Digital Commons Network^™

Natural Order, Sir Jeremy Morse

Word Ways

A poem

The Odd Homonym Attack - A New Figure Of Speech, Solomon W. Golomb

Word Ways

Not to be confused with the classical ad hominem attack, our new odd homonym attack consists of replacing the target's actual name with an unflattering homonym. Here are a few examples.

It's Not Easy Being Mondegreen, Don Hauptman

Word Ways

As every card-carrying recreational linguist knows, a mondegreen is a mishearing: a phrase that has been misconstrued, usually with humorous results.

Color Blind - 1, Steve Kahan

Word Ways

While it seems as if the list below is comprised or unrelated words, things are not so black and white here. In fact, this collection is abundantly colorful if you can see through the camouflage. In each instance, you are asked to remove one unspecified letter from what is given and rearrange the remaining letters to reveal a hidden hue. Thus, the excision of "H" from HERD yields RED when the letters E, R, and D are permuted. Performing this type of reconstructive surgery twenty times will reveal the true colors of this quiz.

Numerical Charades Part 1, Susan Thorpe

Word Ways

The division of a word into 2 or more groups of letters, each group forming another word, is called charades. BEDEVIL = BED+EVIL. The division of a word into groups of letters which, when assigned their numerical positions in the alphabet, provide group totals which, together, have a generic numerical structure, can therefore be referred to as numerical charades.

Book Review: The Great American Fortune Cookie Novel, Karen Farrell

Word Ways

A book review for Dave Morice's The Great American Fortune Cookie Novel.

Definitive Acrostics, A Anil

Word Ways

These are 'backward' acronyms. Instead of abbreviating a given phrase or company name, etc, they start with the abbreviation given, usually a single word, and use its letters as the initial letters of a phrase created to define or relate to the word. Ideally, no words in the acronym should be related to the head word etymologically.

Look Back!, A. Ross Eckler

Word Ways

Over the years Word Ways has displayed a varied logological corpus. In this column I revisit forgotten ideas, connect seemingly-disparate concepts, and suggest further investigation.

Magic Spells, Jeremiah Farrell

Word Ways

Magic spelling tricks have a special appeal to those of us with a passion for recreational linguistics and mathematics. Provided or course that they are well done. This means that mathematics should be subtle (sometimes the performer does not even fathom it) and the denouement should be dazzling. In a recent letter to us Martin Gardner indicated his top two choices. He was commenting on his Word Ways article "An Amazing Spelling Trick."

"It's My Centennial!" Said Tom Swiftly, Richard Lederer

Word Ways

Starting in 1910, boys grew up devouring the adventures of Tom Swift, a sterling hero and natural scientific genius created by Edward Stratemeyer. Many of Tom's inventions predated technological developments in real life -- electric cars, seacopters, and houses on wheels. In fact, some say that the Tom Swift tales laid the groundwork for American science fiction.

Colloquy

Word Ways

Responses to previously published articles.

Rhyming, End-To-End-Palindromic Verse, Jim Puder

Word Ways

Rhyming, end-to-end-palindromic (RETEP) verse is a relatively recent development in palindromic composition. As its name indicates, RETEP verse is to be distinguished from other varieties of rhyming palindromic verse in which whatever palindromicity exists is not of the end-to-end kind. RETEP verse is arguably the most sophisticated and ambitious form of palindromic writing ever attempted, and it is certainly one of the more challenging ones to try to compose.

Kickshaws, Dave Morice

Word Ways

A collection of linguistic kickshaws.

Book Review: May I Have A Word With You?, Karen Farrell

Word Ways

A book review of Steven Kahan's May I Have A Word With You?

When An Ad Becomes A Pipe And Opens A School-Ion Dee-Day, Willy Mwakapenda

Word Ways

Ad

Ad a day

A day and a day

A day

day

When one day closes, another opens

When one day clothes, another wears ...

Punk Whiz 9, A. Anile

Word Ways

Yet another misdefinition pun quiz. Numbers in parentheses are the letters in the answer; (4|4) is a charade, an eight letter word that splits into a four plus four letter pun.

