611 and all still used in everyday speech.
Explain the circumstances in which people might use these well-known Biblical idioms. Even better, compose a short passage or dialogue showing your chosen phrase in use.