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Articles 2671 - 2700 of 4911
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
A Challenge Answered, Darryl Francis
A Challenge Answered, Darryl Francis
Word Ways
Dave Morice's November 1994 Kickshaws referred to a challenge suggested by the late Tom Pulliam. Based on the sum of all its letter-values (assigning A=1, B=2, and so on), each word has a certain value (DEBUT=52, DUCHY=61). Tom Pulliam had enquired of Dave Morice how long a list of consecutive numbers may be formed in this way. Dave pointed out that such a list would have to start with the word A(=1_ and be followed by AA(=2), BA (=3) and ABA (=4).
The People In Slanguage, Leonard R. N. Ashley
The People In Slanguage, Leonard R. N. Ashley
Word Ways
Long before Elijah McCoy invented the lubricating device which gave us the expression the real McCoy, long before Kilroy was here, names crept into common speech and formed an interesting aspect of slang. How many of the following catch phrases, all containing names, can you explain? What do people mean when they say these?
Egdopegdoh, John Ferguson
Egdopegdoh, John Ferguson
Word Ways
The list of words below is made up of five categories, each category with twenty entries and having its own rule. Place 99 words in front of the 99 entries, and then, after placing the proper 100th word in front of OPERA, show where it belongs on the list. Try first the ten (easier) words given in boldface.
An Early Work On Palindromes, Herbert Pfeiffer
An Early Work On Palindromes, Herbert Pfeiffer
Word Ways
Books dedicated expensively to the subject of palindromes are very rare. One in great demand is the book "Palindromes" by G. R. Clarke (Glasgow, David Bryce & Son, 1887). Some years ago, Dmitri Borgmann told me in a letter that his firm. Research Unlimited, had not been able to find a copy of the book, and he doubted that it ever really existed.
We Authors Present By Pen, Susan Thorpe
We Authors Present By Pen, Susan Thorpe
Word Ways
The title is an amalgam, an anagram of the names of the joint authors who propose the term as a reasonable neologism for all such constructions of this type. Whilst it is not intended to restrict the term to anagrams of pairs of folk, nevertheless we considered that such a subject had much potential: we argued long into the telephonic night as to which pairings we might submit for your delight or critical comment!
Ants Are All Over, Robert C. Layton
Ants Are All Over, Robert C. Layton
Word Ways
This is a story of an enchanting young man, Anthony Santiago, an immigrant from Antwerp, who became a very important contributor to our society as a result of his penchant for inventions. He was responsible for the development. He created a safety lantern for use in anthracite mines, a sextant that received world-wide acclaim, and he helped perfect a disinfectant for commercial use.
Proper Names, Improper Uses, Oren N. Dalton
Proper Names, Improper Uses, Oren N. Dalton
Word Ways
Leonard R. N. Ashley presented a quiz titled "The Proper Name in the Proper Use" in the February 1995 issue of Word Ways. I worked it. I did my best, and although my answers differ somewhat from Ashley's anyone who has (or has had) a teenage daughter and/or son will surely agree that my answers come as close to the mark (whoever she is) as Ashley's.
One More, Elvis, A. Ross Eckler
One More, Elvis, A. Ross Eckler
Word Ways
In the February 1993 Word Ways, Darryl Francis embedded 45 rearrangements of the letters EILSV in various dictionary words and proper names. If one doesn't insist that the letters be adjacent in a word, all 120 rearrangements can be spelled out in words. In the list below, I have restricted myself to boldface words (including inferred forms such as plurals) found in Webster's Second or Third, giving preference whenever possible to solid entries such as pELVIS or convuLSIVE.
Answers And Solutions
Word Ways
Answers and solutions to the puzzles and games contained in this issue.
Logogensis, Alan De Wenzer
Logogensis, Alan De Wenzer
Word Ways
Logogenesis n. the creation of new words, neologistics.
The "V-14" Problem, Dmitri A. Borgmann
The "V-14" Problem, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
In a previous article, we explored the problem of finding 14-letter words and names beginning with the letter C and alternating their consonants and vowels regularly: words such as COLONIZABILITY and CAPACITATIVELY. Although C is a very common first letter in English words and we exerted herculean efforts, we were able to find only 14 single, solidly-written words conforming to the conditions imposed on the problem, and 12 two-word terms. Those conditions excluded obsolete, dialectal, slang, and colloquial words, and outright coinages.
The Elemental Game, Susan Thorpe
The Elemental Game, Susan Thorpe
Word Ways
Various aspects of 'elemental' wordplay have appeared in previous issues of Word Ways in "An Elemental Problem" in February 1978, Dmitri Borgmann noted that LIVERS was an anagram of SILVER, NONE of NEON, ADORN of RADON, and DALE of LEAD, and that PLATINUM was A TIN LUMP! IN February and August 1971, Mary YOungquist, Philip Cohen and Murray Pearce substituted an element for its symbol in a word to make another, elemental, word. This operation turned Sated into SULPHURated, FEy into IRONy, AGed into SILVERed, CUed into COPPERed, and, an excellent internal one, baSis into baSILICONs. To these we now …
Is It A Satiety? Yes!, A. Ross Eckler
Is It A Satiety? Yes!, A. Ross Eckler
Word Ways
The may 1994 Word Ways exhibited a set of sentences constructed by National Public Radio listeners, each using only two consonants. This sequel shows how respondents treated one of the most frequently-chosen combinations.
