The previous thread was toasted due to topic drift. Perhaps we can keep this on topic.

jeopardise is related to exist

jeopardise means "pose a threat to"
exist means "have an existence, be extant"

I don't see the relation here. Can anyone explain this?

Happy Mind Melt Trivia!

Thanks for posting this new thread JMelston. I had this word a few days ago, am not sure how "objectionable" a term it is but thought it might be considered inappropriate.

"Procurer" - defined as "pimp: someone who procures customers for whores (in England they call a pimp a ponce)"

I've been saving up for a couple of days, waiting for this to come back around!

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copper-bottom is related to provide

copper-bottom means "provide with a copper bottom"
provide means "provide or furnish with"

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This is just nonsensical. I think this definition falls within the class of matches that are made purely on the rationale that the database definition of each given term contains the same word, which doesn't necessarily make the original terms a match. I could go on, but I think my argument is familiar.

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tangle with is related to change state

tangle with means "get involved in or with"
change state means "undergo a transformation or a change of position or action"

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I think this match is just plain wrong. Tangling with something doesn't necessarily involve a change in state, position, or action.

Two very similar words in my set today...in the 3rd part of the game...

melanosis is related to skin problem

You said: skin condition

melanosis means "a condition characterized by abnormal deposits of melanin (especially in the skin)"
skin problem means "a disease affecting the skin"



vitiligo is related to skin condition

You said: skin problem

vitiligo means "an acquired skin disease characterized by patches of unpigmented skin (often surrounded by a heavily pigmented border)"
skin condition means "a disease affecting the skin"


Now if melanosis is defined, at least in part, as "a condition," that would seem to be the correct answer.

I don't get offended or upset very easily, but I thought the following was a shade insensitive:

The opposite of miscarry is succeed

miscarry means "be unsuccessful"
succeed means "attain success or reach a desired goal"

I'd agree with you on that.

For what it's worth, here are the two listed definitions for "miscarriage" on wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn:

•fail: be unsuccessful; "Where do today's public schools fail?"; "The attempt to rescue the hostages failed miserably"
•suffer a miscarriage

For what it's worth, only 3 people in my question set got a perfect 30/30 so far today. This leads me to believe that most people stumbled on this same question.

spirituality is property or income owned by a church

Really?

Yes! See:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/spirituality

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/spirituality

Or various other online dictionaries. Amazing what you learn on FT, isn't it.

Happy Mind Melt Trivia!

I just learned that a shilallah is a type of cludger. Now that is something that won't stick in my mind, I'm afraid.

I stand illuminated.

These are the sort of matches that shouldn't be in the same set:

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glutethimide is related to sedative drug

You said: depressant

glutethimide means "sedative (trade name Doriden) used to treat some sleep disorders"
sedative drug means "a drug that reduces excitability and calms a person"


benzodiazepine is related to depressant

You said: sedative drug

benzodiazepine means "any of several similar lipophilic amines used as tranquilizers or sedatives or hypnotics or muscle relaxants"
depressant means "a drug that reduces excitability and calms a person"

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Perhaps a pharmacist could explain some nuanced shade of meaning between these two choices, but from my meager understanding, every sedative is a depressant. The given definition of "benzodiazepine" even includes the term "sedative". I would say that these two matches are interchangeable.

This match suffers from the same infirmity regarding my comment about "copper-bottom" above:

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wharf is related to provide

wharf means "provide with a wharf"
provide means "provide or furnish with"

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Again, just because the verbal form of "wharf" includes the word "provide" doesn't necessarily mean that "wharf" and "provide" are a match in meaning. It looks like "provide" is coming up as a general match for just about everything.

In my set two opposites are quite interchangeable.

The opposite of usually is remarkably

You said: rarely

usually means "under normal conditions"
remarkably means "to a remarkably degree or extent"

The opposite of ofttimes is rarely

You said: remarkably

ofttimes means "many times at short intervals"
rarely means "not often"

Maybe a professor in English language can distinguish these pairs, but I'm afraid that this is too hard for most foreign players.

I would say (as an English speaker) that 'rarely' is a distinctly better choice as opposite for 'ofttimes' than 'remarkably' since rare/oft implicitly and exclusively consider the specific number of occurences of an event in retrospect.

'Remarkably' seems to me to refer more to the speaker's perception of the nature of the occurence, though clearly there is SOME dependence on how often an such an event occurs.

Thanks for your clarification.

I can't see any way to disginguish between these two - of course, I guessed them wrong.

stemmer is related to worker

You said: labourer

stemmer means "a worker who strips the stems from moistened tobacco leaves and binds the leaves together into books"
worker means "a person who works at a specific occupation"
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dock-walloper is related to labourer

You said: worker

dock-walloper means "a laborer who loads and unloads vessels in a port"
labourer means "someone who works with their hands"
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To me, it sounds like they both work with their hands, and they both have a specific occupation.

Hmmm.

This one was fun.

schtickl is related to shtick

schtickl means "a really little shtik"
shtick means "(Yiddish) a little"

So a shtickl is a really little little?

Let's ask David Daniel Komanski, Komonski, Kaminsky, Komansky. He knows all the Schticks.

Today I got these pairs:

The opposite of stuff is loosen up

You said: unblock

stuff means "obstruct"
loosen up means "cause to become unblocked"

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The opposite of freeze is unblock

You said: loosen up

freeze means "prohibit the conversion or use of (assets)"
unblock means "make (assets) available"

I'd think they're more or less interchangeable; note the word "unblock" is also in the definition for "loosen up", confusing the matter further. Of course I got them wrong :P This was set 19; also, no one has a perfect score today, so this may be why. (EDIT: someone does indeed have a 30, but were so far down the list, I didn't notice immediately.)

To my post above: Note that freeze and loosen up only go together because of the definition used for "freeze", but if it's defined as "locking up with cold" or something, then it's a bit too vague; the match would be fine if the stuff/loosen up one wasn't in the same set!

This one seems rather tenuous (I didn't get it right) -

Clam is related to pull together: clam means 'gather clams by digging in the sand by the ocean' pull together means 'assemble or get together'.

Am I missing something?

It seems that clam can be used as both a noun (what you eat) and a verb (the act of gathering clams). It is the verb definition of gathering that is being used here.

If you're wondering: oyster can be a verb too. I can't remember what the definition was, I saw it several weeks ago.