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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 Mostly Ruddy Word™.

Use the following examples below to find the rule.

Mostly Ruddy Words™ Not Mostly Ruddy Words™
NAMETAG IDENTIFICATION
RAILWAY TRACK
WHIMPER BLUBBER
WATERJET AIRJET
MONOLOGUE SPEECH
INDULGE ENTERTAIN
ZOOLOGY MEDICINE
ALLERGEN IRRITANT
SCALLOPS CRAWFISH
CLOUDSCAPE SCENERY
SOLILOQUY DISCOURSE
BOOKKEEPER LIBRARIAN
HALLELUJAH* ALLELUIA
STYLOGRAPHY** ELABORATENESS

* Showing off
** Impractical

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

Mostly Ruddy Words™,Not Mostly Ruddy Words™
NAMETAG,IDENTIFICATION
RAILWAY,TRACK
WHIMPER,BLUBBER
WATERJET,AIRJET
MONOLOGUE,SPEECH
INDULGE,ENTERTAIN
ZOOLOGY,MEDICINE
ALLERGEN,IRRITANT
SCALLOPS,CRAWFISH
CLOUDSCAPE,SCENERY
SOLILOQUY,DISCOURSE
BOOKKEEPER,LIBRARIAN
HALLELUJAH,ALLELUIA
STYLOGRAPHY,ELABORATENESS

Addition 1:

I have added two footnotes to the image. The words are in the order they're in on purpose although there's no direct correlation between one word and the next. The words at the bottom are more mostly than those at the top with the exception of the last word, which is more ruddy.

Addition 2:

You may think I made a typo or left out a word in Addition 1, but I assure you that is not the case. Here's a new idea: none of the words in the table above are ruddy as they currently appear. They are all extremely mostly, though. With a quick transformation, they all become mostly ruddy except for HALLELUJAH (which is too mostly) and STYLOGRAPHY (which is too ruddy).

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  • $\begingroup$ I'm guessing that MOSTLY RUDDY is Mostly Ruddy™. $\endgroup$
    – GentlePurpleRain
    Aug 31, 2016 at 19:07
  • $\begingroup$ @GentlePurpleRain I can confirm that MOSTLY RUDDY is a Mostly Ruddy Phrase™ . $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Aug 31, 2016 at 21:20
  • $\begingroup$ @Engineer Toast Is it surprising that no one has come up the plate with anything at all? Or was this expected? $\endgroup$
    – bill bsl
    Sep 2, 2016 at 2:49
  • $\begingroup$ @TylerJohnson It's an entirely different idea from my last few puzzles so it's not shocking. I was waiting an extra day before posting hints but I have one ready for tomorrow. $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Sep 2, 2016 at 3:07
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @IAmInPLS one possible anagram is magenta. Ruddy's meaning has to do with the color red, So I think that is a possible link. Also Since GentlePurpleRain's username is mostly ruddy, I think I'm on the right track. $\endgroup$
    – Areeb
    Sep 2, 2016 at 13:46

3 Answers 3

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The simple transformation is

to write the words in lowercase.

Then a mostly word is

a word that has a letter that ascends above the midline (dots do not count).

and a ruddy word is

a word that has a letter that descends below the baseline.

and a mostly ruddy word is

a word that has an ascending letter before a descending letter (i.e. is mostly before it is ruddy).

I think mostly ruddy refers to

the idea that if the word were a boat then the ascending letter could be a mast (most) and the descending letter could be a rudder (ruddy), so naturally the mast should come before the rudder.

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  • 2
    $\begingroup$ Finally this puzzle will stop bothering my day ^_^ $\endgroup$
    – greenturtle3141
    Sep 3, 2016 at 6:34
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ You get the tick for having the right answer. You get +1 for getting my hilarious pun. $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Sep 3, 2016 at 12:13
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It would appear that the first word is a slightly more specific type of what the second word is. For example, a name tag isn't necessarily tied to all forms of identification, but it is a type of identification. Zoology is a type of medicine. So, the rule is: 'first word' is a type of 'second word'

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  • $\begingroup$ can't seem to make it fit with waterjet.... $\endgroup$
    – Sid
    Sep 2, 2016 at 16:56
  • $\begingroup$ They can't all be winners, eh? Best answer I could come up with. $\endgroup$
    – ToTheMax
    Sep 2, 2016 at 16:59
  • $\begingroup$ Although water is partially air..? $\endgroup$
    – ToTheMax
    Sep 2, 2016 at 17:00
  • $\begingroup$ What about allergen, scallops, and hallelujah? $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Sep 2, 2016 at 17:01
  • $\begingroup$ Allergens irritate, therefore are an irritant. $\endgroup$
    – ToTheMax
    Sep 2, 2016 at 17:02
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Not a complete answer:

I noticed that most Mostly Ruddy Words are made up of two words that are not the same length.
Name-tag
Rail-way
Whim-per
Water-jet
Etc.

It didn't follow the pattern for some words. This is probably a dead end, it might inspire someone though.

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  • $\begingroup$ -1: This should probably be a comment, not an answer. $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Sep 2, 2016 at 16:12
  • $\begingroup$ What about allergen, scallops, and hallelujah? $\endgroup$
    – Engineer Toast
    Sep 2, 2016 at 17:01
  • $\begingroup$ @EngineerToast yeah I said it didn't follows the rule for every word. I should've put it in a comment $\endgroup$
    – Areeb
    Sep 2, 2016 at 17:35

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