# What is a Computer Phrase™?

In the spirit of the What is a Word™/Phrase™ series started by JLee, a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles.

If a phrase conforms to a special rule, I call it a Computer Phrase™. Use the examples below to find the rule.

$$\begin{gather*} % set Title text. (spaces around the text ARE important; do not remove.) % increase Pad value only if your entries are longer than the title bar. % \def\Pad{\P{0.0}} \def\Title{\color{#009900}{\textbf{ Computer }}} % \def\S#1#2{\Space{#1}{20px}{#2px}}\def\P#1{\V{#1em}}\ \def\V#1{\S{#1}{9}} \def\T{\ \Title\textbf{Phrases}^™\ \Pad}\def\NT{\Pad\textbf{ Not}\T\ }\displaystyle \smash{\lower{29px}\bbox[#dedede]{\phantom{\rlap{rubio.2017.02.04}\S{148px}{0} \begin{array}{cc}\Pad\ \T&\NT\ \\\end{array}}}}\atop\def\V#1{\S{#1}{5}} \begin{array}{|c|c|}\hline\Pad\T&\NT\\\hline % \text{ VERY FUN DAY }&\text{ TRULY BORING DAY }\\ \hline \text{ SOME ZIPPED UP DISK DRIVES }&\text{ A CIRCUIT BOARD }\\ \hline \text{ KILL A FLY }&\text{ CATCH A BUTTERFLY }\\ \hline \text{ IN YOUR FACE! }&\text{ IN HIS FACE! }\\ \hline \text{ GO LAY HOLD }&\text{ GO LIE DOWN }\\ \hline \text{ A HIGH SCHOOL BOY }&\text{ A HARD SCHOOL DAY }\\ \hline \text{ IT CAN BE GOOD FOR HER }&\text{ THAT MAY BE GOOD FOR HIM }\\ \hline \text{ THE EMAIL LIST }&\text{ THE PHONE BOOK }\\ \hline \text{ HEY HEY! }&\text{ HELLO HELLO! }\\ \hline \text{ DID MY JACKET GET BLOODY? }&\text{ A BAT EARED FOX }\\ \hline \text{ IN THE DARK HOUR }&\text{ IN THE DARKEST HOUR }\\ \hline \end{array} \end{gather*}$$

CSV version:

Computer Phrases™,          Not Computer Phrases™
VERY FUN DAY,               TRULY BORING DAY
SOME ZIPPED UP DISK DRIVES, A CIRCUIT BOARD
KILL A FLY,                 CATCH A BUTTERFLY
IN YOUR FACE!,              IN HIS FACE!
GO LAY HOLD,                GO LIE DOWN
A HIGH SCHOOL BOY,          A HARD SCHOOL DAY
IT CAN BE GOOD FOR HER,     THAT MAY BE GOOD FOR HIM
THE EMAIL LIST,             THE PHONE BOOK
HEY HEY!,                   HELLO HELLO!
DID MY JACKET GET BLOODY?,  A BAT EARED FOX
IN THE DARK HOUR,           IN THE DARKEST HOUR

The puzzle satisfies the series' inbuilt assumption that each phrase can be tested for whether it is a Computer Phrase™ without relying on the other phrases. These are not the only examples of Computer Phrases™; many more exist.

What is the special rule these phrases conform to?

Hint:

One word from each phrase is extra and can be removed.

Hint 2:

Some numbers are special to Computer Scientists and are relevant in this puzzle.

Hint 3:

The first word from each phrase can be ignored.

• I can't shake the suspicion that this has something to do with rot13(Xensgjrex). – F1Krazy May 7 '20 at 12:45
• What? The electronic band??? – William Pennanti May 7 '20 at 18:45
• Does it relates to the keyboard? – Culver Kwan May 8 '20 at 6:34
• @CulverKwan Added hints. Keyboard is not related. – DenverCoder1 May 8 '20 at 8:26

My guess:

A Computer Phrase™ is a phrase that the A1Z26 of the first letters of the words concatenated(excluding the first word) equals 2 to the power of the sum of the length of the words(excluding the first word).

Explanation:

For the Computer Phrases™:

VERY FUN DAY -> F, D -> 6-4 -> 2**6, "FUN DAY" has 6 letters
SOME ZIPPED UP DISK DRIVES -> Z, U, D, D -> 26-21-4-4 -> 2**18, "ZIPPED UP DISK DRIVES" has 18 letters
KILL A FLY -> A, F -> 1-6 -> 2**4, "A FLY" has 4 letters
IN YOUR FACE! -> Y, F -> 25-6 -> 2**8, "YOUR FACE" has 8 letters
GO LAY HOLD -> L, H -> 12-8 -> 2**7, "LAY HOLD" has 7 letters
A HIGH SCHOOL BOY -> H, S, B -> 8-19-2 -> 2**13, "HIGH SCHOOL BOY" has 13 letters
IT CAN BE GOOD FOR HER -> C, B, G, F, H -> 3-2-7-6-8 -> 2**15, "CAN BE GOOD FOR HER" has 15 letters
THE EMAIL LIST -> E, L -> 5-12 -> 2**9, "EMAIL LIST" has 9 letters
HEY HEY! -> H -> 8 -> 2**3, "HEY" has 3 letters
DID MY JACKET GET BLOODY? -> M, J, G, B -> 13-10-7-2 -> 2**17, "MY JACKET GET BLOODY" has 17 letters
IN THE DARK HOUR -> T, D, H -> 20-4-8 -> 2**11, "THE DARK HOUR" has 11 letters

For the Non-Computer Phrases™:

TRULY BORING DAY -> B, D -> 2-4
A CIRCUIT BOARD -> C, B -> 3-2 -> 2**5, but "CIRCUIT BOARD" has 12 letters
CATCH A BUTTERFLY -> A, B -> 1-2
IN HIS FACE! -> H, F -> 8-6
GO LIE DOWN -> L, D -> 12-4
A HARD SCHOOL DAY -> H, S, D -> 8-19-4
THAT MAY BE GOOD FOR HIM -> M, B, G, F, H -> 13-2-7-6-8
THE PHONE BOOK -> P, B -> 16-2
HELLO HELLO! -> H -> 8 -> 2**3, but "HELLO" has 5 letters
A BAT EARED FOX -> B, E, F -> 2-5-6 -> 2**8, but "BAT EARED FOX" has 11 letters
IN THE DARKEST HOUR -> T, D, H -> 20-4-8 -> 2**11, but "THE DARKEST HOUR" has 14 letters

It is called Computer Phrases™ because:

Binary is important for computers.