Before beginning these exercises, let’s understand the difference between long-term and working memory.  You may experience occasional memory lapses, such as forgetting the names of people, objects, or events that occurred in the distant past.  Those are examples of long-term memory gaps or spells.  Working memory, which is sometimes called functional short-term memory, is the ability to actively hold information in your mind to accomplish a task.  Some examples of working memory gaps would be forgetting 3 or 4 items that you need at the store, or failure to remember a sequence of directions to complete a task like making Jello.

The following games flex your long-term  and working memory function.

Slippery Slope

All of the two word answers in this game begin with the initials S and S.

1. He “met a pieman going to the fair.”
2. Federal agency that protects the president.
3. This comic strip about a lowly private debuted during World War II
4. Black and white footwear popular in the 1950’s
5. Thoroughbred horse from the state of Washington that won the Triple Crown in 1977.
6. Mixed drink stirrer.
7. June 21, when the sun is at its northernmost point.
8. A possession that demonstrates a person’s social or economic prestige.
9. Sometimes you need this to reach the top shelf.
10. Manual transmission.
11. Infield position in baseball.
12. This was the only way for a lady to ride a horse until breeches became more popular in the early twentieth century.
13. Slang name for the maximum security prison about thirty miles north of New York City.
14. This metal does not rust, which makes it perfect for cutlery, surgical instruments, and many other applications.

Boo!

All of the answers in this word definition game begin with the letters BOO.

1. Moonshine, hooch.
2. An Australian aboriginal hunting weapon.
3. He’ll take your bet…but it isn’t legal.
4. Abbreviated term for the huge generation of people born between 1946 and 1964.
5. Someone who really likes to read.
6. A remote or isolated area that is often described as “the middle of nowhere.”
7. To deal in illegal goods, especially the transportation and sale of intoxicated liquors.
8. A supplemental dose of a vaccine to increase its effectiveness.
9. A mobile lending library.
10. The choice seats in the diner.
11. The person who keeps track of a company’s financial transactions.
12. A location undergoing rapid growth due to sudden prosperity.  This word would aptly have described Detroit when the automobile industry began to take off.
13. A project that wastes time and money, particularly one that has failed long before it is shut down or completed.
14. A rude, clumsy, unmannerly person.
15. An obsequious or overly deferential person.

Answers

Slippery Slope

1. Simple Simon
2. Secret Service
3. Sad Sack
4. Saddle Shoes
5. Seattle Slew
6. Swizzle Stick
7. Summer Solstice
8. Status Symbol
9. Step Stool
10. Stick Shift
11. Short Stop
12. Side Saddle
13. Sing Sing
14. Stainless Steel

BOO!

1. Booze
2. Boomerang
3. Bookie
4. Boomers
5. Bookworm
6. Boondocks
7. Bootleg
8. Booster
9. Bookmobile
10. Booths
11. Bookkeeper
12. Boomtown
13. Boondoggle
14. Boor
15. Bootlicker

Never to old for games

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