List of Today's WORDs

This is a list of Today's WORD entries shown throughout The Silver Case and The 25th Ward: The Silver Case.

YUME

April 7, 1999

"A play is a world, with its own inhabitants
and its own laws and its values."

- Saroyan -

(This comes from the play The Time of Your Life. In the context of The Silver Case, as the first Today's WORD, it may serve to tell the player that you are entering a world of fiction, and to expect it to operate on its own rules.)

April 8, 1999

"The wolf knows what the ill beast thinks."

A bad person can easily find and identify
another bad person.

April 9, 1999

"The best swimmers are oftenest drowned."

Even those most in their element can
sometimes be swept away.

April 10, 1999

"Death is the great leveler."

One's station in life doesn't matter; all
people are simply dead
when they die.

April 11, 1999

"Even if you lean on a cane, don't
lean on people."

Don't depend on others too easily.

April 12, 1999

"Bad news travels fast."

Wanting to divulge others' misfortunes
is the way of the world.
News of people's misfortunes reaches
the farthest corners of the world quickly.

April 13, 1999

"Think in the bathroom."

The best place for contemplation
is the restroom.

April 14, 1999

"All theory, dear friend, is gray, but the golden tree of life springs ever green."

- Goethe -

April 15, 1999

"What first seems like a virgin,
later becomes an escaping rabbit."

At first, keep quiet and calm like a virgin,
but later, attack with full force like a rabbit
running for its life.

HANA

June 30, 1999

"Too many cooks spoil the broth."

When too many people are involved with the
planning and execution of a thing, the varying
opinions and directions can ruin said thing.

July 1, 1999

"Many a true word is spoken in jest."

The unexpected often comes from the normal and
mundane. Also, things spoken as jokes
can become the truth and cause conflict.

July 2, 1999

"Better the devil you know than
the devil you don't."

If you absolutely have to deal with something
bad, then the bad thing you know is preferable to
the completely unknown bad thing.

July 3, 1999

"Stagnant water is covered with dust."

If water builds up without flowing,
it will rot.

July 4, 1999

"Animals are such agreeable friends.
They ask no questions;
they pass no criticisms."

- George Eliot -

(This relates to Tokio's deep love for his turtle, Red.)

July 5, 1999

"Even a demon can cry."

Even the hardest heart will sometimes
be moved to pity.

July 6, 1999

"Honey in the mouth, sword in the gut."

Things that taste sweet to the mouth
may not necessarily be good for the stomach.

TSUKI

July 7, 1999

"Metaphysics is the finding of
bad reasons for what we believe upon instinct;
but to find these reasons is no less an
instinct."

- Bradley -

July 8, 1999

"Provide first to the man who does not take."

If you want something,
try getting on the person's good side.

July 9, 1999

"Remnants from the eye of a demon."

Even the most thorough searcher
sometimes overlooks things.

("The eye of a demon" foreshadows the concept of Format Kamui's silver eye.)

July 10, 1999

"Pick up your ax and jump into the abyss."

Just as an ax is useless underwater,
outside of the appropriate situation,
even useful tools can be a burden.

July 11, 1999

"The cautious remain unscathed."

Be careful, and you won't make mistakes.

July 23, 1999

"The drunker, the safer."

Drunkards rarely get hurt. Those who stop
giving a shit somehow tend to avoid making
mistakes.

July 24, 1999

"The moon and a turtle."

The shape of the moon reflected in a pond
and the back of a turtle floating in a pond are the same circle,
but are otherwise completely different.

(Needless to say, moons are an omnipresent symbol in Suda's work. In particular, the chapter this WORD is found in is named TSUKI, "Moon". Turtles, of course, are an important symbol for Tokio.

This WORD is used as part of a quiz taken by Yuki Shimohira.)

July 25, 1999

"The eagle does not catch flies."

Even if an eagle is starving to death,
it won't reduce itself to eating garbage.

July 26, 1999

"Speak of the devil and he will appear."

Spread rumors about a person,
and they will soon appear.

July 27, 1999

"Turn your hand up, the clouds;
turn it down, the rain."

