Kanji 18 Part 4

Front 1

*siesta

Back 1

Conjure up the classic portrait of the Latin siesta: a muchacho
sitting on the ground, propped up against some building, bound
up from neck to ankles in a serape, one of those great, broadrimmed
mariachi hats pulled down over his face, and the
noonday sun beating down overhead. Always use the complete
image, never simply the general sense of siesta

Front 2

thirst

Back 2

As you pass by the muchacho taking the siesta, he cries out that
he is thirsty and asks for something to drink. So you turn the
water hose on him

Front 3

audience

Back 3

Imagine an audience with the emperor or the pope in which all
those in attendance are sitting down, leaning against the wall,
sleeping like our muchacho on siesta as the honorable host
delivers his speech

Front 4

brown

Back 4

The color of the serape or cloak of our muchacho on siesta is a
dull brown, the color this kanji indicates

Front 5

hoarse

Back 5

When the muchacho on siesta looks up at you and opens his
mouth to talk, his voice is so hoarse that you cannot understand
him

Front 6

delicious

Back 6

Something is so downright delicious that one spends the entire
day with a spoon in hand gobbling it up

Front 7

fat

Back 7

This kanji tells us that if you feed the μesh with too many delicious
things, it soon picks up a thick layer of fat

Front 8

I(one)

Back 8

The Roman numeral i, like that for ii we met earlier in frame
355—is only rarely used now. In the midst of all the samurai,
we notice one in particular sitting on the ground with a crown
on his head, indicating that he is “number i” in the current
rankings

Front 9

*reclining

Back 9

The picture is obvious: the ³rst stroke represents the head, and
the second the body of someone reclining. You may also use
the synonyms lying or lying down

Front 10

every

Back 10

“Behind every successful person lies a woman…,” who usually
turns out to be one’s mother

Front 11

cleverness

Back 11

Behind every successful taskmaster, the cleverness of a fox to
outwit his charges

Front 12

plum

Back 12

Behind every Jack Horner’s piemaker, a tree full of plums

Front 13

sea

Back 13

Behind every drop of water, a sea from which all water originally
came.

Front 14

beg

Back 14

See someone lying down in a public place with a hook in place
of a hand, begging a morsel of rice or a few pence.

Front 15

drought

Back 15

In times of drought anything at all will do. Here we see the victims
begging for just a little mist for relief

Front 16

*double back

Back 16

Either the connotations of turning around and heading back
during one’s travels, or folding an object in half will do here. It
pictures someone doubling back to the nearest inn to lie down
and rest a weary pair of walking legs after a full day’s voyage

Front 17

abdomen

Back 17

If you double back (fold over) most animals in the middle, the
part of the body where the crease comes is the abdomen

Front 18

duplicate

Back 18

In its original and etymologically transparent sense, to duplicate
something means to double it back with a fold, like the fold
of a cloak

Front 19

lack

Back 19

The pictograph hidden in this character is of someone yawning.
The ³rst stroke shows the head thrown back; the second,
the arm bent at the elbow as the hand reaches up to cover the
mouth; and the last two, the legs. Since yawning shows a lack
of something (psychologically, interest; physiologically, sleep),
the connection is plain to see

Front 20

blow

Back 20

To blow is really no more than a deliberate effort to make one’s
mouth lack all the air that is in it.

Front 21

cook

Back 21

Better to picture what happens when you do not pay attention
to your work in the kitchen. Here we see a blazing ³re and an
inattentive, yawning cook who let things get out of control

Front 22

song

Back 22

The song in this kanji is being sung by a chorus line of can-can
girls. Why it should be eliciting nothing but yawning from the
audience, I leave to you to decide

Front 23

soft

Back 23

If the cushions of one’s car are too soft, one may begin yawning
at the wheel

Front 24

next

Back 24

This key word connotes the “next in line” of a succession of
people or things. Let there be a lack of ice on the hottest day of
summer, and you stand impatiently in line waiting for the distributor
to call out “Next!”

Front 25

briar

Back 25

Earlier we made mention of the story of Briar Rose (or “Sleeping
Beauty,” as we called her in frame 154) and drew attention
to the briar hedge that grew up all about her castle. But in the
second part of the story, these briars blossomed into μowers.
Hence her name, Briar Rose. Be careful not to confuse this
character with that for thorn

Front 26

assets

Back 26

The ³rst shells (money) you earn, you use to pay your debts.
From then on, the next shells you accumulate become your
assets

Front 27

figure

Back 27

This kanji depicts a woman’s ³gure as a sort of second self.

Front 28

consult with

Back 28

To seek the words of a second mouth is to consult with someone
about something