Questions tagged [language]
A puzzle that heavily depends on linguistic features; for instance it may concern foreign languages, or only work in some particular language, or be built around a peculiarity of the English language.
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Piece de Resistance - Five Flowers with One Missing
Five - Flowers with One Missing
This puzzle is part of the "Piece de Resistance" series. Go back to Part 1 (Ace) for the story.Ace Two Three Four Five ...
Removing the silver matter, you see ...
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The hangman game backward
So, @JLee has posted a hangman game (Hangman- No misses left) on SE. I would like to create one too, but let's do it backward - guess what was the question, with only 1 letter missing:
fill in an "a"...
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Alphabet splitting extraordinaire!
Here are three ways of splitting the letters of the English alphabet into two groups:
1) ABDOPQR; CEFGHIJKLMNSTUVWXYZ
2) BCDGJOPQRSU; AEFHIKLMNTVWXYZ
3) DFHIJLNOPRTUVXYZ; ABCEGKMQSW
In each case, ...
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votes
19
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Growing anagrams - What is the longest possible list forming a sentence? [closed]
This is a challenge for word-puzzle lovers. It might be a bit more of a game than a puzzle, but I think it is not limitless in it's answers, so a final answer could be found (eventually).
What is the ...
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Hearken, now, and listen close!
Hearken, now, and listen close; I have so much to tell.
Now lend an ear and do your job; you surely will excel.
To find my hidden message, gaze on every word herein.
While skimming through it ...
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3
votes
3
answers
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Make a sentence with the most different uses of the same word [closed]
Background
I recently stumbled across the following grammatically correct sentence:
Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.
This sentence relies on the fact that the ...
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votes
4
answers
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A seven letter word - the meaning doesn't change if you remove letters
I am a seven letter word. If you remove one letter from me my meaning does not change. If you remove two letters from me my meaning still does not change, and if you remove three letters from me, my ...
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The hangman game backward #2
Hangman game backward version 2 - guess what was the question, with only 1 letter missing:
fill in a "b" - I might lose control anytime, so keep me on my toes.
fill in an "m" - my brothers are all ...
- 8,566
21
votes
11
answers
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What's wrong with this line in a baking recipe book?
A cookie-baking recipe book (this one, specifically) has the following instruction in it, which is incorrect in a single spot:
If you have a fan-assisted oven, you will need to reduce the recipe ...
user88
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What is a Veteran Word™?
If a word conforms to a certain rule, I call it a Veteran Word™.
Use the following examples below to find the rule:
Here is a CSV version:
Veteran WordsTM, Not Veteran WordsTM
AGENT, ASSISTANT*
...
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votes
6
answers
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Word sets with no repeating letters
I know a set of six 4-letter words without repeating a letter (i.e. using 24 different letters).
Here is an example:
Are there sets of words with no repeated letters and having
four 6-letter words?
...
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votes
1
answer
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A-maze-ing Wordsearch
This is an entry to the 12th fortnightly challenge
You and your party realize that you possibly shouldn't have crossed the mad wizard at the black tower when all your vision goes pink and pale. When ...
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The lamest rhyme I ever wrote
The lamest rhyme I ever wrote
Was one involving Don Quixote.
No, wait, a lamer one than that,
The famous movie Chocolat.
But maybe even lamer still,
The butchering of "centre-ville".
And ...
user88
28
votes
1
answer
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PSE Advent Calendar 2021 (Day 11): What Child – Er, Game Is This?
This puzzle is part of the Puzzling StackExchange Advent Calendar 2021. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door >
I. The story
...
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26
votes
1
answer
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A Cryptic Crossword in Indonesian Language (TTS Kriptik Bahasa Indonesia)
The cryptic crosswords are actually new for me and I even struggled to solve one as English is not my first language. So I decided to look for a cryptic crossword in my language, Indonesian... And I ...
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A grammatically valid sentence in English containing seven "that"'s in a row?
About 20 years ago on a forum now long gone, someone posted the above question. After people had had a chance to try it, he also posted the answer. I no longer remember the answer but really wish I ...
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8
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Longest Word With *Only* Repeating Character Pairs [closed]
Inspired by and Opposite of: Longest Word without repeating character-pairs
The challenge is to find an English word in which every character pair appears at least twice. ("Word" does not include ...
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15
votes
1
answer
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PSE Advent Calendar 2022 (Day 9): International Christmas Crossword
This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2022. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door >
Languages
...
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votes
1
answer
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PSE Advent Calendar 2022 (Day 21): Color of the Bells
This puzzle is part of the Puzzling Stack Exchange Advent Calendar 2022. The accepted answer to this question will be awarded a bounty worth 50 reputation.< Previous Door Next Door >
A Motley ...
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votes
1
answer
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What is a Sound 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 certain rule, I call it a Sound Word™.
Use the ...
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votes
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answers
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3 = 6 ? Another non math question. Another Grandpa Mystery
Now I know Grandpa asks silly questions all the time.
He says to me:
"Son, this is based on my personal experience.
I was with a friend today. He made a gesture. By making this gesture he ...
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votes
1
answer
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Monoalphabetic Equation
A set of letters has been replaced by $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$.
Following are some of the words that consist of those letters, and their meaning:
$abc = a\ title\ (n.)$
$abcd = a\ title\ > abc\ (n.),...
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votes
2
answers
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Word connection squares!
This puzzle is in the spirit of Word connections, but is a more elaborate version of the same idea.
In each puzzle, you have a square of seven words of the following form:
...
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votes
8
answers
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Words with most and fewest syllables for given length?
What is the greatest and least number of syllables that a word of a given length can have?
