to rub / to grind / to polish / to sharpen / to wear down / to die out / to waste time / to pester / to insist
磨
=
石
+
麻
:
Mahatma Gandhi (m) has been tied down in the observatory's kitchen (o2) with ropes made of hemp (麻). He uses a stone (石) to patiently rub (磨) through the ropes.
to decrease / to lose / to damage / to harm / (coll.) to speak sarcastically / to deride / caustic / mean / one of the 64 hexagrams of the Book of Changes (䷨)
损
=
员
+
扌
:
Susan Saint Bernard (su) left her web just for a second to visit the bathroom, but when she comes back she finds that the encampment's ((e)n3) waiter (员) destroyed (损) her web with a toy claw (扌).
to decrease; to lose / to damage; to harm / (coll.) to ridicule; to deride / (coll.) caustic; sarcastic; nasty; mean / one of the 64 hexagrams of the Book of Changes: ䷨
to lead / to command / rash / hasty / frank / straightforward / generally / usually
率
=
冫
+
十
+
玄
:
Sheldon Shrimp (shu) is surprised by a stream of lava (玄) rushing into the airplane's bathroom (ai4). He acts quickly (率) and jumps on a huge cross (十) to save himself. Then he continues to lead (率) the stream of lava around the cross by placing popsicles (冫) on the floor in just the right way, so that the lava passes his cross without melting it. He notices that the heat flow to either side of the cross corresponds to the golden ratio (率).