The original Reverse Empathy thread is 4.5 years old with over 1000 posts. While it may be of historical interest, it's taking too long to download for everyday play, so let's continue in this new thread.

So far we've established they're chemical elements, but the topic is not “radioactive elements” or “elements named after ancient gods”.

1. Uranium
2. Plutonium
3. Thorium
4. Neptunium
5. Radon
6. Bismuth
7. Mercury
8. Iridium
9. Rhenium
10. Hafnium

1. Uranium
2. Plutonium
3. Thorium
4. Neptunium
5. Radon
6. Bismuth
7. Mercury
8. Iridium
9. Rhenium
10. Hafnium
11. Ytterbium
12. Thulium
13. Holmium

Chemical elements that *mostly* end in -ium? :p

14. Terbium
15. Neodymium
16. Lanthanum

I was disappointed that my Egyptian Hieroglyphic topic lasted such a short time, so I don't mind that this one's taking a while. Pretty soon I'm going to have to start giving hints.

well, they are all elements that are in the last two rows of the periodic table, but that includes more than half of all known elements, so I guess there must be something more… And since I'm no chemist, I have no idea what.

I know little or no chemistry, and it wouldn't help anyway.

1. Uranium
2. Plutonium
3. Thorium
4. Neptunium
5. Radon
6. Bismuth
7. Mercury
8. Iridium
9. Rhenium
10. Hafnium
11. Ytterbium
12. Thulium
13. Holmium
14. Terbium
15. Neodymium
16. Lanthanum
17. Xenon
18. Tellurium
19. Tin
20. Cadmium

elements with an odd number of letters in their name?

Yep

That was evil.

If you think *that* was evil, what did you think about “10-point scrabble words” not so long ago?

Well, at that time I wasn't registered on littlegolem yet, so I didn't see it, hence it never happened.

1. band
2. bread
3. free
4. egg
5. dumb
6. harm

1. band
2. bread
3. free
4. egg
5. dumb
6. harm
7. race
8. track

1. band
2. bread
3. free
4. egg
5. dumb
6. harm
7. race
8. track
9. ship
10. trek
11. nest

words where if you change one letter, it becomes another word?
(bane, breed, tree, ego, bumb, hare, face, trace, slip, tree, rest)

Doesn't that cover about 80% of english words? :p

1. band
2. bread
3. free
4. egg
5. dumb
6. harm
7. race
8. track
9. ship
10. trek
11. nest
12. soot
13. triple
14. tryst

Rhymes of body parts.

MrMoto, yes!

:)

1. Leg
2. Muscle
3. Tooth
4. Pork

1. Leg
2. Muscle
3. Tooth
4. Pork
5. Stunt
6. Weight

Things that you pull / are pulled.

Good.

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles

small mammals

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra

mammals that can't climb trees? (well, many bears can climb trees, but the rest can't)

Rats can climb trees too.

Animals you could use for the firesomething plugin?

More seriously, placental mammals?

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme

vertebrates
chordates

mammals without the letter i

most of them have at least an eye!

;-) another thought: are some animals in plural and some in singular on purpose?

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine

placental mammals?

oops.

Representatives of each of the mammal families? (although monotreme is more a family itself than a representative of a family)

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon

Animals in a folk story, legend or myth?

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon
15. nemertean

(I assume there no mythologies about nemertea :)

mammals that have more than one species? For example, black bear and grizzly bear, or plains zebra and mountain zebra, etc

never mind, ichneumon is a type of wasp….nemertean is a type or worm.

Not sure for ichneumon:

Aren't those also mammals:

“Ichneumon” is ambiguous.

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon
15. nemertean
16. sandworms

musical artists?

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus
18. steneosaurus

It seems as though these beasts are being listed in some kind of order: perhaps along an evolutionary tree or according to fossil dates.

I thought music was correct….tenrec is a band (not tenrecs). So are the monotremes, and also montreme records is a group. Ichneumon is a solo artist. And there is a band called Ichneumon Fly. I get a hit on a song by Taylor Swift called “nemerteans” but I can't seem to get any info on it. Sandworms is a FICTIONAL beast (from DUNE) and it is also the name of a band…There is an artist named Matt Costa who has an album called The Elasmosaurus E.P. The others I believe all are musical groups, too, Rat and Zebra are bands I am familiar with. The only one I could not connect with music was steneosaurus.

