| Author | Message | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 607 Registered: 7-2006 |
Why did a Canadian man read through every word in a large dictionary five times? | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1549 Registered: 1-2007 |
Is this a true story? Any punning ? Did he misunderstand an instruction? Would this puzzle work if he had been American and had read a thesaurus? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 608 Registered: 7-2006 |
Peter, Is this a true story? Any punning ? Did he misunderstand an instruction? TRUE STORY FEATURED IN THE SUNDAY TIMES YESTERDAY. NO, NO Would this puzzle work if he had been American and had read a thesaurus? YES, NO | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1550 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was he trying to set a record ? some sort of memory feat? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 609 Registered: 7-2006 |
Peter, Was he trying to set a record ? YES - ISH some sort of memory feat? NO | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1551 Registered: 1-2007 |
Is his occupation relevant? He is an adult yes? Did he earn money by doing this? was it solely for his own ends ? or was he helping others by doing this? any form of protest? | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1552 Registered: 1-2007 |
I have a theory but I'll wait for the your answers.. | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 610 Registered: 7-2006 |
Peter, Is his occupation relevant? He is an adult yes? YES, YES Did he earn money by doing this? was it solely for his own ends ? or was he helping others by doing this? YES, YES, NOT REALLY any form of protest? NO | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
New member Username: Gourami Post Number: 382 Registered: 2-2008 |
Is he reading aloud? If so, to anyone? Into a recording device? Could he be reading anything other than a dictionary? Is he attempting to learn something? If so, to learn every word? Is he stalling something? Is this the only thing he has to occupy himself? | ||
| Kdoc (Kdoc)
New member Username: Kdoc Post Number: 785 Registered: 7-2001 |
was he looking for particular words? did he have to read it five times to be sure that he had covered every word? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 3826 Registered: 12-2000 |
Is he entering a Scrabble contest? The Times crossword competition? | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 3827 Registered: 12-2000 |
Ah, he's Canadian; was he making sure that he was using UK English in a particular context? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 612 Registered: 7-2006 |
GOURAMI, Is he reading aloud? If so, to anyone? Into a recording device? Could he be reading anything other than a dictionary? NO, NO, NO, NO Is he attempting to learn something? If so, to learn every word? Is he stalling something? Is this the only thing he has to occupy himself? NO TO THOSE | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 613 Registered: 7-2006 |
KDOC, was he looking for particular words? did he have to read it five times to be sure that he had covered every word? YES, YES | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 614 Registered: 7-2006 |
LYNNE, Is he entering a Scrabble contest? The Times crossword competition? NO, NO Ah, he's Canadian; was he making sure that he was using UK English in a particular context? NO | ||
| Kdoc (Kdoc)
New member Username: Kdoc Post Number: 798 Registered: 7-2001 |
Was there something particular about the words he was looking for? did they all have the same number of letters? the same meaning? were they very rare words? slang? foreign origin? hyphenated words? was there something strange about the construction of the words? did they have the same number of syllables? stress on a particular syllable? the same number of consonants? the same number of vowels? the vowels in alphabetical order? the consonants in order? did they have the same endings? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 615 Registered: 7-2006 |
Kdoc, Was there something particular about the words he was looking for? YES did they all have the same number of letters? the same meaning? were they very rare words? slang? foreign origin? hyphenated words? NO was there something strange about the construction of the words? YES did they have the same number of syllables? stress on a particular syllable? the same number of consonants? the same number of vowels? the vowels in alphabetical order? the consonants in order? did they have the same endings? NO | ||
| Rcs (Rcs)
New member Username: Rcs Post Number: 184 Registered: 9-2008 |
Was he reading some sort of unusual kind of dictionary? A scrabble dictionary? A dictionary alphabatized by word ends? An anagram dictionary? A bilingual dictionary? Any of this relevant? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 616 Registered: 7-2006 |
RCS Was he reading some sort of unusual kind of dictionary? A scrabble dictionary? A dictionary alphabatized by word ends? An anagram dictionary? A bilingual dictionary? Any of this relevant? NO. IT WAS A REGULAR DICTIONARY | ||
| Lynne (Lynne)
New member Username: Lynne Post Number: 3833 Registered: 12-2000 |
Was he trying to prove that there are other words ending in GRY other than angry? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 617 Registered: 7-2006 |
Lynne, Was he trying to prove that there are other words ending in GRY other than angry? NO | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1554 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was he trying to provide a definitive list of a particular type of word? Palindromes? Or was he trying to establish which word has the most synonyms ? antonyms? most different definitions? Is he a Lecturer? puzzle compiler? student? journalist? any legal work? Had he been tasked to do this or did he do it of his own accord? Guinness book of records relevant? | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1555 Registered: 1-2007 |
