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← Dictionary Night

Dictionary Night

Three short lessons for an old parlour game: one rare word, everyone writes a believable false meaning, and the table votes for the real one.

Spark & Whetstone · sparkwhetstone.org/learn/dictionary-night · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Answers are at the end, so you can try each question first.

Lesson 1. How the game works

The host chooses a rare word from a dictionary and reads it out, keeping the meaning to themselves. Everyone else writes a made-up meaning on a slip of paper. The host writes the real one on a slip too.

The host shuffles the slips and reads them all aloud. Each player votes for the one they think is real. You score a point for picking the real meaning, and a point for every person who picks yours.

Question. How do you score points in Dictionary Night?

  1. By picking the real meaning, and when others pick your fake.
  2. By writing the shortest meaning.
  3. By knowing the most words.

Say it back. In your own words: how does a round of Dictionary Night go?

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Lesson 2. Writing a believable fake

Good fakes sound like a dictionary: short, plain, with a part of speech. "noun: a small wooden tool used for curling hair" beats "a funny thing that does stuff".

Look at the word's pieces. If it ends in -ology, make it a field of study. If it sounds like an old word for a plant, say so. The real meaning often sounds stranger than any fake.

Question. Which fake meaning is most likely to fool the table?

  1. Something about a dragon, probably.
  2. noun: a narrow strip of leather used to bind a book's spine.
  3. I do not know this one.

Say it back. Say it back: what makes a fake meaning believable?

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Lesson 3. What the game teaches

Dictionary Night rewards reading the parts of a word, the way a reader works out a new word in a book. It also shows how dictionaries write: a part of speech, then a short plain meaning.

And it is a gentle lesson in how believable a confident statement can be. The best fake at the table is often more convincing than the truth.

Question. What does Dictionary Night show about confident statements?

  1. They are always true.
  2. A believable statement can still be false.
  3. Dictionaries are often wrong.

Say it back. In your own words: what can a child learn from this game?

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At the table: Five rounds

Players: three to eight people, 9 or older. You'll need: a dictionary (or the word on Wordplay), slips of paper and pencils.

  1. The host picks a rare word and reads it out without the meaning.
  2. Everyone writes a believable meaning; the host writes the real one.
  3. The host reads all the slips aloud in a shuffled order. Everyone votes.
  4. Score, reveal, and pass the dictionary to the next host.

Answers

  1. By picking the real meaning, and when others pick your fake. — You score for picking the real meaning and for every vote your fake attracts.
  2. noun: a narrow strip of leather used to bind a book's spine. — The second one sounds exactly like a dictionary entry, so it is believable.
  3. A believable statement can still be false. — A fake that sounds just right can still be false, which is worth remembering away from the game too.