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My uncle likes some things but not others.

  • He likes toast but not cereal.
  • He likes bicycles but not motorbikes.
  • He likes ice but not water.
  • He likes lamps but not lava lamps.
  • He likes claw hammers but not spirit levels.

What types of things does he like?

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  • $\begingroup$ Does this answer your question? Grandma likes coffee but not tea $\endgroup$ Mar 29, 2022 at 3:16
  • $\begingroup$ I'm not saying they are identical, but the resemblance is striking, isn't it? $\endgroup$ Mar 29, 2022 at 3:23
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    $\begingroup$ @Dopplegamer But the answer there doesn't work here, so no, they're not duplicates. $\endgroup$ Mar 29, 2022 at 4:05

2 Answers 2

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I think the answer is

Solids only

He likes toast but not cereal.

Both breakfasts, but he likes the one with no liquid - milk.

He likes bicycles but not motorbikes.

Both bikes, but one without liquid - gasoline.

He likes ice but not water.

Ice is the solid form of a liquid - water.

He likes lamps but not lava lamps.

Both lamps, but he likes the one with no liquid - water mixed with mineral oils + liquid carbon.

He likes claw hammers but not spirit levels.

Both construction tools, but he likes the one with no liquid - ethanol.

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    $\begingroup$ Not sure this works. ROT13(Ovplpyrf hfr bvy sbe yhoevpngvba whfg yvxr zbgbeovxrf.) $\endgroup$
    – fljx
    Mar 29, 2022 at 8:47
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    $\begingroup$ Nygubhtu prernyf ner trarenyyl rngra jvgu zvyx vg vf abg n arprffnel pbaqvgvba. Gur chmmyr fvzcyl fnl ur qbrf abg yvxr prerny. Vg qbrf abg fnl "ur qbrf abg yvxr "rngvat prerny". Whfg fnlvat $\endgroup$
    – DrD
    Mar 29, 2022 at 12:11
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    $\begingroup$ cereal is big stretch- it doesn't have to have a liquid. You can eat raw oats. $\endgroup$ Mar 30, 2022 at 11:22
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    $\begingroup$ And I eat Toast with Tea all the time! :) $\endgroup$
    – DrD
    Mar 30, 2022 at 14:07
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    $\begingroup$ The lamp is also a huge stretch. There are things called "oil" lamps. $\endgroup$
    – Varun W.
    Mar 30, 2022 at 15:00
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I wonder if it is as simple as

He likes things with shorter names (total number of letters)

TOAST (5) < CEREAL (6), BICYCLES (8) < MOTORBIKES (10), ICE (3) < WATER (5), LAMPS (5) < LAVA LAMPS (9), CLAW HAMMERS (11) < SPIRIT LEVELS (12)

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    $\begingroup$ ...but then how come he likes bicycles, but doesn't like water? Based on your logic, if one option was lava lamps and if the other option was supermarket, he would like the lava lamps. But this does not make sense as it explicitly says that he dislikes lava lamps. +1 for the ingenuity of this answer, but I would bet that this is not the pattern that the OP was looking for here. $\endgroup$
    – Joe Kerr
    Mar 30, 2022 at 1:28
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    $\begingroup$ @user1 given the lack of other options I think the OP does not compare two random things. Just things of the same family. $\endgroup$
    – Varun W.
    Mar 30, 2022 at 1:47

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