Guess the Brave Word

Anish has set up a board. Not the ordinary hangman board, mind you — the kind where guessing wildly gets you nowhere. On Anish’s board, every hidden word is locked, and the only key is an if–then clue. Think first, then write. The Genie has agreed to umpire, which mostly means eating jalebis spiral-first and nodding wisely.

“Six words are hiding,” says Anish. “Every one of them names a brave-or-humble kind of behaviour. Read the clue, follow the if and the then, and the word will unlock. No random letters — reasoning only.”
Play all three levels, or start at your own rung and climb. Answers and the full reasoning are at the very bottom (fold the page, or peek on the blog).

EXPLORER (age ~8)
1) _ _ _ _ _ (5 letters)
Clue: If a word means “ready to do a hard thing even when your tummy flutters,” and it rhymes with gave, then write it in the blanks.
2) _ _ _ _ _ _ (6 letters)
Clue: If a person wins but does not show off, we call them this. It begins the same as hum (like humming a song) — but there is no singing involved.

VOYAGER (age ~10)
3) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (7 letters)
Clue: If the feeling is “brave,” this is the whole big quality behind it. It hides the little word our right in its middle, and it has seven letters. Then it is…
4) _ _ _ _ _ _ (6 letters)
Clue: If “humble” has a cousin that means almost the same and starts with M, and that cousin hides the word ode (a kind of poem) in its middle, then it is…

CHAMPION (age ~12)
5) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (8 letters)
Clue: If you take the word FEAR and add the tail that means “without” — the very same tail you hear in hopeless and spotless — then a person with no fear at all is…
6) _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (8 letters)
Clue: If “humble” grew up into a naming-word for the quality itself — the way kind becomes kindness — it would be this. Eight letters, and it begins exactly the way HUMBLE begins.

❖ Which brave word was the hardest to unlock — and which one best describes someone you know?
❖ Anish never guesses wildly. Is thinking first a kind of courage too, do you think?

For the grown-up by your side

Try reading one clue aloud together and letting the child talk through the if and the then before touching a letter — that is the whole skill. Afterwards, ask which brave word was hardest, and why. You might notice the reasoning matters more than the answer.