Questions tagged [word-games]
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20
questions
2
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1answer
49 views
Are there English contrepèteries apart from this one ? [duplicate]
Do you know the difference between a nun in a church and a nun in a bath ?
This sounds as a nun joke, it is not.
Well, in church her soul is full of hope...
Then you let your audience figure out ...
0
votes
1answer
59 views
Láska skala - English word play exists? [closed]
In Slovak language there are these two words:
láska (love) and skala (rock)
If you keep repeating any of above words, it kind of merges into another one, e.g.:
la[skala][skala]ska...
ska[laska][...
1
vote
1answer
359 views
What is this pencil-and-paper game called in English? [closed]
What's the name of the following children's game in English?
It's a pencil and paper game whose players try to find, in writing and in a limited time, the words that begin with the same letter in the ...
4
votes
3answers
641 views
Longest Phrasal Verb?
In terms of word count, what is the longest phrasal verb in the language? (The longest that I can think of is only three words long, but there must be longer ones, right?)
Take "bend over backward" ...
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Is there a well-known term for the synonym or near-synonym “telescoping” words?
This has been rattling around in the back of my mind for many years (way before Stack Exchange came into existence), so it's a relief to finally ask the question.
There are words that can be "...
1
vote
0answers
64 views
Same word multiple times in a row - longest? [duplicate]
Examples:
Thanks for painting my pub sign, but could you increase the size of the spaces between Bull and "and" and "and" and Bush?
All the faith he had had had had no effect on the outcome of his ...
2
votes
2answers
806 views
Two or more words with the same plural
Let a multiplural be a word that has more than one singular form with different meanings. For example, AXES is the plural of both AX and AXIS and so is a multiplural. I have found these multiplurals:
...
1
vote
2answers
422 views
Relationship words for a 'Semantic Network' and also a Sentence Dilemma
The two sentences below are for a user input form for a semantic network. It is a standard, HTML-based form with two drop down menus (the square brackets represent the drop-down menus). Users use the ...
106
votes
9answers
11k views
Is there a word for a person with only one head?
Reading this article by the fantastic Douglas Adams I came across this interesting quote:
‘[I]nteractivity’ is one of those neologisms that Mr Humphrys likes to dangle between a pair of verbal ...
10
votes
3answers
3k views
Rime of the Ancient Mariner?
I recently read the beautiful poem by Samuel Coleridge. Why did he call it a rime? I looked up rime on the dictionary, and it means a thin layer of ice; so was the name playing around with the rhyme ...
17
votes
2answers
3k views
“Some champagne for my real friends, some real pain for my sham friends.”
Some champagne for my real friend, some real pain for my sham friends."
Is there a name for this kind of sentence?
Note: I'm not sure the origin of this, but it is a line in Spike Lee's movie, 25th ...
4
votes
3answers
21k views
Words whose pronunciation remains the same with the last four letters removed
A friend told me that the English word queue is the only word whose pronunciation remains the same when the last four letters are removed.
I tried to think of others, but just couldn't. However, I ...
7
votes
7answers
2k views
Matryoshka words
Since it's Friday and others are playing games, here's another one to take us into the weekend.
Everyone knows about those Russian nesting dolls (called matryoshka dolls, I believe). A small doll ...
11
votes
4answers
32k views
What word contains the most unique letters?
I'm assuming there isn't a word that contains every letter in the alphabet, so which word contains the most?
Examples:
antidisestablishmentarianism - 12 [antidseblhmr]
psychotherapy - 12 [...
2
votes
6answers
75k views
What is the longest English word that starts and ends with the same letter?
I've found "enterprise", which is 10 letters long. Does anyone know of any longer words that start and end with the same letter?
That letter doesn't have to be 'e', by the way. It just means that the ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
What does “piracy pirates” mean?
What does the following phrase mean?
In Soviet Russia, piracy pirates YOU.
What is implied by "piracy pirates YOU" and what by "IN Soviet
Russia"?
Update 1: My difficulty was because the term "...
asked Feb 10 '11 at 13:34
Gennady Vanin Геннадий Ванин
3,64513 gold badges39 silver badges59 bronze badges
1
vote
6answers
1k views
What are games with phrases used by English speaking people?
What are word-games used by English speaking people?
Mention any!
Links to online games or descriptions are welcome!
Context of question: something similar to How would an Englishman join “Awake ...
5
votes
6answers
7k views
Simple yet interesting English game for class? [closed]
I'll be hosting an English activity this week. Could you share some interesting English games which impressed you the most?
14
votes
2answers
5k views
What's the origin of Pig Latin?
Having studied Latin at High School and not being a native English native speaker, I have trouble understanding what the point of Pig Latin is. The text transformation rules, indeed, bring to ...
16
votes
4answers
10k views
English term for a word that differs from another one by just one letter
When I was a child, pretty much every children's magazine I subscribed to used to publish those little word-chain games where you had to get from one word to another — often an antonym — by replacing ...