Human nature easily changes like turning
your hand over, and is unreliable like the
changing of clouds and rain.

August 1, 1999

"Rain stopping at night means rain."

Rain that stops falling during the night
will rarely last long.

August 2, 1999

"Friendship is a plant that needs
watering often."

To have a friendship continue indefinitely, you
need to meet often and provide love often.

AI

September 2, 1999

"Peeking at the ceiling through a hole
in the pipe."

This means having a very
narrow-minded viewpoint
about things.

September 3, 1999

"A fool speaks of a dream."

This means things are becoming more and more
cloudy due to ridiculousness, like an idiot
trying to explain a dream.

(Much of the truths Tokio took for granted are torn down in this chapter, and he becomes paranoid and cannot be sure of anything; in other words, things become more and more cloudy.)

September 4, 1999

"Men use thought only to justify
their injustices, and speech only to
conceal their thoughts."

- Voltaire -

September 5, 1999

"Useless like beating the air."

Something not worth doing at all.
A complete waste of effort.

September 6, 1999

"A soft answer is a specific cure of anger."

If someone attacks you,
accept the blow softly. Don't go for vengeance.

(This WORD is used as part of a quiz taken by Yuki.)

September 7, 1999

"A reward for one's way."

Taking the opportunity to do something.

September 8, 1999

"Mosquito larvae will hatch in the
drinking cup."

- Sei Shonagon -

September 9, 1999

"The best type of friendship is one in which
our friends have no right to rely on us,
but in which we still have the power to use
them."

- Henri de Regnier -

HIKARI

December 27, 1999

"A fallen blossom doesn't return to the branch,
a broken mirror cannot be made to shine."

Something that is already out of commission
can't be brought back again.

(Possibly related to Tokio's rejection from the Shelter Kids Policy.)

December 28, 1999

"Take away the results of a person's
education, and nothing
will remain."

- Kant -

(Certainly a reference to the philosophy of the Shelter Kids Policy, especially as the player has likely just learned about it.)

December 29, 1999

"Freedom is the recognition of necessity."

- Engels -

(This WORD is used as part of a quiz taken by Yuki.)

December 30, 1999

"The torch has been passed to a new generation."

- John F. Kennedy -

(The Shelter Kids Policy artificially built an entire "new generation" of citizens.

This WORD is used as part of a quiz taken by Yuki. It has an extra meaning there, as Tokio is now an old man, while Yuki is a teenage girl, and thus part of a "new generation" who is getting passed the torch of protagonist.)

YAMI

"Know thyself."

- Socrates -

(This mail is undated, but it is received on May 2, 2001.)

NAGARE

"If God did not exist,
it would be necessary
to invent him."

-Voltaire-

(Could refer to Kamui Uehara as an artificially created religious figure.)

TIGIRI

"The best prophet of the
future is the past."

－Lord Byron－

(Naturally relates to the frequent discussion of the past in the series; Tokio in particular does not have his memories in this game.)

YOGORE

["DEAD ZONE"]

1. A space with no sound.
A silent world meant
to make people nervous.

2. In psychological
terminology, it is the
mental state of achieving
a goal, and then losing
sight of the road ahead.
Accompanied by a sense
of duty, giving up, and
a sense of hopelessness.

3. The place between life
and death.

(Uniquely, this is not a quote but a definition of a particular story-important term, the dead zone.)

MISOGI

1

"Revolutions are not about
trifles, but spring from
trifles."

－Aristotle－

2

"Man! Thou pendulum betwixt
a smile and tear."

－Lord Byron－

3

"Freedom is the insight into
necessity."

－Engels－

4

"All men create their
own destiny."

－Steele－

5

"What is sport to you,
is death to us."

－Aesop－

6

"To make light of philosophy is
to be a true philosopher."

－Pascal－

7

"The love of a jealous man looks
like hatred."

－Molière－

8

"If even good people can be
born in the Pure Land,
how much more so the evil
people."

－Shinran－

9

"Superstition is the religion of
feeble minds."

－Edmund Burke－

10

"Animals are such agreeable
friends.
They ask no questions;
they pass no criticisms."

－George Eliot－

(This is a repeat of July 4, 1999.)