L17

Question 1

止

Answer 1

STOP // a theif, escaping from footlocker, carried ten pairs of trainers away… but such was his reason for the theft, had none on his feet. “STOP!” the police called, and, shoeless, the man ground to a halt, splaying his toes out on the turf. This character is a pictograph of the footprint investigators found at the exact point he stopped.

footprint //

footprints //

Question 2

步

Answer 2

FOOTSTEP // A few footprints make a footstep. When we say a few, we mean like a few footsteps too. Like. Think of our CSI finding a few steps next to each other, “ah ha!”

Question 3

涉

Answer 3

FORD // even at a ford in the river, you suddenly become concious of every footstep. As you step, the water envelops around your foot as it sinks into the silt. You just hope your boots’ goretex will hold.

Question 4

频

Answer 4

REPEATEDLY // mr bond, i know you’re famed for not talking, but we’re going to tie you to the pavement and let your head be pounded by commuter footsteps. their footsteps will pummel your head repeatedly until you talk. mwwahahhaaaha.

Question 5

肯

Answer 5

AGREE // why did the tribespeople agree to the megaconglomoration’s expansion plans? well, take a look at the blatant footprints on your flesh. they had no choice but to agree.

Question 6

企

Answer 6

LOOK FORWARD TO // the cruise was supposed to be a relaxing 10 day journey, but it’d been a non-stop roller coaster ride of hellish storms. The only thing the passengers could look forward to was finally stopping the choppy ride, stopping under a massive beach umbella. Looking forward to that was all that got them through.

Question 7

武

Answer 7

MILITARY // one arrow. here, due to military cutbacks, this singular arrow has been fashioned into a singular hand on a 24hr military clock. and due to the same cutbacks, the clock battery hasn’t been replaced either. every time it stops mid-tick, the whole military force grinds to a sudden stop. stops dead.

Question 8

赋

Answer 8

LEVY // there are lots of reasons for imposing a levy, but here it’s pure and simple. the military needs oysters to continue its vital work. that’s the levy, and if it’s not paid by the time the clock hits 24, the military gon’ get mad.

Question 9

正

Answer 9

CORRECT // “a journey of a thousand miles begins with a simple step” the chinese proverb. One step. That, clearly, is the correct way to overcome an enormous task. Hiking everest, step one is definitely the correct way to kick off.

Question 10

证

Answer 10

EVIDENCE // words that make things correct. Imagine a judge, sitting with a false statement, but in it are numerous gaps. “Call the next witness” he says, and a joker man with a fridge poetry set brings in ‘evidence’ in fridge poetry words, which he adds to the judge’s statement. At last, with these new words of evidence he has the correct verdict.

Question 11

政

Answer 11

POLITICS // There are already thousands too many definitions of politics, but this is a good’un, so hear us out: “correct taskmastering”. David Cameron might learn something from this character.

Question 12

疋

[no hook at top stroke]

Answer 12

>> MENDING // only slightly different from ‘correct’. ‘correct’ is straight laced, whereas this ‘mending’ has some movement to it, a sweeping ‘action’ ing. The sweeping action, is a perfectly aligned loom, mending an enormous, moth-eaten curtain to restore its former glore. The very act of correcting by mending.

Question 13

定

Answer 13

SETTLE ON // for years, the Painters never bothered to fix their leaky roof. “we’ll move soon, so why bother?” they’d say. Now, 15years later, they’ve finally realised they will never move. And now that they have settled on the place, they may as well mend the roof.

Question 14

走

Answer 14

WALK // note first that the middle stroke overlaps ‘soil’ and ‘mend’. Second, think about the damage that cars do to the roads. Monster trucks in fact, ripping apart soil and sending it spewing in all directions. Next, a pack of walking lovely people arrive, and with their kind feet, they mend the soil. Walking mends the soil that vehicles destroy.

Question 15

超

Answer 15

TRANSCEND // walk embraces this character from below. to transcend the argument, we are summoned to walk up to the argument. in turn, he summons each student to walk to his office upstairs, whispers them a secret, and lets them go. All tension is diffused as each child transcends the thoughts they had before.

Question 16

越

Answer 16

SURPASS // not to be outdone by Surin, Bangkok launched its own elephant parade. By walking faster, walking further and walking harder, Bangkok’s elephants easily surpassed Surin’s pathetic display.
Note that on this character there’s an extra hook on parade, it’s the elephants tail, slightly longer to surpass a normal parade.

Question 17

是

Answer 17

BE // “to be or not to be”… Shakespeare’s brilliant poetry mends a wagging tongue, placing sublime order into a similie. The speech, in fact, was all that stopped Kenneth Brannagh’s mouth from chattering all day. “To be or not to be”… thank goodness, Ken’s finally making some sense.

Question 18

题

Answer 18

TOPIC // as the entered the exam hall, all the students knew; whether it was to be their day entirely relied upon the topic at the top of the paper. PHEW! they all gasped, as they realised it was to be their day, the first page title topic reading ‘call of duty modern warfare’.

Question 19

廴

Answer 19

STRETCH // “Mr Stretch”, Hasbro’s newest development, is a contorted, muscley beast. he did look seriously buff, but then a 4year old princess stretched his leg irreperably, and now he looks ridiculous.

Question 20

延

Answer 20

PROLONG // a cottage, stocked with supplies, steeped in beauty. Prolonging the holiday has to be the goal… all it needs is for time to be stretched. Or better yet, a drop of ‘the essence of time’ dropped at one’s footsteps. Then off into the fields for a stretched out, prolonged walk.

Question 21

诞

Answer 21

NATIVITY // an optimist would say that “nativity plays, spun out each year, prolong the word of the lord in the world”. Parents, on the other hand, would say “prolong this nativity any longer and I’ll have a word for the teacher”

Question 22

聿

Answer 22

>> BRUSH // rather than one big brush, divide this pictograph into two. The top half, horizontally, see three bristles. below, is a fat thumb and spindly forefinger, guiding the brush. The long handle unites these two important elements into one brush, albeit at a funny angle.

Question 23

建

Answer 23

BUILD // even Kevin was surprised at the simplicity of this grand design. Having drawn up his plans with a standard ink brush, the builder simply streeeetttched it out into a full-size house. It took under a minute.

Question 24

疋

Answer 24

>> ZOO // humans have to use all kinds of means to mend their many creations. For animals in the zoo, all they ever need is a hook. Elephants mend hunger by hooking fruits off a tree. Tigers mend enemies by hooking them to pieces. Penguins mend children by hooking them into the water.

Question 25

楚

Answer 25

CLEAR (adj) // Whipsnade zoo used to be located in the middle of the woods. It was wonderful, especially for the unicorns. But visitors complained that they couldn’t get a clear view. Now, all of the animals have been re-housed in clear perspex boxes, and the forest cleared. Clearly a good idea!