More precisely, for each word length from 1 letter to 20 letters, find words of that length containing as ...
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votes
9
answers
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Multilanguage generalization of "What number is that? Asks Grandpa"
This is a multilingual generalized follow-on to "What number is that? Asks Grandpa", which I restate as:
"What is the smallest positive English integer N, for which if you take its WORD anagram and ...
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votes
1
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Michel's cryptic kana
My friend Michel is at it again. Today I found this email in my inbox:
Subject: おいじゃくしゃあむう いみしゃあ りょん ぎをえしゃきょお
てば おんない あきわんのんこお しいしゅう ぞびいけえ るう りゃいじい るう りょん わぐ えきゃ。お うてにょいつ うた ごりゅえや ごんをいれんや ううせえにょうさいじゃ ...
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votes
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answer
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4
votes
4
answers
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Word connections
I am trying a new kind of puzzle so feel free to leave constructive comments and opinions! Thank you!
The objective of this puzzle is to connect 2 words by using a chain of words that connects each ...
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votes
1
answer
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What English word is always spelled incorrectly? [closed]
What word in the English language is always spelled incorrectly?
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9
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An untouchable time traveller
I'm needed by a doctor to travel through time,
Or a player looking for their keys.
When on the plane where the great answer resides,
I'm part of the whole Strategy.
I can be found in a ...
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And and... and. And.?
This is a cool riddle, which my Maths teacher taught our class, 25 years ago. I still remember it and find it very cool.
Can you create a perfectly valid English sentence, which makes perfect sense, ...
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votes
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Equine musicians?
What is interesting about the following sentence?
"Furiously, in back of shut portals, one in four silvery equids is only hiding many extra tidings of meadows, somewhat more craftily than normal," ...
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votes
8
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Headless horseman claims new head
Solve the clues and fit the answers into the grid so that each of the coloured squares contains exactly four different letters.
Sahara desert capitals of historically African region in ...
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Real life puzzle: Unknown alphabet or shorthand
User JellicleCat posted this on linguistics stackexhange a few years ago. None of us were able to come up with a satisfying answer but most seemed to agree that it was an idiosyncratic cipher or ...
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Breaking up is fun to do
A quick one for language fortnight.
A few days ago, my girlfriend broke up with me. We were never really right for one another, and I knew it was coming, but of course it still stung a bit. And ...
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This one is about YOU! (and other things)
This first one is just you plus...
...dwarfs in Snow White,
...bits in a byte,
...tripod's upright,
...and a number that is quite lucky at least in my opinion.
Then there's you plus...
...
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votes
1
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What will the Frenchman say?
An Englishman, a Frenchman and a German are speaking.
First the Englishman says : "M".
Then the Frenchman says : "M" as well.
And the German also says : "M".
They all agree and decide to ...
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votes
8
answers
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Craft the longest Scrabble sentence [closed]
This is another challenge along the same vein as similar challenges that have shown up on this site, requiring the puzzle to craft the longest possible sentence given a specific requirement.
What is ...
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3
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Too Many Damn Buffalos [closed]
"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo"
The sentence above is an actual sentence which makes perfect sense and is not wrong.
The word "Buffalo" has three meanings:
...
19
votes
1
answer
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Anyone Seen My Snorkel?
This is part 54 of the puzzle series Around the World in Many Days. Each part is solvable on its own.
mqoı ugw7qж ,
zqv qw o h6ım v6ınɔ ugwo7 | zo 78վn £þxm εıqm conxnøqxw v8կox h6ımw , დnɔ þn 7დvn ...
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votes
3
answers
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Linguistics: Japanese Squares
These are the squares from 1 to 100 in Japanese kanji:
百、六十四、十六、九、八十一、三十六、四、一、二十五、四十九
Which is which?
If you already know Japanese/Chinese numbers, then sorry, this puzzle is not for you. Needless ...
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votes
1
answer
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Monoalphabetic Geometry
This is a second puzzle from the Monoalphabetic Equation series, you can check out the previous one here.
A set of letters has been replaced by $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$ and one symbol has been replaced ...
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17
votes
2
answers
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A deeper phrase of the linking tongue - a Quest through the Mind of a Respected Madman
These words! --they come falling free;
speech: daft here, deft there,
in that old, linking tongue.
We take these precious signs and tones,
play them on our organs grand,
sing them in our voices ...
user20
17
votes
2
answers
859
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Symmetries – a Quadritaisho puzzle
This is part 43 of the puzzle series Around the World in Many Days. Each part is solvable on its own.
Dear Puzzling,
This is a Quadritaisho puzzle. Divide the grid into rooms by drawing borders along ...
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1
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Two lists of favorite words
My great aunt Edith keeps this list of her favorite words tacked on the refrigerator:
Atlas
Chance
Detail
Frost
Hand
Magnet
Orange
Ring
Sand
Tiger
Winter
Wolf
My great uncle ...
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2
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On The Subject of Regular Crazy Talk
(This is part of a series of puzzles written for Timwi for a Secret Santa puzzle exchange, themed around various custom modules for the game Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes. No KTaNE knowledge is ...
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Help me with our discovery!
Recently, the grandfather of one of my friends died, and I helped him clean up the storage room he used. We found a lot of cool stuff there (well, he was alive during the occupation time in the second ...
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The Hangman Game Backwards Again
It's been a while since one of these puzzles (created by Alex, see here for the first) has shown up, and I thought some might enjoy another one.
fill in an "n" - You don't need to throw me out into ...
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Shortest sentence with two auto-antonyms [closed]
You have to use two words that are each their own opposite (auto-antonyms, contronyms, contranyms or whatever you want to call it) in the same sentence. This means that each of the two words in used ...
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