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The dictionary game involves a real dictionary of modest size. In most cases I use an old school dictionary published in 1960, well out of print, but it could be any similar medium sized or concise dictionary. The first part of the question refers to a sequence of words that appear across a double page spread of the dictionary, between the first and last words that are hinted at. The first and last words given are usually within three words of the top and bottom of the pages. The clues are not precise enough to define a single word, but they don't need to be, because they must be close together in alphabetical sequence. The words are always listed in alphabetical sequence.
The second part of the question can be in a looser format, but does refer to one or more words found on those two pages.
In this example the first word was MULBERRY and the last word was MYTHOLOGY.
An old school dictionary falls open, spread before me I find, between a tree associated with a luxury fibre and a fabulous history: obstinate, an interjection to silence, an actor, a valuable fur, a revolt and a perfume.
I also achieved some spiritual enlightenment from this page. How so?
The words were MULBERRY (food of silk worms) MYTHOLOGY (the border territory between history and fantasy), MULISH, MUM, MUMMER (n. 1 an actor in a traditional masked mime or folk play. 2 archaic or derog. an actor in the theatre. [Middle English from Old French momeur, from momer mum]) MUSQUASH, MUTINY and MYRRH.
The second part was more whimsical, how did I find spiritual enlightenment? I found MYSELF.
If you like the format and fancy setting a question like this feel free to do it on the Forum, in the Quiz and Puzzle section.
Answer format:
Perfect answers are quite rare. To score the point requires a player to demonstrate that they have solved at least 60% of the clues correctly. I include the dictionary game question each time because it often shows up a minor flaw in answering which can help determine the rankings between players on otherwise identical scores.
Here are a few examples of correctly formatted answers:
An old school dictionary falls open. Between a poisonous snake and a thin biscuit I find a person with great skill, part of a helmet, H2SO4, a singer, a rodent and a whirlwind.
I also find two bad tempered women, what are they?
Viper, virtuoso, visor, vitriol, vocalist, vole, vortex and wafer. And virago and vixen.
An old school dictionary falls open, spread before me I find, between a swapping of sounds or letters and an upmarket stoat: an archaic word common in stage whispers, a musical instrument of a particularly rhythmic kind, an unwholesome mist, mediocre, an Emperor, a thousand thousand thousand, and an affected walk.
I can also find three ways of describing something small, what are they?
You find, between metathesis and mink: methinks, metronome, miasma, middling, mikado, milliard, and mince. You can also find microscopic, midget, and miniature. (And mignon and minimal...)
In my trusty dictionary between a concern with consequences and a foreboding of evil I find a frolic, childish talk, a tasty decapod, a cliff, full of meaning, harmful, worry and the house of a priest.
What Calvinist concept do I also find here?
Between pragmatism and presentiment you find prank, prattle, prawn, precipice, pregnant, prejudicial, preoccupation and presbytery. You also find predestination.
It is not necessary to list the definitions against the words, merely to list the words in the same sequence as in the question. A concise and perfect answer in two crisp sentences will make the best impression.