守

to guard / to defend / to keep watch / to abide by the law / to observe (rules or ritual) / nearby / adjoining

守 = 宀 + 寸 : Sherlock Holmes just graduated from police school and stands guard in the outhouse. Still wearing his graduation cap and carrying a huge shield, he's protecting the outhouse's art. The visitors are a bit afraid of him, so he thumbs up to show them that there's no danger from him.

守 character breakdown

守
- 宀
  - 丶
  - 冖
- 寸
  - 一
  - 丶
  - 亅

宀

mián = mi + an2

"roof" radical (Kangxi radical 40), occurring in 家, 定, 安 etc, referred to as 寶蓋|宝盖[bao3 gai4]

宀 = 丶 + 冖 : Mnemonic symbol: the strokes of this character look like a graduation cap (宀).

Marilyn Monroe (mi-) wants to cook in the anthill's kitchen (an2) but she's afraid of the ants. That's why she builds a bunker: she uses a saucepan lid (冖) as the base, constructs pillars out of petals (丶) and uses a graduation cap (宀) as the roof.

寸

cùn = cu + (e)n4

a unit of length / inch / thumb

寸 = 一 + 亅 + 丶 : Kitty Cat is playing with a petal leaf in the encampment's bathroom. She's keeping it in the air by hitting it with a flute and a crowbar. It's so much fun that she thinks to herself "thumbs up".

Characters with 守 as component

酬

酧

chóu = ch + ou2

variant of 酬[chou2]

酬 = 州 + 酉 : Charlie Chaplin (ch) is rewarding (酬) the rooster (酉) by sitting on a red cotton tree (州) in the outhouse's kitchen (ou2) and singing a song.

狩

shòu = sh + ou4

to hunt / to go hunting (as winter sport in former times) / hunting dog / imperial tour