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"Stuff" can mean facts or knowledge. The following words all mean "facts" in some way except one: which one?

Teddy Bear . "Boy he sure knows his stuff" is a good example of how stuff means "facts" (or data, information or subject). A teddy bear is a toy that can be stuffed but it certainly doesn't mean facts or knowledge.

You have just finished Christmas dinner and Dad leans back and says "Man, am I stuffed"! What is he most likely to have done?

Eaten way too much . When you eat it can be said that you are "stuffing your face", so if you overeat you are so full that you are stuffed. Other words that can be used here instead of "stuff" are binge, gorge, glut and pig out. Another meaning for stuffed can also be very tired or exhausted and there is a tiny chance that you can be tired after opening presents, sneezing and making egg nog but the chances that you'll be exhausted are slim.

In which of these sports can you "stuff" a ball into a net?

Basketball . When you dunk a ball through a basketball hoop it is said that you have stuffed it into the net. Of the other sports mentioned above the only other one that uses a net is badminton, but they don't use a ball; instead they play with a feathered object called a shuttlecock.

Sometimes the word "stuff" can be used to describe the essence of a person. Which one of the following statements is the best example of describing the essence of a person?

He's made of the right stuff. . The essence of a person is "the stuff they're made of", which is why "he's made of the right stuff" was the answer we were looking for. Other words that can be used in the same context as essence are substance and matter.

It's Christmas dinner (again); which of the following items on your dinner table is mostly likely to be stuffed?

Turkey . Stuffing is a mixture that contains a variety of things such as breadcrumbs, herbs, spices or sausage meat and it is stuffed into certain foods (in this case the turkey) to give more depth of flavour. Carrots and the pudding would be difficult to stuff because they're solid whereas the turkey has a cavity or hole into which the stuffing can be placed. The gravy is liquid and is not something that we stuff.

"My nose is all stuffed up" means that it is clogged.

True. It is really tough to breathe with a "stuffed up" or "stuffy" nose. As well as saying that it is clogged you could also say that it is congested.

"Stuff it in the box". Which of the following words best describes what "stuff" means in this sentence?

Cram . Cook it in the box might be something that you do with microwave popcorn but it doesn't fit the context of this sentence. Here we are looking to shove things into a container, which is in line with the meaning of the word cram. Other words that we could have used are ram, wad, chock and jam.

Used the right way "stuff" can also mean nonsense. All of the following words also mean nonsense except one; which one is it?

Cork . Here's a good example as to how we can use the word stuff to mean nonsense: "You don't believe all that stuff do you"? Hooey, poppycock and bunk will also fit nicely in that sentence. A cork, however, will fit nicely into a bottle.

There are times when the word "stuff" can be used to indicate that something is broken. Which of the following is a good example of this?

It was stuffed when I bought it . Stuffing laundry into a bag is to cram it in, the team showed its stuff means they showed what they were made of and when you talk about your stuff you are talking about your belongings. In much the same way that we used "stuffed" to mean broken we can also make it mean defeated, frustrated or ruined.

Sometimes you may call an object "stuff" because you've forgotten what it's called. Which of these does *NOT* fit that description?

Teddy Bear . A good example of this is "Can you put that stuff over there"? In other words you're vague about what that stuff is. A teddy bear, on the other hand, is ... a teddy bear. You know what it is, there's nothing vague about it.