Questions tagged [english]
Puzzles that crucially depend on some feature of the English language or that only work in an English formulation.
405
questions
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What is a Dual Word?
This puzzle is based off the What is a Word™ series started by JLee
If a word satisfies a certain property it is called a Dual Word. Here are some examples:
Dual Words
Not Dual Words
BARRED
BANNED
...
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3
votes
1
answer
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A count's aunt goes to auditory specialist because of hearing issues [10], cryptic crossword clue
A single cryptic type cross word clue...
A count's aunt goes to auditory specialist because of hearing issues. [10]
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4
votes
1
answer
154
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Spie? Cryptic crossword clue
Cryptic crossword type clue
Spie? (5,4)
This is meant to be a clue that could appear in a cryptic crossword.
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1
vote
2
answers
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What's the minimum number of five letter words that form a haiku, if it's possible at all?
Inspired by Wordle, I wondered if it's possible to have a Wordle game that forms a haiku? The question is in two parts:
Is it possible to form a Haiku using only five letter English words (e.g. using ...
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4
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Riddle - Name the Bee [closed]
What is the name of the Bee, Which flew all over the United States in its lifetime?
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2
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FIND 4 sets of 5-letter words using these non-repeating letters: [closed]
Find 4 sets of 5-letter words using these non-repeating letters:
N, C, A, V, M, S, E, Y, U, R, O, F, G, T, I, L, H, K, P, D
5
votes
3
answers
315
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Making multiple sentences out of 5 words [closed]
Given below are four or five letter english words. Total 5.
Using all the 5 words exactly once, can you make at least 8
grammatically correct english sentences?
M___
C___
T___
B___
N___
You can use ...
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36
votes
1
answer
3k
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Imagine a chess board, but seven-eighths wide
My grandfather wrote me this riddle on a napkin when I was 12. It took me more than a year to solve, but I got it eventually. He said I didn't get it until I had explained the sections, so explain ...
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10
votes
3
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A pointless riddle
Please explain all lines.
I may seem small and useless
Several letters but less than one
In fact I am not here, not at all
But I am near; up above.
Good James made me famous
So when he humbles ...
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9
votes
1
answer
368
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Doubling Down - When a Good Idea Goes Bad
(Please note that this story is a work of fiction spun for the sake of the puzzle. It is based on little actual fact.)
Back in the early 1940's, in the dead center of WWII, there was a bit of a ...
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9
votes
6
answers
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Just this puzzle (notes on the fridge)
Found some notes scrawled on the fridge. What was I struggling with?
Anger? Bother? Chafe?
Destroy? Eradicate? Forget?
Garden? Herb? Ingredient?
Just this puzzle?
Word tag - the answer is a word or ...
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14
votes
1
answer
2k
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A strange number pattern, isn't it?
This looks like a strange number sequence to me. Or is it?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 25 27 28 29
30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 ? ? ? ? ?
So what are ...
- 38.8k
4
votes
1
answer
70
views
Three More Adjacent Riddles ("this place of beauty")
(As before, the puzzle only makes sense/has a unique answer as a whole, but "easy ins" have been strategically placed.). Please explain every line rather than just the final 3 answers.
I and ...
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12
votes
1
answer
280
views
2
votes
2
answers
251
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Three Adjacent Riddles
When I am two
There is an
Irrelevant
Announcement
Of surprise, with uff
For I am really six or thirteen.
When the sun rises
Over this eastern shore
Hesitating briefly
Before quickly passing this small ...
- 12.8k
10
votes
1
answer
578
views
Four games played on a table
Four well-known games (using American rules/gameplay) are being played on a table...
What is the game? What is the table? (Bonus: find a sugar)
noses, pons, cons, transit, worries, postbase, embrown
...
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6
votes
2
answers
553
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Five words, Five vowels, Five last names
These five words are from the Collins English Dictionary.
Are also last names,
And have one vowel difference in exact same location and same
consonants in exact same locations.
Example : Last Lest ...
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votes
1
answer
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views
English word with the longest sequence of non-vowels
Challenge Find all English words that contains at least 9 non-vowels consecutively.
Rules
Definition of vowel: For the purposes of this puzzle, the only vowels are A, E, I, O, U.
Non- vowels are all ...
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18
votes
1
answer
1k
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Describe your ability to solve this number sequence!
Here is a sequence of numbers:
0, 2, 4, 6, 8, -, -, -, 10, 12
Can you fill in the three blanks and thus reveal your excellent puzzle-solving ability?
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6
votes
1
answer
274
views
What is a Compound Word™?
In the spirit of the What is a Word™/Phrase™ series started by JLee, a special brand of Phrase™ and Word™ puzzles.
If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it a Compound Word™.
Use the examples ...
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16
votes
1
answer
469
views
Interrupting your day to bring you a puzzle
Please explain the following math.
To start, here are some basic relationships - creative thinking may help (or not)
1) p < c < h < n1 <= n2
The pipe symbol is used as shorthand for ...
- 12.8k
9
votes
2
answers
562
views
Don't take these too literally (A British sensation)
Don't take these too literally.
Homophones and other liberties are taken.
My prefix is
My prefix is found at a funeral
My infix at any salon
My suffix is found at a table
My whole is just three ...
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14
votes
1
answer
740
views
We Need to Extract Frank’s Site Rankings
I asked my friend Frank to rank his favorite Stack Exchange sites from 1 (favorite) to 10 (least favorite).
This is the feedback he left, but I got them a little mixed up and don’t know which he ...
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3
votes
2
answers
533
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Eduardo's Krazy English Kwiz
Eduardo is having a dream the night before his English quiz. Actually it's a nightmare. His teacher hands him the quiz and says "Hello, Eduardo. To wake up confident and rested, just answer this ...
