English

Noun

pelmanism ‎(uncountable)

1. System of training to improve the memory.
   • 1963, John le Carré, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Penguin Canada 2009, p. 87:

     Leamas who normally read nothing, read newspapers slowly and with concentration. He remembered details, like the names and addresses of people who were the subject of small news items. He did it almost unconsciously as a kind of private pelmanism, and it absorbed him entirely.

2. A memory card game in which a pack of cards is spread out face down and players try to turn up pairs with the same symbol.

Synonyms

• (card game): pairs, concentration

References

• http://www.vazcarreiro.net/Pelmanism24.html#