One hint should be that some are plural, others are not. another hint is that sandworms is fictitious. Another hint is that the words are generally getting longer and longer…

Hint: One of Ray's presumed hints is an inaccuracy. Another is a herring hooked. Another is a true hint or help.

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus
18. steneosaurus
19. saurischian
20. scolosaurus
21. aurochs
22. anaconda

I'm just guessing here, but my guess is that “sandworms is fictitious” is the alleged inaccuracy, and that “words are generally getting longer” is the red herring, which leaves music as the true hint. But I'm just guessing.

The third hint would be left as some are plural, assuming they were looking at the three in the last paragraph.

Mascots for sports teams?

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus
18. steneosaurus
19. saurischian
20. scolosaurus
21. aurochs
22. anaconda
23. roadrunner
24. rhinoceros

animals that appeared in comic strips?

more specific maybe donald duck or mikey mouse?

That isn't it…
Tangentially, neither duck nor mouse are members.

1. rat
2. mole
3. shrew
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra
12. monotreme
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus
18. steneosaurus
19. saurischian
20. scolosaurus
21. aurochs
22. anaconda
23. roadrunner
24. rhinoceros
25. marabou…but not flamingo

Animals with no letter “G” in the name!

Nor the letter “F”

can't be it: duck nor mouse are members.

hmmm…a difficult puzzle….a new hint is that Nathan has updated his list a few times recently by deleting his recent post (a privilege of members) and updating the list with new “but nots” This tells me that either the list is limited to these 28 items, or, Nathan can not think of #29….but this could be another “herring hooked” ?

I keep thinking that the members of the solution have nothing to do with the animal itself, but the word, maybe the letters, # vowels, scrabble value, or???

I am completely stumped!

The words definitely are of different scrabble value.

Could it be they are animal which are the same in english and another language, latin maybe?

Good idea, but I don't think the language thing is it.
cat and dog are felix and canus in Latin, gato and pero (sp?) in Spanish, katze and hund in German, so for those languages, there's no indication that one of them would be on topic and the other off.

I looked at qwerty keypad locations, but didn't see a distinguisher.

I would be disappointed if the criterion involves Scrabble points, as Ray already did that. Nevertheless, if they aren't all the same Scrabble value, could it be even/odd or prime/composite Scrabble value?

Taxamonialy wise, I though I was on to something with weather there were sub species/more specific types of them or not, but it didn't hold up… I have a feeling it has to do with the words, but then why are they all animals? Was that just a red herring?

The list started as all-mammals, which turned out to be a red herring. The topic could be “animal names that are X” rather than “words that are X”.

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent

I withdraw my earlier speculation that “sandworms are fictitious” was the one of Ray's statements that Nathan characterized as inaccurate. I haven't found any use of “sandworms” for real animals on Earth.

There are three real life creatures called sandworms (in at least one region of the world).

See them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sandworm

Of course, this doesn't mean that the sandworms he is referring to are the real life ones, he could also be talking about the ones from dune.

Nathan, please don't delete your old lists unless no one has made a comment. I think you added a “but not” (or two?) but we have no way to determine what you have changed, as you have erased the history of the puzzle. The puzzle is already hard enough!

As for “sandworms” that surely seemed suspicious to me at the time, and I have given much thought about Nathan's comment concerning one of my three “hints” as being a true hint.,..which one? not the length of the words (bee, deer, cat, snake are all short), and surely not music (that must be the “herring hooked” as Dog could be represented by Three Dog Night, for example, but “dog” is not an answer), so is the hint about the sandworms as a fictitious beast the true angle? Everything else on the list seems real enough….still completely stumped!

“Another is a true hint or help.”

Meaning, a long list of longer words must be more helpful than the opposite – or so I had thought! The Rosetta Stone is more helpful than a pottery shard. That is all.

Do all these creatures feature in a famous book?

I know. They are all words from a randomly generated list of animals, that is only known to Nathan.

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs…but not gymnure
5. voles
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine…but not wolf
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent
33. marmoset…but not capuchin

There definitely seems to be a relation between the first animal on a line and it's counterpart. What exactly it is is a different question.

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs…but not gymnure
5. voles…but not lemmings
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine…but not wolf
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent
33. marmoset…but not capuchin
34. uakari…but not titi

biological families or something to do with taxonomical ranking

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs…but not gymnure
5. voles…but not lemmings
6. bears
7. walrus
8. horse…but not donkey
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine…but not wolf
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent
33. marmoset…but not capuchin
34. uakari…but not titi
35. vervet…but not grivet

I propose a new rule: If any puzzle list gets to 50 items, then the puzzle author wins for stumping everyone, and has to reveal the solution and start a new puzzle!