Antigrams From Word Ways: A Retrospective, A. Anil

Word Ways

In the November 2009 Kickshaws, Ove Michaelsen presented a selection of antigrams from various sources, but excluded mention of any from Word Ways. I've presented nearly 200 herein and felt a review of the best of these would give Word Ways due credit and balance out Ove's list. A few of these don't agree grammatically but were apt enough otherwise to forgive and include.

How Many Shiftgrams In A Word-Set?, A. Ross Eckler

Word Ways

A word possesses a shiftgram if its letters can first be shifted along the alphabet and then transposed to form another word. The classic example MUSIC to QUACK was offered by Alice Gorki and Dimitri Miller in "Sea-Changed Words" in the February 1969 Word Ways.

Answers And Solutions

Word Ways

Answers and solutions to some of the puzzles contained in this issue.

Witwits - Part 1, Steve Kahan

Word Ways

A WITWIT is merely an acronym for "Where In The World Is That?," an orthographic challenge that I introduced in May I Have A Word With You?. In the first of this seven-part series, two dozen letter sequences have been extracted, without interruption, from either the beginning, middle, or end of a word. Reinserting each into its proper position at the rate of one per hour, you'll identify the sources of all these sequences in a single day. Moreover, you'll certainly have the last laugh and avoid a fracas provided you recognize that HAHA came from BROUHAHA!

Instructions To Authors, Back Cover

Word Ways

Instructions to authors wishing to contribute and readers interested in subscribing, as well as the back cover of this issue.

The Battle Of Murten, Albert Winkler

Swiss American Historical Society Review

Frequent warfare was a harsh political reality in central Europe in the late Middle Ages as ambitious states tried to extend their power and influence by attacking and subjugating other territories. As a result of this frequent aggression, success on the battlefield was necessary for the survival and independence of many nations and peoples, including the Swiss Confederation. The most critical threat to the existence of the Swiss alliance in the fifteenth century was the invasion in1476 by Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, one of the most powerful rulers in Europe. In two stunning victories, Granson (Grandson in German), …

The Ruse Of Clarity, Ian Barnard

English Faculty Articles and Research

This essay interrogates the concept of “clarity” that has become an imperative of effective student writing. I show that clarity is neither axiomatic nor transparent, and that the clear/unclear binary that informs the identification of clarity as a goal of effective student writing is itself unstable precisely because of the ideological baggage that undergirds its construction. I make this argument by finding the traces of composition’s insistence on student writers’ clarity in the attacks on the writing of critical theorists.

Hospitalisation, Sir Jeremy Morse

Word Ways

A poem

The Broad Ripple Puzzle-Game, Jeremiah Farrell, Karen Farrell

Word Ways

As reported in the November issue of Word Ways, Peggy Boulden's class from Indianapolis' Broad Ripple High School recently visited Butler University for a presentation of mathematical word play. In addition to the magic spelling trick described in November we used the nine different letters in BROAD RIPPLE in the following word puzzle.

Synonym Pudding, A. Ross Eckler

Word Ways

Webster's Tenth Collegiate dictionary lists synonyms of headword adjectives in two ways: in small caps in the main definition set, and at the end with the heading syn followed by a group of additional small cap synonyms. Approximately 220 of the headword adjectives merit the syn treatment, and the one thousand synonyms they dissect represent about one-sixth of the headword adjectives.

Ua35/1 Doers & Deeds Vol. 7, No. 14, Wku Provost

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by the WKU Provost & Vice President of Academic Affairs to highlight the activities of faculty, staff and alumni.

Expands Types Of Criminal Conduct That Constitute Human Trafficking And Increases Criminal Penalties. Initiative Statute.

Initiatives

Expands definition of human trafficking to encompass additional types of criminal conduct, including violating a person's liberty with intent to distribute obscene material, and taking a victim's travel documents to restrict victim's movement. Increases criminal penalties for human trafficking, including longer prison sentences of up to 15-years-to- life and larger fines of up to $500,000 for certain offenses. Requires assets forfeited due to conviction be used for victim services. Prohibits evidence that victim engaged in sexual conduct from being used against victim. Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: …

February 2010 News Releases, University Of Montana--Missoula. Office Of University Relations

University of Montana News Releases, 1928, 1956-present

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

Swiss American Historical Society Review

No abstract provided.