Exercise your brain and have some fun with these puzzles designed to stimulate different cognitive functions.
WordParts (easy) The word menace is defined as “a threat.” In this game, however, we don’t supply the definition of a word, but of its parts. For example, given the clue “male adults,” plus the second clue “the highest card in the deck,” the answer is menace (men + ace).
Three-Letter Anatomy (hardest) We found ten parts of the body with names that are only three letters long. How many can you name in one minute?
1
The opposite of pro + the opposite of back
2
The opposite of on + frozen water
3
Mr. Rickles + locking device
4
Chum + highest/lowest card
5
A summer complexion color + a corner Monopoly space
6
A narrow canvas bed + two thousand pounds
7
For each + a male descendant
8
Sprinted + Mr. DeLuise
9
In favor of + in shape
Eponyms (harder) An eponym is a noun that is associated with a person’s name. For example, calling someone a “Benedict Arnold” means that he’s a traitor. It’s also common for a disease, such as Alzheimer’s, to take the name of the researcher who first identified it. How many of these eponyms do you know? 1
A reading and writing system for the blind, named after its French inventor
2
An epithet that means miserly or cheap, derived from a character in a Charles Dickens story
3
A salad with Romaine lettuce, croutons, Parmesan cheese, anchovies, and a raw egg, named after the Italian-American restaurateur who created it
4
An ornamental mat often placed on side tables or under lamps, named after a 17th-century drape maker
5
A common small aquarium fish, named after the 19th-century British naturalist who discovered it near Trinidad
6
A one-piece, tight-fitting garment worn by gymnasts and dancers, named after a 19th-century French acrobat
7
An addictive substance, named after the 16th-century French diplomat who introduced tobacco to France
8
Usually the tallest ride at a fair or amusement park, named after the American engineer who invented it for the 1893 Chicago World’s Columbian Exposition
9
The process of sterilizing milk and other dairy products, named after the pioneering French chemist and microbiologist who invented it
10
A hideaway bed named after its American inventor who was granted a patent in 1916
Answers on page 48 Reprinted with permission from Nancy Linde, author of the best selling book 399 Puzzles, Games, and Trivia Challenges Specially Designed to Keep Your Brain Young, and creator of the website Never2Old4Games.com used by many senior-serving communities and organizations. Nancy’s new book, 417 More Games, Puzzles, and Trivia Challenges Specially Designed to Keep Your Brain Young, will be available in October, 2016.
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3rd Act magazine | fall 2016
www.3rdActMag.com