Call My Bluff is a game show that was popular on the British television from 1965 to 2005. Two teams are competing. Taking it in turn they provide three definitions of an obscure word, i.e. the word which is practically unknown. The opponents are to guess which of the definitions is correct, the other two being “bluffs”
For instance, the word “Queach” might be defined as “a nasty character”, “a cross between a quince and a peach”, or “a mini jungle of mixed vegetation”. The first two definitions are bluffs. Let’s play “Call My Bluff “ game.
1. Lollypop lady
a) a woman whose duty is to help children across a busy street on their way to or from school;
b) a popular name for a kindergarten teacher;
c) a large boiled sweet or toffee stuck on a short stick to be sucked;
2. Welsh rabbit
a) a dish of melted cheese on hot toasts;
b) a popular dish of rabbit’s meat served in Welsh homes at Easter;
c) a runner participating in a short race ;
3. Pig in the middle
a) a piece of pork, cooked in a pot with potatoes and vegetables, a traditional Sunday roast;
b) a kind of burger with a sausage inside, a Scottish name for a hot dog;
c)a children’s game with a ball, in which two players are throwing the ball to each other while the third player standing between them is trying to catch it;
4. Pie in the sky
a) a hopeful plan or suggestion that has not been, or has little chance of being
put into effect;
b) a UFO (Unidentified Flying Object), round in shape;
c)a pie with an onion filling whose smell goes to heaven;
5. Tallboy
a) a tall piece of furniture containing several drawers;
b) The tallest member of a basketball team;
c) The captain of a basketball team;
6. Leapfrog
a) a species of frogs inhabiting the rainforests in the basin of the Amazon river;
b) a calendar year opposite to the leap year, i.e. the year with twenty-eight days in February;
c) a game in which each player in turn jumps with parted legs over another who is bending down;
7) Tam-o’-shanter
a) a Scottish cap, usually woolen, with a pompom or a feather in the centre;
b) a Scottish country dance that is fast and full of movement, done by one person;
c) a musical instrument resembling the shepherd’s horn;
8) Sporran
a) a racing car, assembled manually by a racing driver;
b) a spore-bearing plant which grew in the wet climate of the Mesozoic period;
c) a fur –covered bag worn in front of the kilt;
9) Double Dutch
a) a two-faced person who is insincere, deceitful and hypocritical;
b) gibberish, incomprehensible talk, nonsense;
c) a card game with redoubling;
10)Turkish Delight
a) a name for an early morning praying spread among Muslims in Southern areas of Turkey;
b) a type of sweet similar to firm jelly which is covered in powdered sugar;
c) a health treatment for the body in Turkish baths.
Teaching notes:
• The game may be played in different ways.
• For a start, teachers can provide all the definitions themselves.
• Then students can be asked to choose the words and to prepare definitions to them on their own.
• For a change, teachers can produce a word and one of the definitions to it and ask if the students
believe it or not.
• Students can be organized in teams or get an individual scoring.
• The game may be played in class or as an out-of-school fun activity.
• Make sure the students do not use dictionaries while playing. But you can pre-teach some unknown
words from the definitions.