So foxes is good, but ox is bad. What about fox? Oxen?

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs…but not gymnure
5. voles…but not lemmings
6. bears
7. walrus…but not pinniped
8. horse…but not donkey
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine…but not wolf
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros…but not elephant
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent
33. marmoset…but not capuchin
34. uakari…but not titi
35. vervet…but not grivet
36. fox…but not oxen
37. tamarin…but not macaque

I want to second Ray's proposition, because I want this round to end before I do, so that LG members need not gain further items from me in seances.

Also, here is a hint:

!http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Bohol_Tarsier.jpg/800px-Bohol_Tarsier.jpg!

What about humans? Troglodytes?

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs…but not gymnure
5. voles…but not lemmings
6. bears…but not pandas
7. walrus…but not pinniped
8. horse…but not donkey
9. manatee
10. seal
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine…but not wolf
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros…but not elephant
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent
33. marmoset…but not capuchin
34. uakari…but not titi
35. vervet…but not grivet
36. fox…but not oxen
37. tamarin…but not macaque
38. humans…but not troglodytes

Note 1. and 3.: rat … …but not rodent
Strong evidence it's the wordplay of these names, not their meaning. Not that I have any useful idea what kind of wordplay….

Also, wondering about the recent hint, and what is that thing, I looked at the page source code to get the link to the picture, in case it helps any of you (it hasn't helped me):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7e/Bohol_Tarsier.jpg/800px-Bohol_Tarsier.jpg

Bohol Tarsier??

This fellow is trying to help you too. You had better take these critters' advice.

!http://pgtnaturegarden.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/Great-Horned-Owl-Chick_4002.jpg!

no (working) ideas - but i'm enjoying the pics. wait! ..i got it; these are creatures that possess the ability to stare into the very center of your soul. that's the connection, isn't it? the soul-piercing eyes? :)
i've known psychiatrists who appeared less observant (but only slightly)

I think it must be what stay says: binocular animals. Although I don't know many of those animals.

wait, serpent and snake are synonyms, aren't they?

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs…but not gymnure
5. voles…but not lemmings
6. bears…but not pandas
7. walrus…but not pinniped
8. horse…but not donkey
9. manatee…but not dugong
10. seal
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine…but not wolf
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros…but not elephant
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent
33. marmoset…but not capuchin
34. uakari…but not titi
35. vervet…but not grivet
36. fox…but not oxen
37. tamarin…but not macaque
38. humans…but not troglodytes
39. hanuman…but not langur

This young one is very concerned that you haven't understood the other creatures' suggestion. I'm afraid he's being a bit repetitive about it.

!http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_gWwjfAYGaXA/TKKX8C6sxzI/AAAAAAAAAZk/DbrjAOubcfw/s1600/tersa1.jpg!

Creatures with black rings around their eyes?

Creatures that can cry?

It cannot have anything do do with the animals per se, I think, and so I agree with Art that it must have something to do with the words. However, I fail to see any connection between the spellings, and also I get no clues from looking at my keyboard. I’m starting to think it has something to do with how the words are pronounced. Which makes it difficult, as I’m not really sure of the exact correct pronounciation of all these animals.

Something along the lines of “animals pronounced with a higher pich than the family the animal belongs to”? I’m sure it’s something simpler, but perhaps someone else can build on this idea and get it right? “Animals pronounced with an upgoing tone”, perhaps? It seems to me, at least, that the animals that are included are pronounced in a somewhat “lighter” tone than the ones that aren’t, but that could be just me not knowing the correct pronounciation…

1. rat…but not mouse
2. mole…but not hedgehog
3. shrew…but not rodent
4. tenrecs…but not gymnure
5. voles…but not lemmings
6. bears…but not pandas
7. walrus…but not pinniped
8. horse…but not donkey
9. manatee…but not dugong
10. seal…but not dolphin
11. zebra…but not quagga
12. monotreme…but not platypus
13. wolverine…but not wolf
14. ichneumon…but not cranefly
15. nemertean
16. sandworms
17. elasmosaurus…but not plesiosaur
18. steneosaurus…but not longirostrines
19. saurischian…but not theropods
20. scolosaurus…but not ankylosaur
21. aurochs…but not ox
22. anaconda…but not python
23. roadrunner…but not duck
24. rhinoceros…but not elephant
25. marabou…but not flamingo
26. dinosaur…but not archaeopteryx
27. foxes…but not ferrets
28. monarch…but not butterfly
29. bee…but not wasp
30. deer…but not elk
31. cat…but not dog
32. snake…but not serpent
33. marmoset…but not capuchin
34. uakari…but not titi
35. vervet…but not grivet
36. fox…but not oxen
37. tamarin…but not macaque
38. humans…but not troglodytes
39. hanuman…but not langur
40. tarsier…but not monkey

This piscean, thinking that the other animals' hints have been too oblique, has decided to take a more active approach in pointing the way – it also gives him an excuse to be a show-off.

