When “遊” fills a head
Why it is in the set
The set needed a character for wanting to be out and doing something, as distinct from wanting to rest. 休 (rest) is the sofa; 遊 is the door. Keeping both meant the reading can tell someone their head is full of plans rather than full of tiredness, and those are genuinely different weeks.
What a head full of it looks like
Checking who is free. Looking up a place you have no immediate plan to go to. The specific restlessness of a good Friday afternoon. A head led by 遊 has already left the building.
Words that use it
遊ぶ (asobu, to play or to go out), 遊び (asobi, play), 遊戯 (yuugi, a game), 遊園地 (yuuenchi, an amusement park), 遊び心 (asobigokoro, a playful streak in a design or a person).
Kanji it turns up with
友 (friends) behind 遊 is the plainest reading the set produces. 遊 leading with 締 (deadlines) second is the one the quips enjoy, because both are true at once.
Where “遊” comes from
The road radical 辶 again, with a shape above it that once showed a banner carried on a pole. Going out with a flag: a procession, an outing.
遊ぶ in Japanese covers a child at play, an adult going out for the evening, and a part that has some give in it (遊びがある, of a steering wheel).
It is not a frivolous word. 遊学 means to go abroad to study.
A line you might get for “遊”
“The weekend is being planned. It is Tuesday.”
Count the “遊” in your own headOthers in “Doing”
“遊” is filed under “Doing”. These are the rest of that group.
The 36 kanji
This is entirely a joke and has nothing to do with any real person.