小
=
八
+
亅
:
Mnemonic symbol: a small daisy. 小 looks like the stem 亅 of the flower is pushing aside the earth 八 as it grows out of the seed in the ground.
Xi Shi (xi) is decorating her hair with lots of small (小) daisies (mnemonic symbol for 小) in the aorta's living room (ao3). She wants to have lots of daisies in the future as well, so she plants new daisies. She found that the perfect substrate for planting daisies is made by crushing eight-balls (八) with a crow bar (亅).
knife / blade / single-edged sword / cutlass / CL:把[ba3] / (slang) dollar (loanword) / classifier for sets of one hundred sheets (of paper) / classifier for knife cuts or stabs
刀
=
㇆
+
丿
:
Mnemonic symbol: 刀 looks like a cleaver (while 刂 looks like a kitchen knife).
Don Quixote (d) serves his good deed of the day in front of the aorta (ao1). In order to feed the people, he uses a plow (㇆) to dig up bananas (丿), and cuts them into slices with a broad cleaver (刀).