Clearly from Part 3 where the two terms just need some kind of link. This is closer than some - at least you can see they are both types of people!

Can someone explain the relation here?

vagabond is related to physical object

vagabond means "anything that resembles a vagabond in having no fixed place"
physical object means "a tangible and visible entity"

Sometimes the link (I guess this is from Part 3) is in the definitions of words in the definitions, not in the actual definitions. I suspect that if you explore further definitions of the words, you will find there is one: resembles and visible or anything and entity, for example, could have common words in their definitions.

Several examples of why I avoid playing Mind Melt...

regress is related to abstract thought



You said: yore

regress means "the reasoning involved when you assume the conclusion is true and reason backward to the evidence"
abstract thought means "thinking that is coherent and logical"
sierra is related to mountain range

sierra means "a range of mountains (usually with jagged peaks and irregular outline)"
mountain range means "a series of hills or mountains"
time out of mind is related to yore



You said: abstract thought

time out of mind means "the distant past beyond memory"
yore means "the time that has elapsed"
equalization is related to exploit



You said: colourize

equalization means "the act of making equal or uniform"
exploit means "a notable achievement"
inking pad is related to block



You said: colourize

inking pad means "a block of absorbent material saturated with ink"
block means "a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)"
football stadium is related to athletic facility

football stadium means "a stadium where football games are held"
athletic facility means "a facility for athletic events"
grey is related to colourize



You said: exploit

grey means "make gray"
colourize means "add color to"
lead bank is related to depository financial institution

lead bank means "a bank named by a multi-bank lending syndicate to protect their interests"
depository financial institution means "a financial institution that accepts deposits and channels the money into lending activities"
strike a blow is related to bear upon

strike a blow means "affect adversely"
bear upon means "have an effect upon"
beshrew is related to conjure up



You said: bear upon

beshrew means "wish harm upon"
conjure up means "evoke or call forth, with or as if by magic"

I am not sure how these examples illustrate problems with the game. Related does not mean the same, just that there is some commonality between the two. Most of them seem fairly clear to me.

regress is related to abstract thought
regress means "the reasoning involved when you assume the conclusion is true and reason backward to the evidence"
abstract thought means "thinking that is coherent and logical"
Admittedly not a link I would see immediately, but the definitions show they are both related to thought processes, and after the others have been matched, these are left.

sierra is related to mountain range
sierra means "a range of mountains (usually with jagged peaks and irregular outline)"
mountain range means "a series of hills or mountains"
This one is a straightforward matching of terms, if one is familiar with the use of sierra in Spanish-speaking areas.

time out of mind is related to yore
time out of mind means "the distant past beyond memory"
yore means "the time that has elapsed"
These two terms are a bit archaic, but quite familiar to me from reading 18th and 19th century literature.

equalization is related to exploit
equalization means "the act of making equal or uniform"
exploit means "a notable achievement"
Not one I would get other than by elimination, which is part of the interest of this game for me.

inking pad is related to block
inking pad means "a block of absorbent material saturated with ink"
block means "a solid piece of something (usually having flat rectangular sides)"
As matching progressively eliminates options, at some point my image of a stamp pad, which is a flat rectangle, and a block, which is a cuboid with a range of possible shapes, line up.

football stadium is related to athletic facility
football stadium means "a stadium where football games are held"
athletic facility means "a facility for athletic events"
Football and athletic activity - straightforward connection.

grey is related to colourize
grey means "make gray"
colourize means "add color to"
Once you consider that grey could be a verb, not just a noun, no problem matching with a verb relating to colour.

lead bank is related to depository financial institution
lead bank means "a bank named by a multi-bank lending syndicate to protect their interests"
depository financial institution means "a financial institution that accepts deposits and channels the money into lending activities"
Lead bank is not a term I know, but bank and financial institution are clearly related.

strike a blow is related to bear upon
strike a blow means "affect adversely"
bear upon means "have an effect upon"
Both phrases indicate an interaction of one object or person on another.

beshrew is related to conjure up
beshrew means "wish harm upon"
conjure up means "evoke or call forth, with or as if by magic"
I wouldn't use beshrew in exactly that way (I might consider it more like berating), but both terms are negative interactions between people.

In the third section of Mind Melt, we're not looking for exact synonyms, but words with some connection. It's tricky, but that's what those of us who like it like about it.

The part that makes me tear my hair out is when there are two pairs with very similar definitions - you just have to close your eyes and guess.

This was in today's game:

gizmo is related to sundries
You said: whatchamacallit
gizmo means "something whose name is either forgotten or not known"
sundries means "miscellaneous unspecified objects"

etcetera is related to whatchamacallit
You said: sundries
etcetera means "additional unspecified odds and ends"
whatchamacallit means "miscellaneous unspecified objects"

My choices were based on thinking that gizmo and whatchamacallit are both singular while etcetera implies more than one so it would go with the plural choice. Hopefully I will remember next time that this isn't the case.

Does anyone see why these are paired the way they are?

No.

And there's an example of what makes me crazy in this game. You could go either way, it's just luck.

If I really don't see a difference, sometimes I will consciously use the same answer twice to get one right for 29 points. This one was more frustrating because I thought I had figured out how they were different

And I would have made exactly that same decision - it is frustrating. But I still enjoy it more than most games!

leg exercise is related to physical exertion



You said: exercising

leg exercise means "exercise designed to strengthen the leg muscles"
physical exertion means "the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit"

musclebuilding is related to exercising



You said: physical exertion

musclebuilding means "exercise that builds muscles through tension"
exercising means "the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit"

I would have gotten those wrong too,Barbara.

As a rule of thumb, I avoid using the pairing that has the same word, so I would have gotten it right. In Part 3, related means a link somewhere behind the scenes, so a direct link in answer and definition is more likely to appear in Part 1.

Is this considered an appropriate entry in the 'Relationships' section?

"sexpot is related to young woman"

I think this is quite an offensive one which shouldn't be in the game if there's any way to pull it out:

"metis is a half-breed of white and Indian parentage"

"Half breed" is certainly an offensive term and should be removed, but where I live, "Metis" is not, far from it.

Sorry, I should have been clearer that I meant the “half breed” bit rather than the term itself

The opposite of sanctity is unholiness

You said: unhallowed

sanctity means "the quality of being holy"
unholiness means "the quality of being unholy"

The opposite of holy is unhallowed

You said: unholiness

holy means "belonging to or derived from or associated with a divine power"
unhallowed means "not hallowed or consecrated"

I mean surely these are interchangeable.

Not at all. Sanctity and unholiness are both nouns, describing a state of being. Holy and unhallowed are both adjectives, indicating the state of the noun each modifies.

Meh, never made a decision based on the type of word before, always the definition. Nice to know for the future though.