Soft words for hard things: stupidity and madness

Tests: 5 of 12 right · Exam: 0 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 7 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 36 of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★ · right ✓

School report: "Tom is more practical than academic and shines in woodwork." What is the teacher really saying?

1. Tom finds lessons hard but is good with his hands — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. Tom never comes to woodwork lessons — no support
3. Tom is too practical to need any school — no support
4. Tom is the cleverest pupil in every subject — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 36, line 2: «Some of these words are kind: a teacher who says a boy is "more practical than academic" means school work is hard for him, but he is good with his hands.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★ · right ✓

help desk note: "fixed it, ID10T error lol". what happened?

1. The user made a silly mistake himself — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. The computer had a dangerous virus — no support
3. The help desk broke the computer — no support
4. A cable numbered ten was missing — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗

"bloody hell mate, you're thick as two short planks, it's the OTHER door." Is he talking about wood?

1. Yes, he wants two short planks — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. No, he is saying his friend is strong as wood — no support
3. No, he is calling his friend very stupid — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Yes, the door is made of planks — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★ · right ✓

Sorry, I'm not firing on all cylinders today — up all night with the baby. What does she mean?

1. She is too tired to think clearly — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Her car engine is broken — no support
3. She has stopped working at the factory — no support
4. She cannot go to the shooting range — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 36, line 12: «"Not firing on all cylinders" means not thinking clearly, like an engine running badly; often said about someone tired or ill.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «think» (+6); the same property (+3). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★ · right ✓

Gossip: "Old Mr Grey's lost his marbles, he talks to his roses now." What are they saying about Mr Grey?

1. They think he has gone mad or confused — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He is a famous rose grower — no support
3. He has lost his roses from the garden — no support
4. He has lost a bag of glass marbles in the grass — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗

Mia reckons "eccentric" means the same as "dangerous". right?

1. No, it means odd in a harmless way — ✓ the right answer · score 2
2. No, it means very rich and famous — no support
3. Yes, eccentric people are criminals — no support
4. Yes, it is a polite word for dangerous — ← Mova's choice · score 6

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 6, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 36, line 21: «"Eccentric" is a polite word for a person who is odd or strange in a harmless way.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «eccentric» (+2); the same thing acted on «polite word» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 1, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★ · wrong ✗

"that new kid's a bit dim, no wait, he's just shy." In the end what does the speaker think?

1. The boy is ill and pale — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The boy is shy, not stupid — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The boy is very bright and loud — no support
4. The boy is stupid and shy — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗

The neighbour says her husband "marches to the beat of a different drum". Is she complaining about his music?

1. No, she means he walks very slowly — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Yes, he plays the drums too loudly late at night in the shed — no support
3. Yes, he joined a marching band — no support
4. No, she means he does things his own unusual way — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★ · right ✓

"Stop banging that pan, you're driving me round the twist!" How does the speaker feel?

1. Very annoyed — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. Very happy — score 8
3. Lost and confused — no support
4. Dizzy and sick — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 4: «So the same fact, "he died", can be said kindly, formally, in old-fashioned words or as a joke, and a clever listener hears both what happened and how the spea…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «feel» (+4); the same doer «speaker» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗

Which of these phrases is said kindly rather than as a mocking joke?

1. Off his rocker — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. Away with the fairies — ✓ the right answer · score 6
3. Nutty as a fruitcake — score 6
4. Gone doolally — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 1 with score 6, tied with another option at 6 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 4: «So the same fact, "he died", can be said kindly, formally, in old-fashioned words or as a joke, and a clever listener hears both what happened and how the spea…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same property (+2). The right option, 2, scored 6. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗

"is my brother off with the pixies again?? he's staring at the wall." What is the brother doing?

1. Playing with pixie toys — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Looking for a lost pixie in the garden — no support
3. Daydreaming and not paying attention — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Gone out with friends — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★ · wrong ✗

A man calls a sick woman in hospital "not all there". Why is that unkind?

1. He is mocking her mind when she is unwell — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. He is praising her too much — score 3
3. He is saying she has gone home — ← Mova's choice · score 4
4. He is using a medical word wrongly to describe her — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 4, against 3 for the next best. Its support: lesson 19, line 4: «For example, a man who says he is "temporarily embarrassed" at the till is joking that he has run out of money.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+2); the same doer «man» (+2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗

Identify the meaning most accurately conveyed by the expression "thick as two short planks".

1. Exceedingly robust — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Exceedingly unintelligent — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Exceedingly discourteous — no support
4. Exceedingly diminutive — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗

Where a school report states that a pupil is "more practical than academic", ascertain the principal assessment conveyed.

1. The pupil declines to undertake practical tasks of any kind — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The pupil experiences difficulty with academic work but possesses manual aptitude — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. The pupil excels in all academic subjects without exception — no support
4. The pupil attends school on an irregular basis — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established meaning of the term "eccentric" when applied to a person.

1. Wealthy and of high social standing — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Unconventional or odd in a harmless manner — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Criminal or dangerous to the public — no support
4. Unwell and in need of treatment — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

Which of the following expressions most accurately characterises a person as having become insane?

1. He is not the most academic — ← Mova's choice · score 10
2. He has lost his marbles — ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. He marches to a different drum — score 10
4. He is a real character — score 10

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 10, tied with another option at 10 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 34, line 4: «Some phrases hide the truth completely: a person who "misremembered" may simply have said something false.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same doer «person» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/36-dim-and-round-the-bend/