When I was a boy (and dinosaurs trampled the earth), the game of charades was wildly popular. In that competition, some of the players tried to guess a word or phrase from the actionsof another player who was not allowed to speak but who broke up the word or phrase into parts by gesturing.
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Although few of us play the game of charades these days, charade words abound, words that can be meaningly cleaved into smaller words: Nowhere in the Union-Tribune have you everseen charade words, but they are NOW HERE. I am so wordstruck that I drive around San Diego in a WORDS TRUCK. Please don’t prosecute me for writing this column. I hope you find myPROSE CUTE.
Don’t let charade words bewilder you. Just BE WILDER about how you look at them.The onus is ON US. Note that in each charade, the spelling of the italicized word remains intact.
When governments overtax, they wield an OVERT AX on our wallets. They think our hard-earned money is theirs because they are THE IRS. Priests perspire when their churches aretaxed PER SPIRE.
A pungent wit makes me a PUN GENT. I should be punished for every PUN I SHED.
When a boy and a girl are amiable together, he may well wonder, “AM I ABLE TO GET HER?”
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I always make sure that my significant other has good credit, so that she can SIGN IF I CAN’T.
Your identity is your I.D. ENTITY.An overgrown mustache MUST ACHE.If you haven’t faced anger, you will FACE DANGER.Manslaughter seldom evokes MAN’S LAUGHTER.Abracadabra, presto chang-o! A BRA, CAD, A BRA!If you are apathetic about voting, you are A PATHETIC citizen.Alienation characterizes A LIE NATIONWe atone to be AT ONE with the universe.On a beanstalk, do the BEANS TALK?A caravan often includes a CAR, A VAN.A generation is a GENE RATION.A daredevil DARED EVIL.Connecticut is the oxymoron state because its charade is CONNECT I CUT.The converse of a prisoner’s prose is CON VERSE.A conspiracy can be a CONS’ PIRACY.I’m not condescending, but a prisoner walking down stairs is a CON DESCENDINGShakespeare, husband of Anne Hathaway, HATH A WAY with words.A castanet will CAST A NET over you.She created a meme image of herself with the caption ME! ME!A Hispanic man hid HIS PANIC.I value alternatives, but I don’t wish to ALTER NATIVES.I don’t want to go off on a tangent, but every summer, I turn into a TAN GENT.A novice is likely to have NO VICE.Praying mantis insects are all IN SECTS.
A soap opera makes us sigh, “SO, A POP ERA.”It’s miserable that seldom is a MISER ABLE to help others.Alcoholism is never a bargain and there’s no such things as a BAR GAIN. Barflies livein an atmosphere of BARF, LIES and a barrage of BAR RAGE.I know an outstanding farmer who is OUT STANDING in his field.When a city’s population reaches capacity, it’s time to CAP A CITY..The incompetence of my brokerage agency ignited my BROKE RAGE.Just after a gunshot, the GUN’S HOT.With a manicure, a manicurist explains, “MAN, I CURE hangnails.”I’ve never seen an antelope, but I’ve seen an ant and another ANT ELOPE.My tenants complain that their apartment is swarming with TEN ANTS.I’ve just made a discovery that I like DISCO VERY much.I love charade words in abundance, but I’ve never seen A BUN DANCE.If you suffer from expectoration, don’t EXPECT ORATION.After you initiate a trip to a restaurant, you may exclaim, “IN IT I ATE.”I run amok, but AM OK.Poetry lovers are never averse to A VERSE.The Heisman trophy is really the HE IS MAN trophy.A seasick person thinks, “SEAS, ICK!”I’ll never abandon my love of A BAND ON a stage.A healthy piece of advice is “Physician, HEAL THYself.”
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