!http://home.comcast.net/~john.kimball1/BiologyPages/F/flounder.jpg!

Circles and squares … hmmm. Incidentally, I notice that all the good animals have no descenders (g,j,p,q,y) in their name. Alas, there are a handful of bad animals with the same property.

Animals that have exactly one ascending letter and no descending letters in their names.

Hurrah! Mr. Moto has worked it out, at long last!

It remains to explain some of the hints. Many people had figured that the meanings of the words didn't matter, but didn't know where to go from there.

The tarsier, owl, and caterpillar are saying “Look! Use your eyes!”
The flounder is saying “Look at the shapes that are there in black and white!”

By the way, I don't think I've ever seen a word puzzle anywhere that made use of this aspect of word shape.

All right, that was a really good one. Congrats to Mr Moto.

Excellent puzzle! Thank you for challenging us. (And excuse me while I wipe the sweat from my brow …)

At some point I suspected that it had to do somehow with the spelling, or plural forms, hence the question about fox/foxes/ox/oxen. The hints all pointed towards shape: the first and second got me thinking about I's (eyes) and O's, and the second and third suggested some kind of repetition or alternation.

And we got to learn about some nice animals along the way. :)

Uhmm - what are the ascending and the descending letters? You know, just for us who don't have English as our main language?

Descending letters have a part that extends below the line you're writing on, namely 'g', 'p', 'q', and 'y'. There are no descending uppercase letters, unless you count 'Q' in some florid fonts.
Ascending letters have a height greater than that of, say, 'o'. They are 'b', 'd', 'f', 'h', 'k', 'l' and 't'.

Actually, I'd never heard the term “descending letters” before. I've used “letters with descenders”. When trying to print or display with a minimal number of pixels, sometimes the descenders are crammed up onto the line being written on, making 'g', 'p' etc. look like they're floating higher than the surrounding letters.

Indeed, I was misusing the terminology. A more proper rephrasing: “Animals whose names contain exactly one letter with an ascender and none with a descender.”

Speaking of which, here's an observation: Many people think of the letter t as being tall, like an l with a crossbar. But t is really just a short letter that gives off an attitude of height.

Nathan, good puzzle, but doesn't the letter “i” have a dot that ascends above the line? so a word like “dinosaur” has two letters that ascend above the other letters…

Mr.M, congrats….we look forward to your puzzle…

Ray, I'd wondered about that very thing, but as best as I could find out the term ascender isn't usually applied to i, or j, as what they have isn't a line or a stroke, and not part of the 'body' of the letter, but merely a dot, and detached from the body.

Of course, the puzzle could be considered as so many high-going/low-going lines, regardless of what the technical terms in the type-field be.

Oh, is it my turn again? Sorry for keeping everyone waiting, I'm very busy at work. I hope someone else can come up with a puzzle in the meantime! :)

(And by the way, the dot on an i or j is called a tittle, and tittles are not to be confused with ascenders.)

I have a puzzle, probably an easy one, but should be fun.

1. descent
2. bale
3. crash

MrMoto: does “tittle” have the same etymology with “tit”?

1. descent
2. bale
3. crash
4. company

Ypercube: My Random House Dictionary says it comes from Old English /titul/, in turn coming from Latin /titulus/, meaning superscript or title; and the word 'title' has the same origin.

Not kin with 'tit' which comes from the Old English /titt/, and is connected to the German /Zitze/.

1. descent
2. bale
3. crash
4. company
5. murder

Aha. Nicely chosen, Ray.

Thanks, Mr. Moto! Did you solve the puzzle? (feel free to send me a message with your solution if you don't want to post the next puzzle….)

