The little shop advertised a rudimentary course in repairing objects that other people had already given up trying to understand. (rudimentary: basic, elementary, introductory) Its first customer brought a clock with a surreal face that displayed yesterday whenever someone asked for the time. (surreal: dreamlike, unreal, fantastical) The apprentice was apprehensive, but the owner said the clock needed observation rather than an elaborate theory. (apprehensive: worried, anxious, uneasy) A loose spring was the main impediment to its movement, not a disagreement between yesterday and tomorrow. (impediment: obstacle, hindrance, barrier)
The owner's resolute approach encouraged the apprentice to examine one part at a time without claiming instant expertise. (resolute: determined, firm, steadfast) They could mitigate the rattling even before they understood why the clock occasionally rang at noon. (mitigate: lessen, alleviate, reduce) The customer was ambivalent about losing the noise because it reminded him to feed his cat. (ambivalent: uncertain, conflicted, of two minds) A separate bell provided an innocuous solution that did not require the clock to remain broken. (innocuous: harmless, inoffensive, benign)
A systemic labeling problem explained why every repaired object had been returned to the wrong shelf. (systemic: system-wide, affecting the whole system, pervasive throughout the arrangement) The apprentice could infer that the labels needed revision without claiming to know who had made the original mistake. (infer: conclude, deduce, reason) The owner did not imply that everyone was careless; he simply asked each worker to describe how the shelves were actually used. (imply: suggest, hint, intimate) Their cognizance of the problem increased when the newest worker demonstrated which labels could not be read from the doorway. (cognizance: awareness, knowledge, understanding)
A subversive habit of returning borrowed tools to convenient but unmarked drawers had defeated the old arrangement repeatedly. (subversive: undermining, disruptive, destabilizing) The apprentice suggested explicit labels and an empty tray for items whose proper place was temporarily uncertain. (explicit: clear, definite, unambiguous) The owner considered the tray a viable compromise between perfect order and the confusion of pretending every object was already correctly stored. (viable: workable, feasible, practical) Their subsequent repairs went more smoothly because finding a tool no longer required reconstructing the previous afternoon's movements. (subsequent: later, following, ensuing)
Their next task was to facilitate the opening of a cupboard whose owner had attached seven unnecessary locks. (facilitate: ease, assist, enable) Most of those locks were superfluous, protecting nothing except the owner's growing collection of spare keys. (superfluous: unnecessary, redundant, needless) The apprentice offered a synthesis of two suggestions: retain one reliable lock and label its matching key. (synthesis: combination, integration, bringing together) The owner found this plan viable, and the cupboard finally became less complicated than the things stored inside it. (viable: workable, feasible, practicable)