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Articles 2851 - 2880 of 4911
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Base 27: The Key To A New Gematria, Lee Sallows
A Pangrammatic Six-Square, Jeff Grant
A Pangrammatic Six-Square, Jeff Grant
Word Ways
A large number of 4x4 word squares have been devised containing 16 different letters of the alphabet, a 5x5 square with 22 letters has also been constructed, and a 6x6 square with all but Q, X, and Z (see Word Ways, February 1980). If a square containing every letter of the alphabet (a pangrammatic square) is ever found, it will almost certainly be at the 6x6 level.
Mathematics Of Word Quality, Chris Long
The Alphabet Puzzle, Howard W. Bergerson
The Alphabet Puzzle, Howard W. Bergerson
Word Ways
For the Alphabet Puzzle, you need eight nickels, eight pennies and eight dimes, and a smooth surface to slide them on. The coins, all touching, must be lined up in eight nickel-penny-dime sets: NPDNPDNPDNPDNPDNPDNPDNPD.
The Proverbial Word, Peter Newby
The Proverbial Word, Peter Newby
Word Ways
Whilst the wisdom of a proverb remains constant, its examples change. This is true not only of the centuries-old saw, but even those coined within our lifetimes. "The opera isn't over till the fat lady sings" began life in the press box of a rodeo at Austin, Texas in 1975 as "The rodeo isn't over till the bull riders ride".
Through Tough Thorough Thought
Through Tough Thorough Thought
Word Ways
A most common complaint against the English language is the unpredictability of its pronunciation. A single sound may be represented by a slew of spellings. Likewise, a single spelling may conceal a plethora of pronunciations. As Ralph Beaman noted in the February 1975 Kickshaws, Webster's Third sanctions 60 variant pronunciations for TEMPERATURE. He also argued that W3 implicitly recognizes 70 ways to pronounce YES! However, the sequence OUGH is remarkable in that its nearly 30 pronunciations show the greatest diversity of sound.
The Burletta Of The Quest Nears, Ted Clarke
The Burletta Of The Quest Nears, Ted Clarke
Word Ways
My copy of Webster's Third, in one of its definitions, yields the following possibility for rebuttal: the act of exposing the falsity of, or opposition by countervailing proof to, some contention or argument.
Kickshaws, David Morice
Elvis For Everyone, Darryl Francis
Elvis For Everyone, Darryl Francis
Word Ways
Elvis Presley died on 16 August 1977 - already fifteen years ago! In recognition of this anniversary, I have put together this short article built around the name ELVIS. One of Elvis Presley's record albums (circa 1965) was called "Elvis for Everyone!". It struck me that there was probably a logological slant to this album title, unbeknownst to Elvis Presley and the RCA record company at the time. What the album title really meant was that the letters of ELVIS could combine in turn with every one of the 26 letters of the alphabet in turn to form a valid …
Five-Letter Overlap Word Chains, Leonard Gordon
Five-Letter Overlap Word Chains, Leonard Gordon
Word Ways
During the past two years, Word Ways has presented several of my articles on directed word chains. These are chains of overlapping words, directed in that they are read in one direction only.
Answers And Solutions
Word Ways
Answers and solutions to the puzzles and games contained in this issue
Anagrammed Pseudonyms, O. V. Micaelsen
Anagrammed Pseudonyms, O. V. Micaelsen
Word Ways
Writers and other public figures have for centuries anagrammed their names to form pen names. The most famous example is VOLTAIRE, whose real name was Francis Marie Arouet, from which he anagrammed AROUET L.J. (Arouet the younger). In the old days, I and J were interchangeable, as were U and V.
A Premodern Palindromic History, Howard Richler
A Premodern Palindromic History, Howard Richler
Word Ways
It's a heavy burden I carry as a member of the most oppressive group on the planet. Yes, you guessed it. I am a White Heterosexual Adult Male or WHAM. Postmodernist deconstructionist analysis has proved that WHAMs are inherently biased.
Zesty Zeugmas, Paul Hellweg
Zesty Zeugmas, Paul Hellweg
Word Ways
The zeugma has wordplay potential that, to the best of my knowledge, has not been previously explored in Word Ways. A grammatically correct zeugma has a certain charm that has inspired me to collect these literary constructions. And, in the same vein, the beauty of the well-constructed zeugma has inspired me to create my own.
Oprah's Not Over 'Til Harpo Returns, Bert N. Weepy
Oprah's Not Over 'Til Harpo Returns, Bert N. Weepy
Word Ways
Peter Newby's theory of 'Arepoid' word squares being merely classical recreational linguistics is fine as far as it goes, but he marred his discussion by supplying "perfect" examples of English construction. If, as he suggests, AREPO is a non-word, then each of his squares also should have contained a non-word.
