EACH sentence below contains a synonym of the italicised word(s), spelt out in consecutive letters. Can you spot it?

Example: The couple continued their walk along the path in silence after he commented that she was not as slim as she used to be.

1. This bowl of delicious consommé will not only ease your hunger but also uplift your spirits.

2. “When do you intend to terminate your relationship with him?”

3. The juice from this wild plant has a pungent taste.

4. This clever youngster is exceedingly likeable.

5. As his average earnings are about RM500 a month, he finds it difficult to reserve a portion of the money for his future financial needs.

6. It’ll be smashing if the boss decides to give me a birthday present.

7. His hardworking maid got a cut on her finger from a sharp piece of broken glass.

8. The possibility of the company building more motels is rather slight.

9. The father advised his son, “If you want a life of comfort during your retirement, you must be a sedulous worker and earn lots of money while you are young.”

10. He stole a vest from the house and camouflaged it with the foliage of a big tree.

11. “The ass is the most uncooperative animal on the farm,” the cow said to the horse, “so I don’t think it will help you with the work.”

12. The decision of the directors to purchase sophisticated machinery for the factory reflects their determination to check the decline in the company’s profits.

13. “The shed is close to the bridge,” she said to him, and she could see that he was relieved that she had decided to reveal to him the location of the buried treasure.

14. “The good-looking lass you introduced to me at the party last week gave me a fixed stare this morning.”

15. The mother advised her young daughter, “When you are reading a book, a good idea is to pause at every word you don’t recognise and find out its meaning.”

Answers

1. soup 2. end 3. sap 4. very 5. save 6. gift 7. shard 8. remote 9. ease 10. leaves 11. assist 12. stop 13. disclose 14. glassy 15. stop n After retiring from handling numbers at the bank, the writer now moves to new writing ‘destinations’ using GPS (grammar, punctuation, style).

• Oil palm firms team up with Sabah to protect Malua Forest Reserve
• Survey: Britons love tea more than coffee
• New York City relies on automation technologies to face challenges of urbanisation
• Powering the Big Apple
• Build robust cities
• Fun with words
• Rail marvel in New York
• Fun with synonyms
• Carnegie Hall gets green facelift
• Win The Good Food Cook Book!