Questions tagged [english]
Puzzles that crucially depend on some feature of the English language or that only work in an English formulation.
390
questions
-4
votes
1answer
114 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 ...
-1
votes
0answers
72 views
A weasely reverse puzzler! [closed]
I recently for no special reason at all, got the old nursery rhyme in my head:
"Half a pound of tuppenny riceHalf a pound of treacle.That's the way the money goesPop goes the weasel"
I ...
18
votes
1answer
1k views
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?
6
votes
1answer
241 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 ...
16
votes
1answer
456 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 ...
9
votes
2answers
527 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 ...
13
votes
1answer
727 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 ...
3
votes
2answers
524 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
138 views
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.
3
votes
2answers
718 views
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 ...
1
vote
1answer
494 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™
...
2
votes
1answer
214 views
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™
...
10
votes
1answer
1k views
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 ...
1
vote
0answers
128 views
X marks the spot
The words bellow are in hierarchical order based on their relation to a word. Apex is the most elite one.
apex
fix
mix
sex
What is the related word and why?
3
votes
2answers
273 views
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:
...
-3
votes
1answer
99 views
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 ...
6
votes
1answer
231 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 ...
12
votes
1answer
496 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 ...
4
votes
2answers
299 views
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 ...
3
votes
3answers
192 views
Who is Mr. T and where does he work?
Part 1:
Write each answer as ONEWORD, without spaces, punctuation or abbreviating. Some questions may have more than one answer when taken alone, but only certain answers will work with respect to the ...
8
votes
3answers
401 views
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
...
17
votes
6answers
1k views
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 ...
-5
votes
3answers
707 views
mmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
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 ...
2
votes
1answer
88 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.
4
votes
1answer
117 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 ...
3
votes
1answer
148 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 ...
23
votes
0answers
2k views
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: "...
2
votes
1answer
110 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.
7
votes
1answer
198 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 ...
5
votes
1answer
396 views
9
votes
1answer
373 views
23
votes
7answers
4k views
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, ...
2
votes
1answer
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" ...
13
votes
2answers
471 views
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. (...
9
votes
3answers
362 views
Food containing its reverse
When forwards,
I am a type of food.
When backwards,
I am something contained within the food.
What am I?
18
votes
1answer
803 views
What gets past the bluegrass bulge?
Sort of in the style of that old classic, ‘What goes through the green glass door?’
What gets past the bluegrass bulge?
Blue does, but green doesn’t.
Grass does, but glaze doesn’t.
Bulge does, but ...
6
votes
1answer
161 views
My first attempt at a Vowelburger™ puzzle
You can find the other Vowelburger™ Riddles here
I ordered 9 Vowelburgers™ with buns and meat at the linguistic restaurant - help me identify each one from the description on the menu!
Meat
...
3
votes
1answer
112 views
Another phonetic Vowelburger™ Riddle
You can find the other Vowelburger™ Riddles here
I ordered 7 Vowelburgers™ with buns and meat only at the linguistic restaurant - help me identify each one from the description on the menu!
Meat
...
13
votes
1answer
641 views
What is a BS 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 BS Word™.
Use the ...
9
votes
1answer
276 views
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 ...
10
votes
1answer
611 views
What is a Rotting 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 Rotting Word™.
Use the ...
6
votes
1answer
193 views
Can you find the missing words?
Given that:
$
\begin{gather}
\ \text{ art}\hspace{1em}\Leftrightarrow\hspace{1em}\text{phi}
\end{gather}
$
Can you figure out the words that are missing?
$
\begin{gather}
\text{imps}\hspace{1em}...
12
votes
1answer
291 views
What is a Vowelreuben™ 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 Vowelreuben™ Word™.
Use ...
8
votes
2answers
255 views
A phonetic Vowelburger™ Riddle
You can find the other Vowelburger™ Riddles here
I ordered 5 Vowelburgers™ with buns and meat only at the linguistic restaurant - help me identify each one from the description on the menu!
The buns ...
6
votes
2answers
237 views
Can you name the Product Code™?
Given the product codes of 10 fruits and vegetables in the chart below, can you figure out the product code of Broccoli?
Fruit / Vegetable
Product Code™
Lemon
CNL
Carrot
DSB
Plum
CAC
Tomato
CME
...
12
votes
2answers
330 views
1
vote
1answer
177 views
Here is the Answer, Now Solve!
Using a certain rule, I can express "THIS PHRASE IS VALID" as "KZZK GZISKV ZK PSDZV". What is this rule, and how did I come to it?
Hint/Note: Non-native English speakers may have a more difficult ...
7
votes
2answers
331 views
What is a Plot 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 Plot Word™.
Use the ...
8
votes
1answer
316 views
What is a Baguette 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 Baguette Word™.
Use the ...