Front Cover And Publication Information, Vollume 26 Issue 1
Front Cover And Publication Information, Vollume 26 Issue 1
Word Ways
Front cover and publication information for this issue.
Mathematics And Wordplay, Martin Gardner
Mathematics And Wordplay, Martin Gardner
Word Ways
Many mathematicians enjoy wordplay, and for obvious reasons. It is almost a branch of combinatorial mathematics. The pleasure derived from solving a combinatorial problem is very much like the pleasure of solving a cryptogram or a crossword puzzle, or constructing a good palindrome.
Mathematics Of Square Construction, Chris Long
Alphabetical Patterns, A. Ross Eckler
Alphabetical Patterns, A. Ross Eckler
Word Ways
Readers of Word Ways should be familiar with the concept of word patterns, exemplified by Jack Levine's three-volume rearrangement of Webster's Second and Third Editions into groups of words having the same pattern such as EXCESS and BAMBOO. (Word patterns have even been discussed in large-circulation magazines: see physicist Sheldon Glashow's "The Game of Bop" in the Sep/Oct 1992 issue of Quantum.)
Elvis Lives, Darryl Francis
Elvis Lives, Darryl Francis
Word Ways
ELVIS LIVES says the graffiti. You've seen it on tee-shirts, in headlines in the popular press, and on dozens of other items of an ephemeral nature. While the average reader of this particular item of graffiti probably notices that ELVIS and LIVES use the same letters, he or she probably muses over it for not more than a second or two, thinking how appropriate/cute/sad, before dismissing the matter. The serious logologist, however, gives the matter more attention.
Crossnumber Forms, David Morice
Crossnumber Forms, David Morice
Word Ways
At a local soda fountain last year, Lloyd Quibble, a create poet friend of mine, showed me a grid that linked four number words in an unusual way. On first glance, I thought such a creation must be a rare glitch of language, maybe unique.
Sliding-Block Anagram Puzzle, Leonard Gordon
Sliding-Block Anagram Puzzle, Leonard Gordon
Word Ways
Here is a project that might appeal to the anagrammers among Word Ways readers. Anagramming is not my game, but maybe others can come up with something clever.
1970-Point One-Move Scrabble, Jeff Grant
1970-Point One-Move Scrabble, Jeff Grant
Word Ways
In the May 1979 issue of Word Ways I modified Ron Jerome's 1961-point single-move Scrabble score using open sources, adding another point to it. Then in the August 1979 issue further modifications enabled another three points to be eked out. By altering four of the scouring words, I have now been able to push the total up to 1970 points, which may be approaching the limit for the bets known base-word BENZOXYCAMPHORS.
Name Those Presidents!, Richard Lederer
Name Those Presidents!, Richard Lederer
Word Ways
I wish that Ross Perot had been elected president of the United States.
A Survey Of Directed Word Chains, Leonard Gordon
A Survey Of Directed Word Chains, Leonard Gordon
Word Ways
The idea of making chains by overlapping words is due to H. E. Dudeney, and is probably a follow-on of Lewis Carroll's word ladders. Dudeney used words of uniform length and constant overlap. Christopher McManus introduced Word Ways readers in November 1990 to Ana-Gram-mar (AGM) chains, ones in which the word length may vary, but there is always single overlap (each letter appears in exactly two words): house-man-slaughter-house, and gossy-pol-yester-morning-tide-water.
Century Words, Susan Thorpe
Century Words, Susan Thorpe
Word Ways
In the use of alphanumeric scoring (A=1, B=2, etc.), attention has been given to the discovery of the 'lightest' and 'heaviest' words of a given length (Darryl Francis, 'Lighweights and Heavyweights', November 1972; Charles Bostick, 'Word Weights', May 1974; and Tom Pulliam in the November 1979 Colloquy). An alternative exercise, also based on alphanumeric scoring, is to discover the longest and shortest words having a given score, in this case 100.
Opera's Not Over 'Til Arepo Returns, Peter Newby
Opera's Not Over 'Til Arepo Returns, Peter Newby
Word Ways
With the recent discovery in the north of England of yet another example of the famous Latin palindromic square illustrated at the left, it is time to review the mystery surrounding this clever construction. Found at an archeological site in Manchester, this joins the other discoveries in various sites throughout the lands of the former Roman Empire.
Cryptickles, Vernon D. Maclaren
Cryptickles, Vernon D. Maclaren
Word Ways
In the November 1992 Kickshaws, Dave Morice quotes Mike Reiss "I'll wager that there is a word, common phrase, or well-known title that will cryptically clue every letter of the alphabet". Indeed there is; cryptic crossword constructors have been weaving their magic for over half a century. I add the following to the original list (also included).