Answers from above

He swam in a deep lake.         

They painted the wall a dark colour.  

This is a very dry country.    

The difficult exam was first.

The distant country was their favourite choice.    

The dominant gene was what they were looking for  

She caught the  down line train

He was given a docile horse to ride

‘D’ verbs

Dab, darn, deify, delight, dig, dip, dowse,  dog, dump,

Dry, dress, drain, draft

Party Game: Guess the words

Daisies, Diamond, Daffodil, Duck, Donkey, Dove

Dish, Dentist, Diploma, Dry dock, Delta, Driftwood

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Word Play: D

We continue our ‘Word Play’ pages with the letter ‘D’

Tricky spellings

Dearth - remember the ‘a’ - meaning there is not enough of something’  

Debacle - sounds a bit like ‘are’ in the middle but no ‘r’ - refers to a violent disaster or a great failure

Debilitate - ‘e’ only at end - two ‘i’s in the middle - to make something weaker - “The flu debilitated her”

Descendant - ‘ant’ NOT ‘ent’ - following in a family tree - “He was descended from the Tudor family”

Descriptive Words - more about Adjectives

Adjectives (describing words) can get very complicated so we will stick to the adjective that goes with a noun (thing/person/place word)

Change the adjectives in each of the following into an adjective beginning with ‘d’

He swam in a shallow lake.         They painted the wall a light colour.  This is a very wet country.    The easy exam was first.  

The near country was their favourite choice.    The weaker gene was what they were looking for  She caught the  up line train

He was given a wild horse to ride

Meanings

What are we like with knowing what words mean? Select the right meaning for each word from the choices

Draconian: B) harsh laws or authorities

Dogmatic: A) inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true

Dauntless: C) showing fearlessness and determination.

Debonair: B) (of a man) confident, stylish, and charming.

Deft: A) neatly skilful and quick in one's movements, or demonstrating skill and cleverness.

Dextrous: A) showing or having skill, especially with the hands.

Discombobulate: C) disconcert or confuse (someone).

DOA - Dead on arrival      HD TV - High definition TV

AIDS - Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome

DST - Daylight saving time    ADHD - Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

LSD - Lucy in the  sky with diamonds    SDD -  Same day delivered (delivery)

LED Light emitting diode      OCD -  Obsessive Compulsive disorder

DIY - Do it yourself      GDP -  Gross Domestic Product

AD - Anno Domini    D&D - Dungeons & Dragons

4WD -  Four wheel drive

Draconian:

A) to be dragonish

B) harsh laws or authorities

C) leaning towards the centre

Dauntless:

A) a type of battleship design

B) having no courage or stamina

C) showing fearlessness and determination.

Dextrous:

A) showing or having skill, especially with the hands.

B) having a way with words

C) high ability in dancing

Deft:  

A) neatly skilful and quick in one's movements, or demonstrating skill and cleverness.

B) a female newt

C) intelligent and thoughtful

Dogmatic:

A) inclined to lay down principles as undeniably true

B) leading towards a radical viewpoint

C) choosing to be an animal lover

Debonair:

A) A type pf sherry

B) (of a man) confident, stylish, and charming.

C) tending towards being a slick smart alec

Discombobulate:

A) spin like a top

B) having the water removed from a substance

C) disconcert or confuse (someone).

Doing Words - pondering on verbs

Mostly we think of verbs as ‘doing’ or ‘action’ words, e.g.      run, jump, walk, talk, chatter, fly, swim

Ok, how good is your verb recollection? How many ‘doing’ words can you think of that begin with ‘d’

We’ll give you some helps

To da_    to da _ _    to dei _ _ (hard one)   to de _ _ _ _ _    to di _     to di _    do _ _ _  to     do _ (Yes!)   To du _ _

To dr_  to dre _ _   to dra _ _     to dra _ _

(Answers at the bottom of the page - yours may be different; there may lots)

Anachronisms? Is that the right word?  No, Acronyms!

(What do they both mean?)

What is the ‘d’ word in each case?

DOA -   ______ on arrival       HD TV - High ___________ TV       AIDS - Acquired Immuno- ____________   Syndrome

DST - ___________ saving time     ADHD -   Attention __________ hyperactivity ________   LSD - Lucy in the  sky with _________

SDD -   Same day ____________        LED -  Light emitting __________      OCD -   Obsessive Compulsive __________

DIY - ____ it yourself      GDP -  Gross ____________ product         AD-  Anno ___________

D&D -  Dungeons & _______________                  4WD -   Four wheel __________

Party Games:  6 words for each one beginning with ‘d’

A) Countries

B) Boys names

C) Girls names

D) Animals

E) Plants

Party Games (2) Guess the word beginning with ‘d’

1. Children make chains from these.

2. Hard carbon glass?

3. Wandering lonely as one of these? Keats

4. A water bird or when you drop your head quickly

5. You have to pin the tail on this animal

6. A bird of peace

7. Plates & cutlery go in this sort of washer

8. A man always looking down in the mouth!

9. A certificate for a long period of study

10. A place for cleaning the hulls of boats

11. A triangular shaped wing on a plane (also an American airline)

12. Found swept up on the beach