Verbal Analogies

At a glance 10 rules

1. 1Make a bridge sentenceLink the first pair in one exact sentence (a whistle is what a referee blows to stop play), then put every option through the same sentence. Only one should read true.
2. 2Tighten the bridgeIf two options fit, the bridge is too loose. Add position, strength or tone ('the opening part of', 'a much stronger form of') until one pair is left.
3. 3Keep the orderThe answer must run the same way as the question pair: mild to strong, cause to effect, part to whole. The right link written backwards is wrong.
4. 4Match the word typesNoun to adjective needs noun to adjective: coward : timid matches genius : brilliant, not genius : brilliance.
5. 5Same or oppositeThe commonest pairs are synonyms (feeble : weak) and antonyms (lavish : meagre). Match the tone too: 'youthful' praises what 'childish' blames.
6. 6Part, type, materialKeep these apart: part of (page : book), type of (sonnet : poem) and made up of (glacier : ice, crowd : people). If no pair fits exactly, take the closest.
7. 7Tool, worker, materialA worker's tool (chisel : sculptor), material (mason : brick) and product (author : novel) are three different links. Name which role the pair uses.
8. 8Degree of strengthThe second word can be a much stronger form of the first: warm : scorching, dislike : loathe, drizzle : downpour. Match the size and the direction of the jump.
9. 9Sign, cause or lackSign of (shiver : cold), cause of (drought : famine) and lack of (a pessimist lacks hope). A 'lacks it' pair never matches a 'has it' or 'has too much' pair.
10. 10Topic is not relationThe usual trap shares the topic, not the link: stethoscope : doctor is tool to user, but stethoscope : medicine is not.