Sorry ... is he a lexicographer? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 618 Registered: 7-2006 |
Peter, Was he trying to provide a definitive list of a particular type of word? YES Palindromes? Or was he trying to establish which word has the most synonyms ? antonyms? most different definitions? NO Is he a Lecturer? YES BUT NOT REALLY RELEVANT puzzle compiler? student? journalist? any legal work? NO Had he been tasked to do this or did he do it of his own accord? OF HIS OWN ACCORD Guinness book of records relevant? NO Sorry ... is he a lexicographer? NO | ||
| Peter365 (Peter365)
New member Username: Peter365 Post Number: 1556 Registered: 1-2007 |
Was he on a crusade against something e.g political correctness? Would his behaviour strike a reasonable person as eccentric or would his reasons justify his actions (sorry if that's a bit subjective maybe you could give your own opinion) Anything to do with slangy type words which have increasingly started to appear in Dictionaries? Did any event prompt him to do this? any cultural influences? changes to law? political developments? | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
New member Username: Gourami Post Number: 386 Registered: 2-2008 |
In creating a definitive list of a type of word, would he find more than one word that fits? More than ten? More than 50? More than 1000? Is the part of the word that is relevant the definition? The origin? The spelling? prefixes/suffixes? any particular letter? Any grouping of letters? | ||
| Kdoc (Kdoc)
New member Username: Kdoc Post Number: 811 Registered: 7-2001 |
Relevant whether the words are proper nouns? adjectives? adverbs? relevant what consonants they have? do they have only one? relevant what vowels they have? do they have only one? is he looking for words that have double meanings? more than two meanings? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 619 Registered: 7-2006 |
Peter, Was he on a crusade against something e.g political correctness? NO Would his behaviour strike a reasonable person as eccentric YES or would his reasons justify his actions (sorry if that's a bit subjective maybe you could give your own opinion) THEY DID Anything to do with slangy type words which have increasingly started to appear in Dictionaries? NO Did any event prompt him to do this? any cultural influences? changes to law? political developments? NO | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 620 Registered: 7-2006 |
GOURAMI, In creating a definitive list of a type of word, would he find more than one word that fits? More than ten? More than 50? More than 1000? YES, YES, YES, I THINK SO BUT NOT SURE Is the part of the word that is relevant the definition? The origin? The spelling? NO, NO, YES prefixes/suffixes? any particular letter? Any grouping of letters? NO, YES, NOT REALLY | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 621 Registered: 7-2006 |
KDOC, Relevant whether the words are proper nouns? adjectives? adverbs? NO relevant what consonants they have? do they have only one? NO relevant what vowels they have? do they have only one? YES, YES is he looking for words that have double meanings? more than two meanings? NO | ||
| Biograd (Biograd)
New member Username: Biograd Post Number: 273 Registered: 6-2008 |
Is he looking for every word in which a certain vowel has a certain sound (or is silent)? For example, does he list every word that has a short "A" sound? | ||
| Bodo (Bodo)
New member Username: Bodo Post Number: 2513 Registered: 2-2001 |
Is he trying to write something without a using a particular vowel, like the book written without using "E"? | ||
| Mimino (Mimino)
New member Username: Mimino Post Number: 50 Registered: 6-2005 |
Is he searching for words that contain exactly one vowel? and this for the vowels u, i, a, o, e, thus, five times? Is he putting together a list of these words? or just counting them? (maybe to find out which vowel has more words?) Relevant in which language the dictionary was written? Relevant why he did not use database or electronic thesaurus? Did his work have a practical use? Did he translate the words? Was it some linguistic research? Did he proof or counterproof something? Or, maybe, he compiled a rhyming dictionary for hobby poets? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 622 Registered: 7-2006 |
Biograd, Is he looking for every word in which a certain vowel has a certain sound (or is silent)? For example, does he list every word that has a short "A" sound? NO | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 623 Registered: 7-2006 |
Bodo, Is he trying to write something without a using a particular vowel, like the book written without using "E"? VERY CLOSE BUT NOT EXACTLY | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 624 Registered: 7-2006 |
MIMIMO Is he searching for words that contain exactly one vowel? VERY CLOSE and this for the vowels u, i, a, o, e, thus, five times? CORRECT Is he putting together a list of these words? YES - BUT WHY? or just counting them? (maybe to find out which vowel has more words?) NO Relevant in which language the dictionary was written? ENGLISH Relevant why he did not use database or electronic thesaurus? NO Did his work have a practical use? NO Did he translate the words? Was it some linguistic research? Did he proof or counterproof something? Or, maybe, he compiled a rhyming dictionary for hobby poets? NO | ||
| Blazingphoenix (Blazingphoenix)
New member Username: Blazingphoenix Post Number: 300 Registered: 2-2007 |
Is he trying to write something with only ONE vowel? (as in, "E" and no other letters) Searching for words with only one vowel and only one consonant? Words with one vowel repeated over? (Like "Moo" only has one vowel [O], but it is repeated twice?) | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 625 Registered: 7-2006 |
