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What is the most commonly used everyday English word that contains the four letters YHVH in some order?

Explanation:

  • The answer is unique and clear, unless you try hard to stretch the rules that are explained in the following lines.
  • contains letters YHVH = contains those 4 letters (in some order) and some other letters (in some order)
  • the word must not contain any special symbols (like hyphens) nor blanks
  • "everyday English word" = contained in this form as the main entry in most/all the standard dictionaries
  • in particular adverbs like overthoughtfully, overchildishly, thievishly do not count as they are not the main entry
  • in particular words like vasorrhaphy, orthoveratraldehyde, phosphorylative do not count as they are not everyday words
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    $\begingroup$ -1 "Standard dictionaries" in not specific at all, and the rules seem to keep changing once people find words that aren't the one the OP was thinking of. $\endgroup$
    – Set Big O
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:20
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    $\begingroup$ @Geobits I'm not sure if he's moving the goalposts or painting the target, but whatever it is, it's annoying. $\endgroup$
    – KSmarts
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:24
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    $\begingroup$ Grepping /usr/share/dict shows 19 words with those letters, of which at least four currently meet your ever-narrowing definition. $\endgroup$
    – Kevin
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:33
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    $\begingroup$ N.b. my favorite is 'everywhither'. $\endgroup$
    – Kevin
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:34
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    $\begingroup$ "The answer is unique and clear (unless you try hard to stretch the rules)" Actually, the answer is not unique unless you keep changing the rules to exclude unwanted answers, as your seven-and-counting narrowing edits make clear. $\endgroup$
    – KSmarts
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 18:12

4 Answers 4

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How about heavyweight? I'm still confused on how this is a puzzle.

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There does not appear to be a unique answer.

Possible answers include heavyweight, thievishly, and heavyhearted.

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    $\begingroup$ "Thievishly" does appear in dictionaries, just not as a main entry. That's like ruling out plurals or tenses. $\endgroup$
    – Set Big O
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 16:55
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    $\begingroup$ @Haobin Merriam-Webster has "heavyhearted" without a hyphen. And while "thievish" is the main entry, it also contains the adverbial form "thievishly". $\endgroup$
    – KSmarts
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 16:55
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    $\begingroup$ @Haobin Making people guess what dictionaries you're using isn't normally a good idea. $\endgroup$
    – Set Big O
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:02
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    $\begingroup$ @Haobin Which was fine under the original question. It is only disallowed because you edited the question to exclude it. You're moving the goalposts. $\endgroup$
    – KSmarts
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:19
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    $\begingroup$ @Haobin, The OED (which is the authoritative dictionary for British English) has main entry "Thievishly, adv.: In a thievish manner; as a thief; furtively, by stealth." "thievishly, adv." OED Online. Oxford University Press, December 2014. Web. 10 February 2015. $\endgroup$
    – A E
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 18:12
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Except the answers already provided, 2 other words I found are:

  • superheavyweight
  • phosphorylative
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    $\begingroup$ phosphorylative might not be, however superheavyweight is. I have checked up superheavyweight in a couple of dictionaries I have. $\endgroup$
    – The Dragonista
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:14
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    $\begingroup$ Superheavyweight is in Merriam-Webster, Collins, and Oxford at the least. $\endgroup$
    – Set Big O
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:15
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    $\begingroup$ Oxford and Collins are the ones I have! :P $\endgroup$
    – The Dragonista
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:18
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    $\begingroup$ In your other comment you said to check 4-5. I checked 5, and it's there in most (60%) of them, just as you specified. $\endgroup$
    – Set Big O
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 17:22
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    $\begingroup$ It should be, but the OP seems to think that any answer other than the intended one is somehow cheating, and that the number of alternate answers reveals a bunch of cheaters, rather than a poor question. $\endgroup$
    – KSmarts
    Commented Feb 10, 2015 at 18:14
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Here are some more to contribute to the holes:

  • everywhither
  • heavy-handed
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