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Your neighbour is hosting a party for a select group of people. .

Hoping to get in, you hide in the front lawn and watch as guests begin to arrive.

The first to walk up is a man, who says "Hi, I'm Peter". The guard smiles and beckons him in.

Next come a girl and boy - "We're Amy and Jonathan", says the girl. The guard opens the door and Amy walks in, but as Jonathan goes to follow he says "No, not you".

A woman then walks up, saying "I'm Teaghan, I should be on the guest list."
"There isn't a list," replies the guard, "but in you go".

Just as you start to get up, thinking anyone who speaks to the guard is allowed in, another hopeful guest arrives. "Hey, I'm Emmma" she says and is promptly rejected. She cries "It's spelt E-M-M-M-A!", but the guard responds "that doesn't change anything."
Her friends Ashley and Joseph fare no better.

After some thinking you decide it's time to join the party. How do you introduce yourself to the guard?

Minor Hint + More Examples:

This puzzle would work just as well spoken - the guard doesn't require an extensive knowledge of how names are spelt. Katie, James and Eevee would be allowed in, while Dan and William wouldn't.

More Significant Hint:

There's a fairly straightforward rule that distinguishes the names of those accepted from those rejected. While the exact spelling doesn't matter, one letter of the name (accompanied with the pronunciation) does.

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  • $\begingroup$ If you reject James and accept Ashley, there is a good rule :) $\endgroup$
    – Mohit Jain
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 5:39
  • $\begingroup$ Maybe it has to sth to do with the whole sentence, instead of just the name? $\endgroup$
    – Mc Kevin
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 5:46
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    $\begingroup$ "How do you introduce yourself to the guard?" say "I'm Peter"? $\endgroup$
    – Spikatrix
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 6:46
  • $\begingroup$ @Cool Guy haha I've been waiting for someone to say that. No reason why it wouldn't work $\endgroup$
    – ladyofcats
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 9:51
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    $\begingroup$ "Hi, I'm the neighbor who is calling the cops for a noise violation unless you let me in." $\endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 14:42

7 Answers 7

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I'm guessing Jayden and Beatrice would get in, but Pollyanna and Ness wouldn't. Also, Emma would have gotten in if her name was spelled Margaret.

Specifically, is the rule that

the sound of the name has to start with the sound of the first letter?

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  • $\begingroup$ Yesss that's it! :D $\endgroup$
    – ladyofcats
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 12:56
  • $\begingroup$ Well, I wouldn't be let in, but my cousin Jay sure would. $\endgroup$
    – user88
    Commented Feb 4, 2015 at 0:04
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Note that Peter, Amy, and Teaghan have an odd number of letters in their name, while Jonathan, Emma, Ashley, and Joseph all have an even number of letters.

Judging by this pattern, I believe that the rule is that only people with an odd number of letters in their name are allowed into the party.

This means I'd be allowed in! Hooray!

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  • $\begingroup$ Note that Ema and Josef could make it in... $\endgroup$
    – user88
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:30
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    $\begingroup$ The problem with this is that the guard isn't seeing their names. Jonathan could be Johnathan. Same with Ema and Josef as mentioned. Teaghan could be Teagan. The guard has no way of judghing how many letters are in the person's name. $\endgroup$
    – EFrog
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:34
  • $\begingroup$ Oops that wasn't intentional, but it does work! The answer I had in mind doesn't rely on the guard knowing how to spell the names. Should I edit the question again? $\endgroup$
    – ladyofcats
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:34
  • $\begingroup$ @EFrog that's right :) $\endgroup$
    – ladyofcats
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:35
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    $\begingroup$ Yeah, it would be a good idea to edit it again if that's not the intended answer. $\endgroup$
    – user88
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:41
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This answer was written prior to the edits in the OP, so it is wrong.

Is it just that

the person's name has to contain a long vowel sound? (Peter, Amy, and Teaghan do while Jonathan and Emma don't.)

If that's the case, then

a name like Ashley, which is unisex, should work.

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  • $\begingroup$ Not quite, but that's along the right track! I'll add that to the post. $\endgroup$
    – ladyofcats
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:15
  • $\begingroup$ Odd number of letters? $\endgroup$
    – DevOfZot
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:20
  • $\begingroup$ ^ I feel like it's that. $\endgroup$
    – user88
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 1:27
  • $\begingroup$ Ashley and Joseph both would have been admitted with this rule. $\endgroup$
    – Set Big O
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 3:38
  • $\begingroup$ @Geobits Yeah they were edited in after my answer. They weren't in the original question. $\endgroup$
    – EFrog
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 4:34
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I'd hazard to guess that the name has to contain this:

An iː-sound (sort of like "ee", like in "mean"), as in
Peter, Amy, Teaghan, Katie, Eevee
I'm stumped as to why James got in though, maybe his name is pronounced "Jamees"!

So I'd introduce myself as...

Seagull. That's right.

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    $\begingroup$ You could introduce yourself as SeaHAWK instead. Then the guard wouldn't let you in until 55 minutes after you asked, and then he'd realize you were supposed to be in the whole time, just like you were for the last party. $\endgroup$
    – corsiKa
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 14:44
  • $\begingroup$ @corsika Get outta here. Does the guard go by the name of Brandon then? $\endgroup$
    – No. 7892142
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 14:47
  • $\begingroup$ @corsiKa That might be the best comment I've read. Ever. $\endgroup$
    – mdc32
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 17:24
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The name must contain a sound that is prounced as the name of a vowel. Callidus would not be permitted, but Payne, Jean, Simon, Joan and Stewart all would be, even though Stewart doesn't contain the relevant vowel.

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  • $\begingroup$ But Emma was rejected. $\endgroup$
    – Florian F
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 11:28
  • $\begingroup$ @FlorianF "e" and "a" are different sounds from "ee" and "ay" though. $\endgroup$
    – No. 7892142
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 11:32
  • $\begingroup$ However, Ashl_ey_ and J_o_seph would be allowed under those rules, no? $\endgroup$
    – No. 7892142
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 11:35
  • $\begingroup$ You're right, Ashley and Joseph would be allowed under my rule. I think Lopsy has the answer. $\endgroup$
    – Callidus
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 11:49
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Note:The question was edited and the hints were given after I posted this answer.

I guess it is because

Number of consonants in a name must be Number of vowels in the name + 1
So, number of consonants=number of vowels+1

This is why Emma,Ashley,Joseph and Jonathan failed to enter the party.

An easier way to gain access to the party would be to approach the guard and say "Hello! I'm Peter" and the guard will let you through just like he did for the first man,Peter.

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  • $\begingroup$ That's not the intended answer, but interesting observation! Keep in mind that the guard is only hearing the names being spoken so doesn't know the exact spelling - Ashley could just as easily have been Ashleigh but he/she still wouldn't get in. I've added a hint that might help if you're still interested :) $\endgroup$
    – ladyofcats
    Commented Jan 27, 2015 at 4:22
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I believe it is because of how you pronounce the names, especially the letter(s):

a and e

You pronounce this (or these, for that matter) letter(s) different in the names of the people being rejected. I believe I could just introduce myself as Kevin, and get in the party.

Here is a list of people who were allowed in and why I think why:

Peter Teaghan Amy Katie James Eevee

And a list of rejected people as well:

Dan William Jonathan Emma Ashley Joseph

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