21
$\begingroup$

This is in the spirit of the What is a Word/Phrase™ series started by JLee with a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles.

If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it a Rotten Word™.

Use the following examples below to find the rule.

Rotten Words™ Not Rotten Words™
ANT BEETLE
BARF VOMIT
CLERK TELLER
EBBS FLOWS
ENVY JEALOUSY
FLAP FLUTTER
GNAT FLY
GREEN BLUE
NOWHERE SOMEWHERE
NUN PRIEST
PURELY MIXED
REEF OCEAN
ROOF CEILING
VEX TROUBLE

And, if you want to analyze, here is a CSV version:

Rotten Words™,Not Rotten Words™
ANT,BEETLE
BARF,VOMIT
CLERK,TELLER
EBBS,FLOWS
ENVY,JEALOUSY
FLAP,FLUTTER
GNAT,FLY
GREEN,BLUE
NOWHERE,SOMEWHERE
NUN,PRIEST
PURELY,MIXED
REEF,OCEAN
ROOF,CEILING
VEX,TROUBLE
Improve this question
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ does font/case matter? $\endgroup$
    – dfperry
    Commented Nov 20, 2015 at 21:21
  • $\begingroup$ @dperry Neither font nor case matters for this one. It's a lot more fun that my previous ones, in my opinion. $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Commented Nov 20, 2015 at 21:30
  • $\begingroup$ 86% of rotten words are shorter than their non-rotten counterparts! $\endgroup$
    – Michael
    Commented Nov 20, 2015 at 22:58
  • $\begingroup$ @Michael That's because most Rotten Words are short. It's hard to find a long one. $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Commented Nov 20, 2015 at 23:04

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
22
$\begingroup$

Rotten Words are words that...

can be ROT13'd to produce a new word. (A is replaced with N B with O, etc.)
These produce: NAG ONES PYREX ROOF RAIL SYNC TANG TERRA ABJURER AHA CHERYL ERRS EBBS IRK.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
1
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Wouldn't rot13("n" orpbzr "a" naq O" orpbzr " b")? $\endgroup$
    – Goose
    Commented Sep 2, 2018 at 16:34

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.