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I've designed this myself and I want to know whether my answer is correct and if there are any more possible answers.

Which is the odd one out?

$$\large\text{courtesy, bird, hurdle, learn}$$

Answer:

It is hurdle since it is the only one whose first syllable follows its usual pronunciation (ur). For example, courtesy vs our, bird vs wind and learn vs ear have different pronunciations.

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5 Answers 5

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On top of the answers from Saeïdryl, there's also

Learn being the only word containing A.

Regarding the puzzle itself,

I personally don't think using pronunciation as the key of the puzzle is a good idea, especially when it is based on the pronunciation of other words not included in the puzzle. I'd imagine such puzzles to not be very universal, with the solution not being obvious or even applicable at all to people with different accents.

Another issue, I believe, is that your explanation itself is quite unclear. "The first syllable" doesn't sound right, because I'd say the first syllable of courteous is cour. Maybe you meant the first segment with the vowel, but then the bird vs wind comparison doesnt make sense.. Only taking the parts starting with the vowel will cause troubles too, it will be difficult to justify the proper pronunciation of improper words like 'ird' or 'ur'.

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    $\begingroup$ I agree and think that "ir" is almost always pronounced in that way unless followed by a vowel, for example third, stir, fir, irk, hirsute, dirt, smirk, squirm, firm, so claiming this is an unusual pronunciation is a bit of a stretch. $\endgroup$
    – Jaap Scherphuis
    Jan 8, 2018 at 10:42
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Maybe these answers are better as a comment but :

Bird doesn't have any "e" in it.
Learn is the only word in which the "r" is not in the middle of the word.

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  • $\begingroup$ Regarding the second one, i think Courtesy fits as the odd one out better - Rather than learn being the only one not fulfilling the rule, courtesy is the only one that fulfills it. $\endgroup$
    – votbear
    Jan 8, 2018 at 9:16
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There are a lot of possible answers in my opinion.

It could be courtesy because : only one to have a "c","y","t","o", as many vowels and consonants, or 3 syllables.

It could be bird because : only one to have a "b","i","d", or 1 vowel.

It could be hurdle because : only one to have a "h", or 2 syllables.

It could be learn because : only one to have a "a", "n".

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Another simple answer: learn is the only word with an odd number of letters.

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Meaning is usually the basis for this type of comparison, in which case 'Learn' is the odd term out. It is the only word that cannot be considered a noun (thing).

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