Great "ambergris" analogy, Mehaul! Not to many opportunities to use that word.

I have reset the topic title to what it is supposed to be.

Type the problem as a reply, please do not alter topic title.

OK, I really don't get why these pairs were matched:

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turnoff is related to stimulant

You said: take aback

turnoff means "something causing antagonism or loss of interest"
stimulant means "any stimulating information or event"

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I always thought that something which causes "loss of interest" is the opposite of a "stimulant". Unless, I guess, a turnoff stimulates you to lose stimulation, which seems absurd to me.

And the other "proper" match:

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startle is related to take aback

You said: stimulant

startle means "to stimulate to action "
take aback means "surprise greatly"

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Something which stimulates to action isn't a stimulant? What? Now, I admit that the difference in the part of speech between "startle" and "stimulant" should have been a clue that the game wasn't matching that pair, but, it being the "relationships" section and all, I thought there could be some flexibility. Something that turns you off certainly takes you aback, and something that startles you certainly stimulates you. I think this needs some adjusting, which is odd, because it's always been my experience that if a a form of the word given as one of the choices is included in the definition, the game will match that word with that definition -- I know I've complained about it before as an overly simplistic way of creating matches. I guess my mind really is melting because of this game!

Another pair of interchangeable definitions in today's Set 19 (Relationships):

rotgut is related to inebriant

rotgut means "any alcoholic beverage of inferior quality"
inebriant means "a liquor or brew containing alcohol as the active agent"

proof spirit is related to intoxicant

proof spirit means "a mixture containing half alcohol by volume at 60 degrees Fahrenheit"
intoxicant means "a liquor or brew containing alcohol as the active agent"

I thought this pairing was quite strange today:

epicranium means "the muscle and aponeurosis and skin covering the cranium"
body covering means "any covering for the body or a body part"

The latter is referring to any outside body parts, isn't it?

From the Relationship section:

a**-kisser is related to toady

a**-kisser means "someone who humbles himself as a sign of respect"
toady means "a person who tries to please someone in order to gain a personal advantage"


I think a word like that should be removed because of its vulgarity.

Quite a long bow being drawn, methinks!

^ hehe, I had the same today and thought exactly the same.

There are some words you can link to almost anything. "Change location", "Altering", "Person"... If I see one of those, I try and link the other ones first and then go back to these catch-all words.

That is a really smart tactic, Jan. Thanks!

I probably should have figured out uprise was a verb, not a noun, even though upgrade could be either.

Presumably just a typo in the set I just completed:

"prewpub" - combination brewery and restaurant; beer is brewed for consumption on the premises and served along with food.

Meant to be brewpub??

Could we have some checking to see that closely related words are not used on the same day?

On of today's antonyms was "enter" and another was "get in".

Thanks for the coin flip.

Here are the two I missed today...

surfer is related to bather



You said: water sport

surfer means "someone who engages in surfboarding"
bather means "a person who travels through the water by swimming"

swimming is related to water sport



You said: bather

swimming means "the act of swimming"
water sport means "sports that involve bodies of water"

The match the game gives is clearly the best way to match these, since surfer and bather oboth refer to a person who is engaged in an activity, while swimming and water sport both refer to the activity.

The opposite of nonconformity is conformation

You said: conformity

nonconformity means "failure to conform"
conformation means "acting according to certain accepted standards"

The opposite of noncompliance is conformity

You said: conformation

noncompliance means "the failure to obey"
conformity means "acting according to certain accepted standards"

Ayup, with two words given identical definitions, I was doomed. That's what I get for assuming that conformity was the oppostite of nonconformity.

I would have assumed the same as you, not-so-dumb_bunny!

"free is related to people

free means "people who are free"


Really? free is related to people?

Free means "people who are free"?

Does blue mean "cats that are blue"?

I managed to get this one right by process of elimination, but the method you're using to generate these relationships really needs serious examination.

(adjective) means (noun) [one of many] that has property of (adjective) does not in any way constitute a reasonable connection.

From our anthem, "The Star Spangled Banner":
"..,O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!"
In this context the word is used as a noun. And it means in this case: "people who are free".

Adjectives can be used as substantive nouns: the brave, the noble, the strong, etc. Which section of the game was this in? Not all sections are about exact definitions, but things that can be linked together, whether obviously or more tenuously.

Dumb bunny,

I got that non-comformity one wrong too. I had to sigh and admit that it was part of the fun of the game eventually. But, you know, I think you and I got it right acksherlly. ;D


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My query is:

frequent is related to back up



frequent means "do one''s shopping at"
back up means "give moral or psychological support, aid, or courage to"


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Ok, if I was more brainy I could have got it right by elimination but I think the definitions given don't quite match each other.

Can anyone persuade me otherwise?


(I love Mind Melt, by the way, so this is why I care)

Chaves,

I love Mind Melt too, and I can't see any way that these two (especially with these definitions) are related!

Sue

Related, vaguely, perhaps because they both imply an association of support. If you frequent (accent on the second syllable) a place, you are often there - you could be said to be supporting an establishment by your regular visits; if you back someone up, you are supporting them in some discussion.

Yes, if you frequent a charity shop, you are supporting their cause.

But not backing them up exactly.

And frequenting only means "shopping at" in a very, very vague sense. I think it's the "shopping" definition that is a bit strange.

And given that "back up" is defined as a "moral/psychological" act, it's doubly strange to define "frequent" as "shopping!.

(Glad I'm not the only one, Sue).

man of means is related to have
You said: individual
man of means means "a man who is wealthy"
have means "a person who possesses great material wealth"

blond is related to individual
You said: people
blond means "a person with fair skin and hair"
individual means "a human being"

timid is related to people
You said: have
timid means "people who are fearful and cautious"
people means "(plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively"


Aren't these three pretty vague? Especially timid, whose definition is wrong -- it's an adjective, not a noun as currently suggested.

They're all vague and tenuous - that's part of the third section's charm and frustration. I matched means with have, but had the other two reversed, since it was not clear which should match with the singular term and which the plural. C'est la vie.

Timid can be used as a noun - only the timid fear the dark - 'the timid' stands for 'people who are timid', and functions as the subject of the sentence. Same for blond, which is usually an adjective - blonds have more fun is a phrase that uses blond as a noun substantive.

Vague and tenuous, yes, those are valid descriptors and to those I would add cumbersome. Kind of reminds me of when I broke my arm and it was itching really bad and I tried to scratch underneath the cast with a coat hanger.

I had "colorize" and "colourise" as choices in my mind melt pool today. I wasn't going to win anyway as I never do, but that didn't help.

Where do you get these words from!

I play this game because its a team game. Not that I do too well, so fortunately my team doesn't rely on me

If we were to name a game we hated on funtrivia, it's got to be to his one. I absolutely hate it, but will play it because it helps my team ..... sometimes

I think it's the best game here. I play the other games just to keep me going for the 23 hours and 56 minutes until I can get my next fix.


I don't want to spoil the fun for today but good luck to anyone trying to place these two:

geographical region means "a demarcated area of the Earth"

geographic area means "a demarcated area of the Earth"


;D ;D ;D