Blazin, Is he trying to write something with only ONE vowel? (as in, "E" and no other letters) NO Searching for words with only one vowel and only one consonant? NO Words with one vowel repeated over? (Like "Moo" only has one vowel [O], but it is repeated twice?) YES but not exactly | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
New member Username: Gourami Post Number: 390 Registered: 2-2008 |
Is he looking for words with only one vowel in them, irrespective of how many times that vowel appears in the word? Is he preparing to write something? To create a puzzle? Is he studying anything about the english language? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 627 Registered: 7-2006 |
Gourami, Is he looking for words with only one vowel in them, irrespective of how many times that vowel appears in the word? EXACTLY Is he preparing to write something? To create a puzzle? Is he studying anything about the english language? YES, NO, NO | ||
| Doctapeppa (Doctapeppa)
New member Username: Doctapeppa Post Number: 1109 Registered: 12-2004 |
Did he create some sort of list? That included words that contained one and only one vowel (which may be repeated)? Did he do this for A? E? I? O? and? U? Did he decide he wanted to destroy all the words containing one vowel (which may be repeated)? Did he want to keep them separated by which vowel was in the word? Or could he have put them in all in a single group? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 630 Registered: 7-2006 |
DOC Did he create some sort of list? That included words that contained one and only one vowel (which may be repeated)? Did he do this for A? E? I? O? and? U? YES BUT HE DID MORE THAN THIS Did he decide he wanted to destroy all the words containing one vowel (which may be repeated)? NO Did he want to keep them separated by which vowel was in the word? YES Or could he have put them in all in a single group? HE COULD HAVE BUT IT WOULD HAVE SUITED HIS PURPOSES AS WELL | ||
| Doctapeppa (Doctapeppa)
New member Username: Doctapeppa Post Number: 1191 Registered: 12-2004 |
Did he create a pretty table with fancy headings? Did he list more than just the words? More words than just the ones with "one vowel"? Did he list definitions? Parts of speech? Something else pertaining to the words? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 632 Registered: 7-2006 |
Doc, Did he create a pretty table with fancy headings? NO Did he list more than just the words? NO More words than just the ones with "one vowel"? NO Did he list definitions? Parts of speech? Something else pertaining to the words? NO | ||
| Rabrab (Rabrab)
New member Username: Rabrab Post Number: 1660 Registered: 2-2005 |
Did he subdivide the list he compiled in any way besides which vowel was used? By length? by number of syllables? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 633 Registered: 7-2006 |
Rab, Did he subdivide the list he compiled in any way besides which vowel was used? NO By length? by number of syllables? NO | ||
| Biograd (Biograd)
New member Username: Biograd Post Number: 283 Registered: 6-2008 |
Did he want to write a piece of text using only a single vowel throughout? a bunch of sentences with vowels in alphabetical order (such as, "Has he hit two bugs?")? a dictionary for solving some kind of puzzle? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 635 Registered: 7-2006 |
Bio, Did he want to write a piece of text using only a single vowel throughout? NO BUT CLOSE a bunch of sentences with vowels in alphabetical order (such as, "Has he hit two bugs?")? NO a dictionary for solving some kind of puzzle? NO | ||
| Gourami (Gourami)
New member Username: Gourami Post Number: 404 Registered: 2-2008 |
Was he writing poetry? Did he want to write five pieces of text, one for each vowel? Write a text in which each sentence/line only has one vowel in it, irrespective of the number of times it's used? | ||
| Admin (Admin)
Board Administrator Username: Admin Post Number: 636 Registered: 7-2006 |
Gourami, * * * SPOILER * * * Was he writing poetry? Did he want to write five pieces of text, one for each vowel? Write a text in which each sentence/line only has one vowel in it, irrespective of the number of times it's used? YES He is the Canadian poet Christian Bok http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_B%C3%B6k who wrote the book Eunoia. It involves univocalics i.e. each chapter contains words using only one vowel (sometimes more than once). It became a best seller. Here is an example: Westerners revere the Greek legends. Versemen retell the represented events, the resplendent scenes, where, hellbent, the Greek freemen seek revenge whenever Helen, the new-wed empress, weeps. He started by going through the dictionary five times to compile the lists of words which he then used to write the book. http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_7697000/7697762.stm | ||
| Doctapeppa (Doctapeppa)
New member Username: Doctapeppa Post Number: 1320 Registered: 12-2004 |
That's insane. | ||
| Woubit (Woubit)
Moderator Username: Woubit Post Number: 321 Registered: 5-2007 |
It has been a while since we had any weightless poetry, so here are five univocalics, all retellings of the lullaby "Rock-A-Bye Baby": Rock-a-bye baby on the tree top, When the wind blows, the cradle will rock, When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall, Down will come baby, cradle and all. Nap, brat, branch fast, Knapsack traps blast, Branch snap, sack fall, Crash sack, crash all. Sleep, pet, where trees crest, Breeze frets bed rest, Tree bends, bed descends, Pet's tree-rest ends. Whisht, kid, swing high, Crib spins if wind shrills, Twig splits, crib slips, Sinks crib, kid spills. Rock, tot, on top spot, Storm rocks tot's cot, Top rots, cot flops, Cot's down, tot drops. Hush, cub, up shrub, Gusts tug snug bunk, Shrub's bust, bunk's sunk, Dumps cub, junks bunk. Mary Holtby | ||
| Doctapeppa (Doctapeppa)
New member Username: Doctapeppa Post Number: 1402 Registered: 12-2004 |
Weightless poetry... that rings a bell. Did I ever understand weightless poetry before my "couple-year" absence? |