Stinky Pinkies: The Real Mccoy, A. Ross Eckler
Stinky Pinkies: The Real Mccoy, A. Ross Eckler
Word Ways
A stinky pinky is a two-word rhyming phrase such as FLOWER POWER or HAIRY LARRY. "Buzzwords" (Crown Publishers, 1993), a survey of occupational jargon by John Davis, is packed with examples which he claims are genuine but which, to my ear, sound made up by clever wordsmiths rather than working stiffs. Here is a sample (one per occupation) of the most apt. After each stinky pinky its user is given, followed by the translation. Cover the capitalized words below and see if you can reconstruct them from the translation alone.
Abbreviations Without Ambiguities, A. Ross Eckler
Abbreviations Without Ambiguities, A. Ross Eckler
Word Ways
Suppose that one wishes to replace the words in a commonly-used list by abbreviations in order to save space in texts. How should the abbreviations be chosen in order to avoid confusion? At first blush, it would appear sufficient to ensure that each abbreviation is distinct form the others. But this is not enough; one should also require that (1) the abbreviation be formed according to specified rules, and (2) under those rules, the abbreviation could have been formed from only one member of the list.
Some New Palindromes, John E. Connett
Kickshaws, David Morice
Front Cover And Publication Information, Volume 28 Issue 1
Front Cover And Publication Information, Volume 28 Issue 1
Word Ways
Front cover and publication information for this issue.
A Word Graph Bestiary, Leonard Gordon, A. Ross Eckler
A Word Graph Bestiary, Leonard Gordon, A. Ross Eckler
Word Ways
Spell out a word by connecting its different letters by lines, as illustrated in the left for WHICH and THAT. Allowing repeated traverses of the connector lines. NOTION traces out the WHICH graph; SENSE traces out the THAT graph. Allowing dwell on each doubled letter, BEETLE traces out the WHICH graph: SEEKS just as they can by their letter patterns. AREA has the same pattern as THAT. ORDER and VERSE have the same pattern as WHICH.
The World's Worst Dictionary, Christopher Mcmanus
The World's Worst Dictionary, Christopher Mcmanus
Word Ways
From any standard dictionary, we minimally expect the complete inclusion of basic words, consistency in choice of further entries, and evidence of general care in proofreading. To appreciate these qualities' importance, consider a small dictionary notable for their prodigious absence. I refer to Webster's Dictionary of the English Language: Handy School and Office Edition (HSOE). My copy is a red paperback volume, a revised edition published in 1979 by Book-Craft Guild, Inc., New York. A nearly-identical hardback edition bears a 1976 publishing date.
Introduction To Word Graphing, Leonard Gordon
Introduction To Word Graphing, Leonard Gordon
Word Ways
Fig la is a S-graph (S for simple). It contains the number names FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE through NINETEEN, TWENTY, THIRTY, FORTY, FIFTY, SIXTY, SEVENTY, EIGHTY and NINETY. The letter Y joins the letters F, S, and E, thus allowing the compounds TWENTY-FOUR to NINETY-EIGHT -- 40 compounds, 64 names in all.
Linguistic Thoughts At Random, A. Ross Eckler
Linguistic Thoughts At Random, A. Ross Eckler
Word Ways
Below, dear reader, you will encounter perhaps the longest English-language literary isogram ever constructed: every word therein is unique. While reading, please watch carefully for inadvertent duplications (hopefully, they appear impossible to find).
Anagram By Computer, Mike Morton
Anagram By Computer, Mike Morton
Word Ways
In a recent issue of Word Ways, Harry Stern closed an otherwise wonderful article by impugning the value of computers in finding anagrams. Since I have no talent for finding them by hand, and rely almost entirely on a program, I felt I should rise on behalf of the anagram-impaired--and to defend the honor of the anagram software.
Anagrams By Hand, Harry L. Stern
Anagrams By Hand, Harry L. Stern
Word Ways
What's so interesting about anagrams? They're just rearrangements of letters. Couldn't' a computer crank out a million of them in the time it would take a human to sharpen his pencil? What if a computer and a human tried to anagram the same phrase? Wouldn't they both come up with the same set of "good" anagrams, given enough time?
Assorted Palindromes, Barry A. Duncan
Assorted Palindromes, Barry A. Duncan
Word Ways
Palindrome writing is a quirky, challenging discipline that has never attracted the sizable following it would seem to deserve. One reason for that may be that most people find a way to lead perfectly fulfilling lives without ever stopping to consider what reversible combinations the twenty-six inhabitants of the alphabet are capable of arranging themselves into.
Letter Repetition In Web 3, Chris Cole
Letter Repetition In Web 3, Chris Cole
Word Ways
What words in the Third Edition of the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary have the most A's the most B's, ...the most Z's? The results of the computer search for boldface uncapitalized unhyphenated words is given below. Only one word, pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovocanoconiosis, has been omitted from this survey.
A New Word Game, Enoch Haga
A New Word Game, Enoch Haga
Word Ways
WORDwhami is a board game of word strategy, tactics and vocabulary - designed to challenge your mind, mine your vocabulary, and test your aggressiveness. The game is designed for two to four (or more opponents), or for one person playing alone.
Dr. Pangloss's Puzzle, Nyr Indictor
Dr. Pangloss's Puzzle, Nyr Indictor
Word Ways
We wrote to Dr. Pangloss the other day, to ask him which languages he spoke and what places he had visited. To the first question, he sent us this mixed-up answer.