Thematic Scrambled Word Puzzles

In various previous posts, I have discussed the role of word puzzles in stimulating different components of "verbal thinking," which can be defined, for the present purpose, as the formation of thoughts through words when doing some activity such as puzzle-solving, reading, or just thinking about something in particular. While it could well be that diverse forms of thinking do not recruit the brain’s language system, I have little doubt that this very system is activated during wordplay in specific ways—a premise that is certainly supported by a significant amount of research, which I have also discussed in earlier posts.

In one of those past posts, I presented and analyzed examples of scrambled word puzzles as devices that can activate a whole array of interconnected verbal thought processes, such as the mapping of word recognition against semantic knowledge, that is, matching word formation with meaning during the solution process. Our brain constructs pictures as it attempts to rearrange the letters to make a meaningful word, refining the pictures as a legitimate word comes into focus. This whole process can be characterized simply as “thinking in words.”

Now, to enhance this process, in this post I will combine scrambled words with the ingenious “Connections” game of the New York Times, which challenges players to find themes among given words, and thus to classify the words in terms of the semantic fields to which they might belong. The combination is done in terms of a specific format, called “thematic scrambled word puzzles.”

Example

Here is an example of such a puzzle. You are given five scrambled words. The challenge is twofold: (1) to unscramble the letters in order to form the required words and (2) to determine what theme they exemplify:

Theme: ……

GMAEANT

LESCART

IOIGND

OVILTE

URAZE

MSCRION

CETEELS

The theme is "colors:"

MAGENTA

SCARLET

INDIGO

VIOLET

AZURE

CRIMSON

CELESTE

Complex multilayered puzzles such as these tap into several neural processes at once (logic, knowledge of word structure, semantic memory, classification, and others). Memory recall as it relates to the structure of words has been found to be critical in brain maintenance, so to speak. Since classifying the words into thematic categories also involves background knowledge, such puzzles activate cultural thinking as well, thus constituting a miniature activity in knowledge recall. Scientists have only a schematic understanding of the extraordinarily complicated processes of thinking involved when we use language. But it is my conviction that playing complex word games will assist in strengthening such thinking. In their own way, they show the connection between words and thought and even, to some extent, the power of words over thought. As Emily Dickinson so aptly put it, “I know nothing in the world that has as much power as a word.”

In this regard, I love to cite an anecdote told about the Polish-American scholar Alfred Korzybski, because it illustrates Dickinson’s adage so perfectly. Here is a paraphrrase. It is reported that one day, as he was giving a lecture to a group of students, Korzybski suddenly stopped talking to retrieve a packet of biscuits from his briefcase, telling the class that he was very hungry and needed to eat something right away. He then asked a few students in the front row if they would also like a biscuit. Several took one each, eating in front of him. Korzybski then asked: “Nice biscuit, don’t you think?” He then ripped the white packet paper which contained the biscuits, revealing a picture of a dog’s head and the tagline Dog Biscuits. The students were visibly upset at seeing this, and a few put a hand in front of their mouths running to the toilet. Korzybski then remarked: “You see, I have just demonstrated that people don’t just eat food, but also words, and that the taste of the former is often outdone by the taste of the latter.”

Puzzles

1. Theme: ……

ROSHINROCE

TAHCHEE

GERTI

ANTELEPH

OSEMO

NAKSE

RAFGIFE

2. Theme: ……

ITESNTIESN

ARHET

TRILNOSS

NDMAIBLE

HYRTOID

XYNLAR

MCLESUS

3. Theme: ……

OLDLSAR

UNDOPS

OEUSR

ESPSO

NEKROR

PERUE

INDAR

4. Theme: ……

ECHEAKSECE

ESCNDAI

FFLWAES

AMARECL

EETOFF

NBOBONS

OCOCHLESAT

5. Theme: ……

SEALISURRM

TRAPORITREU

SMESIMPRSIONI

BICUSM

LEDSCANAP

OROSCURCHIA

VIFAUSM

6. Theme: ……

RYSTMYE

VELNOLA

TRPOEY

FIONCTI

AMDRA

ANROMCE

BLEFA

7. Theme: ……

UNSODACTRK

TOACR

ECRDIRTO

PDUCROER

MATANIONI

ORSCAS

LHOLYODWO

8. Theme: ……

MSNGWIMI

SIKIGN

RINGOW

FINGOLG

BYRUG

TNISEN

CCESOR

9. Theme: ……

TEWAR

CJUIE

EOESSPRS

OLEMNEAD

POCAPCIUCN

MSIHAKLKE

OADS

10. Theme: ……

TAUIRG

OLIVIN

PNOIA

LLCEO

SPHAXOONE

MPETTRU

PXYLONEHO

Answers

1. Theme: animals

RHINOCEROS

CHEETAH

TIGER

ELEPHANT

MOOSE

SNAKE

GIRAFFE

2. Theme: anatomy, the body

INTESTINES

HEART

NOSTRILS

MANDIBLE

THYROID

LARYNX

MUSCLES

3. Theme: money, currencies

DOLLARS

POUNDS

EUROS

PESOS

KRONER

RUPEE

DINAR

4. Theme: sweets, confectionaries

CHEESECAKE

CANDIES

WAFFLES

CARAMEL

TOFFEE

BONBONS

CHOCOLATES

5. Theme: painting, visual art

SURREALISM

PORTRAITURE

IMPRESSIONISM

CUBISM

LANDSCAPE

CHIAROSCURO

FAUVISM

6. Theme: literature, literary genres

MYSTERY

NOVELLA

POETRY

FICTION

DRAMA

ROMANCE

FABLE

7. Theme: cinema, movies

SOUNDTRACK

ACTOR

DIRECTOR

PRODUCER

ANIMATION

OSCARS

HOLLYWOOD

8. Theme: sports

SWIMMING

SKIING

ROWING

GOLFING

RUGBY

TENNIS

SOCCER

9. Theme: beverages, drinks

WATER

JUICE

ESPRESSO

LEMONADE

CAPPUCCINO

MILKSHAKE

SODA

10. Theme: musical instruments

GUITAR

VIOLIN

PIANO

CELLO

SAXOPHONE

TRUMPET

XYLOPHONE