Use first, then a detail
Find a word with clues gives a situation and asks what word comes to mind. You can open four clues: its category, its use, a detail and how the word begins. Then you describe the object so that someone could pick it out from two similar ones.
The category is the weakest clue. A colander, a funnel and a whisk are all kitchen tools, and “You can hold it in your hand” is true of every one. What the object does is what sets it apart. If the use is still not enough, add a detail you can see.
So start with “I use it to…” and add the detail if the listener needs it. The practice checks your description against the objects in front of you, and sends back one that still fits more than one.
1Say what the object does.
2Add a detail you can see if needed.
3Check that only one object still fits.
Draining the pasta
The situation: Cooked pasta is ready, but the cooking water must drain away. The category clue says a kitchen tool, which fits the colander, the funnel and the whisk alike.
The use clue decides: it holds food while water runs through. A funnel lets liquid through but holds no food, and a whisk mixes. Only the colander does that. If you still want help, its detail is that it looks like a bowl with many holes.
Describe the funnel
You want someone to pick out the funnel from these three objects without hearing its name.
Try it
Which description picks out the funnel?
- You can hold it in your hand.
- You place it in a bottle’s neck and pour liquid through it.
Show the answer
You place it in a bottle’s neck and pour liquid through it.
Right. The colander drains food and the watering can pours onto plants. Only the funnel sits in a bottle’s neck.
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Practice Find a word with clues