thorn / sting / thrust / to prick / to pierce / to stab / to assassinate / to murder
刺
=
刂
+
朿
:
The King of Chu (c) got a thorn (刺) stuck in his chest, and he cannot pull it out because it broke off and the tip is deep under the skin. He has no other choice but to use a kitchen knife (刂) to cut it out in the space station's bathroom (Ø4), but he slips and accidentally stabs himself (朿).
within / among / in / middle / center / while (doing sth) / during / (dialect) OK / all right
中
=
丨
+
口
:
Mnemonic symbol: a dart board, because you always try to hit the center.
Julian Giant Squid (zhu-) is throwing dinosaur bones (丨) as darts on a dart board in front of the engine ((e)ng1). To make it a bit more difficult he's throwing mandarins (口) into the air as well and skewers them up right in the center (中 is a mandarin skewered on a dinosaur bone) in mid flight with the dinosaur bones. He's still able to consistently hit the center (中) of the dart board.