For the record, Mr. Moto has solved the puzzle via message. But he is not prepared to provide a new puzzle, so this puzzle is still alive…

1. descent
2. bale
3. crash
4. company
5. murder
6. mischief

(Mr. Moto thinks this should have been the first word on the list)

1. descent
2. bale
3. crash
4. company
5. murder
6. mischief
7. labor
8. drove

(6, 7, and 8 should probably be clues 1, 2, and 3)

They are all names for groups of animals. To be fair I should note that I was forced to search them in google, and ended up finding this: “http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_collective_nouns_by_collective_term”:http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Appendix:Glossary_of_collective_nouns_by_collective_term

Congrats, Knyx!

6. mischief of RATS
7. labor or MOLES
8. drove of SHREWS

(I could not find what a group of Tenrecs is called!)

1. descent of woodpeckers
2. bale of turtles
3. crash of rhinos
4. company of badgers
5. murder of crows

I don't know if this will be easy or hard, but I figured I'd give it a shot:

1. Saratoga Springs
2. Latte
3. Seduction
4. Your Majesty

These are names of paint colors.

I thought it might be too easy. Well, congratulations nonetheless.

Thnx!

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird

Birds that can mimic human (or other animals') voices?

or a more general:

Animals that mimic behaviour of other animals?

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar

Birds of Central America?

Multi-coloured animals?

No Yper, the melodious blackbird is mostly black
1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel

Birds with long beak?

Nope

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow

bird names that contain the letter “r”

That was a good try Ray ;-)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon

I'll try a more general approach:

Birds?

I was awaiting this ;)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat

Flying animals? :p

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)

flying animals that don't have an 'f' or a 'y' in their name? :)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)

Heron was an ancient Greek mathematician, known for his triangle formula and the (programmable) robots. How is that related to birds?

this? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula ray (but not Flying Fish)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake

For a moment I thought animals with an even number of consonants, but this seems to be wrong.

I know, they are all animals that verify a certain property P known only by Carroll.

It is true and a good hint

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)

animals found in the Amazon (just trying)

I think you can find a Fly almost anywhere (not sure about the Antarctic, but still…)

Hum no…

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (but not Fly)
14. Flamingo (but not Heron)
15. Beetle (but not Cricket)
16. Puffin (but not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (but not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (but not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (but not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)

I propose a new rule. After one month without a correct answer, the author automatically loses. It is then the turn of another player, and the answer to the puzzle will never be known.

I had proposed a completely different rule on Oct. 25, namely:

“If any puzzle list gets to 50 items, then the puzzle author wins for stumping everyone, and has to reveal the solution and start a new puzzle!”

The rule was seconded by Nathan Miller

Well these two propositions are contradictory so one would have to chose.
I'll try a middle way between not revealing and revealing, as something came to my mind while discussing topology with Ypercube:

“Open” is closed and “Closed” is open. And as Yper said some sets can be both.

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)

Animals able to fly longer than a certain distance?

:) you mean any distance >0 makes an open set?
No that is not it.

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)
29. Egyptian Goose (not Swan Goose)

Animals that can glide (and not necessarily fly)?

Nope

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)
29. Egyptian Goose (not Swan Goose)
30. Pegasus (not Unicorn)

I give up

I gave up a month ago

I have given up

Is stork good? Nightingale? The Flying Spaghetti Monster?

Only the Flying Spaghetti Monster!

If nobody opposes I'll give the solution this week end.

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)
29. Egyptian Goose (not Swan Goose)
30. Pegasus (not Unicorn)
31. Burrowing Owl (not Great Horned Owl)

FSM is good, eh?

How about the following: paper aeroplane? (Or paper airplane?) Boomerang? Roc? Superman? The Silver Surfer? Smaug?

Yes for Smaug.

Hmm! Well, before you give away the answer, let's ask some more questions.

The good ones on the list all fly, or move through the air somehow. You've told us that earwig, tyrannosaurus, and unicorn are bad, but we have no reason to expect otherwise. Can you provide any examples of any non-flying creatures that would be on the list?

No you are right, no non-flying creature is on the list, there is also another criteria which puts the ones you cited off the list.
I must say paperplane, aeroplane and boomerang share this criteria but are not flying creatures.

I find Smaug's appearance on the list interesting. That exludes a lot of possible parameters. Also, I find that “Swan Goose” and “Great Horned Owl” is NOT on the list, is interesting. These birds ARE capable of prolonged flight.

So with Smaug on the list, and “prolonged flight” ruled out, there can't be many parameters left to consider - unless one looks to metadata like spelling, I suppose.