- 155
1
vote
1
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Words with dual and opposing meanings
What is the word in each case?
I can attach or cut.
I can be virtual or real.
I can approve or penalize.
I can separate or entangle.
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3
votes
2
answers
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No Sound in Space
I hear there is no sound in space.
But you are not in space so should have no trouble solving these.
(These are related/themed cryptic clues, more or less. They may or may not be valid or fair, in the ...
- 12.8k
1
vote
1
answer
518
views
What is a Sharp Word?
(Based off and inspired by JLee's What is a Word™ puzzles)
What Is A Sharp Word?
Word that conform to a specific rule are called sharp words.
Here are some examples:
Sharp Words™
Non-Sharp Words™
...
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2
votes
1
answer
235
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What is a Late Word?
(Based off and inspired by JLee's What is a Word™ puzzles)
What Is A Late Word?
Word that conform to a specific rule are called late words.
Here are some examples:
Late Words™
Non-Late Words™
...
- 587
10
votes
1
answer
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What is a Mediocre Word™?
This puzzle is based off and inspired by the What is a Word™ and What is a Phrase™ series started by JLee and their spin-off What is a Number™ series.
Main puzzle:
If a word conforms to a special ...
- 953
3
votes
2
answers
275
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Country Outliers
You are given a note from a language nerd, which is:
If Japan is 239,
Then Germany is 4.
Greece is 14,
While Italy is 3.
Now, Philippines has 412.
But Norway has 2357!
Now you are given 3 questions:
...
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-3
votes
1
answer
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What is a Number Word™?
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 Number Word™.
Use the ...
- 1,230
6
votes
1
answer
237
views
Hangman: Reverse Edition
Put a P, then Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva will turn a goddess into this.
Put an R, you speak it more than writing it.
Put a T, I become e-learning.
Put a G, then I become a floor.
If you're new to ...
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12
votes
1
answer
552
views
AnaCross: A crossword made of anagrams
This is a new type of puzzle I've devised: the AnaCross. Nothing new under the sun and all, I'm sure someone has made one before, but I've never seen it.
The rules are pretty simple. At the end of ...
- 3,909
4
votes
2
answers
303
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Mathematics for the English major
An entry in Fortnightly Topic Challenge #48: Unusual tag mix
I was looking at the unusual tag mixes post, and one of the ones listed is combinatorics and english. I thought "who's going to be ...
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7
votes
4
answers
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Who is Mr. T and where does he work?
Update:
To encourage completion of this puzzle, I've added spoilers to indicate any correct or incorrect answers so far. Also, it's possible to work on Part 2 while Part 1 is incomplete or partly ...
- 5,630
8
votes
3
answers
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With a little effort, one can prevail
What is common between the following words and names?
(Inspired by this except that I actually know the answer to this one)
Defeat
Kleenex?
Guanaco
Nerdiest
Sardar
Ian McKellen
Dingo
Gun
Diablo
...
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17
votes
6
answers
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Largest set of words that don’t share letters [closed]
For instance,
banana, excess, giggit, voodoo, pullup, myrrhy
are six six-letter words that don’t share any letters with each other. This isn’t a heterogram puzzle: repeated letters within a single ...
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0
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4
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mmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ...
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votes
2
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The Popular Letter Chessboard
You are given a Chess board with black and white squares.
You must fill your Chess board with Merriam Webster English words, or other equivalent dictionnaries if you prefer such that each square ...
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2
votes
1
answer
89
views
Just a Normal Word
I am a word you see every day,
I rhyme with conspicuous,
I am an adjective,
I actually sound a bit like the word biscuit,
Just a bit.
I love eating pizza,
Or you can call someone who does that,
Me.
user69881
4
votes
1
answer
123
views
Hidden words in sentences
There is one word hidden in each of these sentences, what are they related to?
I held the food to my lips.
The den in the jungle lives the lion.
High-quality biscuits are frequently requested.
Most ...
- 2,269
3
votes
1
answer
155
views
Wordmorphs IN SPACE!
The year is 21XX. Space tourism is easy and affordable. You decide to spend your next vacation hopping from planet to planet, hanging out with aliens and so forth. To that end, you rent a WordMorphian ...
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23
votes
0
answers
2k
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CSE Hex Cube Puzzle
I've been tackling this puzzle named "Hex Cube" from the CSE (Communications Security Establishment, the Canadian "equivalent" of the NSA) which comes with the instructions: "...
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1
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1
answer
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views
My prefix is myself
My prefix is myself,
My suffix comes second in competitions,
My infix is two mountains side by side,
I am a competition.
- 5,520
7
votes
1
answer
215
views
What is a Parallel Word™?
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 Parallel Word™.
Use the ...
- 12.6k
5
votes
1
answer
426
views
9
votes
1
answer
375
views
23
votes
7
answers
4k
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Spelling Bee Bee Bee
I once attended an English-language spelling bee where a speller, during her turn, repeated the same letter three times in a row, and she was judged to be correct. She spelled the word perfectly, ...
- 5,630
2
votes
1
answer
91
views
What order to they go?
Below is a list of clues, in no particular order:
Home
Forever
At 7:00 PM
Frequently
Annoyingly
Speedily
One order is the correct order. What is this order, and why is it the "correct" ...
- 319
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votes
2
answers
483
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What is a Foldable Word™?
In the spirit of the What is a Word™/Phrase™ series started by JLee
If a word conforms to a special rule, I call it a Foldable Word™.
Use the examples below to find the rule.
$$
% set Title text. (...
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