Would a general term, like “Bird”, be on the list? (I suppose it might, since “Bat” is). What about “Swan”, since “Swan Goose” is not?

Bird would be, Swan is not.

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)
29. Egyptian Goose (not Swan Goose)
30. Pegasus (not Unicorn)
31. Burrowing Owl (not Great Horned Owl)
32. Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher

Maybe I'll wait for EoW in the end…

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)
29. Egyptian Goose (not Swan Goose)
30. Pegasus (not Unicorn)
31. Burrowing Owl (not Great Horned Owl)
32. Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher
33. Bullfinch

Last day…

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)
29. Egyptian Goose (not Swan Goose)
30. Pegasus (not Unicorn)
31. Burrowing Owl (not Great Horned Owl)
32. Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher
33. Bullfinch
34. Stymphalian birds

1. Parrot
2. Hummingbird
3. Scarlet macaw
4. Neotropic cormorant
5. Oropendola
6. Melodious Blackbird
7. Ringed Woodpecker
8. Jacamar
9. Magellanic Diving Petrel
10. Sparrow
11. Pigeon
12. Bat
13. Libellule (not Fly)
14. Flamingo (not Heron)
15. Beetle (not Cricket)
16. Puffin (not Auk)
17. Mobula Ray (not Flying Fish)
18. Common Snipe (not Snail Kite)
19. Maybug (not Earwig)
20. Paradise tree snake
21. Anomalure (not flying Squirrel)
22. Pteranodon (not Tyrannosaurus)
23. Magpie (not Jay)
24. Robin (not Tit)
25. Albatross (not Skua)
26. Brown Kiwi (not Ostrich)
27. Brushturkey (not Horned Guan)
28. Red-bellied Pitta (not Lovely Cotinga)
29. Egyptian Goose (not Swan Goose)
30. Pegasus (not Unicorn)
31. Burrowing Owl (not Great Horned Owl)
32. Yellow-Bellied Flycatcher
33. Bullfinch
34. Stymphalian birds
35. Australasian babblers
36. Kakapo
37. Black Vulture
38. Magnificent Frigatebird
39. Sandpiper
40. Hornbill

Thanks to all for playing, answer tonight (CET)

Something that /almost/ seems to work would be “flying creatures with a bilabial consonant (i.e. p, b, m).” But then, 'superman' isn't good – perhaps because he is humanoid rather than a 'creature'. Also I'm uncertain about pteranodon, because the initial p is silent, in the English pronunciation at least.

Congrats Nathan !

Flying animals with kissing-name.

I have one for the list…

BOO BIRDS !!

Sorry about Pteranodon if that mislead you, I’m not fluent for prehistoric bests pronunciation.

It comes from a French social game called “touche” ça touche pas, “touche pas” ça touche ; for which my English equivalent was “open” is closed, “closed” is open.

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds

here we go with those birds again!

Fret not; as you will recall, the “true love” of the carol gets beyond his avian obsession shortly.

Was that carol, Carol or Carroll?

“This carol.“:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Twelve_Days_of_Christmas_(song)

…although, “this Carroll”:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_Carrol did go on about birds a bit, didn't he?

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping

First words in Christmas carols?

Sorry, that is not it.

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping

–and within those is something which might bring your thinking in tune:

!http://www.fredonia.edu/music/oboe/pages/syllabi_files/page2_1.jpg!

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo

My guess…
32. Is so fat … but not your mom?

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute

(note small correction to phrase in 32.)

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute
36. melody…but not harmony

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute
36. melody…but not harmony
37. mandolin…but not sitar

Is this a linguistic riddle, i.e. based on the english words, their pronounciation or the letters of their written representation, or is this a intellectual riddle, i.e. based on the meanings of these words, puns, associations in popular culture?

38. (Chaplin/Laurel/Hardy) … but not (Chaplin/Laurel/Hardy)?

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute
36. melody…but not harmony
37. mandolin…but not sitar
38. Laurel… but not Hardy nor Chaplin
(answering Thomas' question:)
39. words…but not sense

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute
36. melody…but not harmony
37. mandolin…but not sitar
38. Laurel… but not Hardy nor Chaplin
39. words…but not sense
40. biwa…but not koto

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute
36. melody…but not harmony
37. mandolin…but not sitar
38. Laurel… but not Hardy nor Chaplin
39. words…but not sense
40. biwa…but not koto
41. marimba…but not xylophone

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute
36. melody…but not harmony
37. mandolin…but not sitar
38. Laurel… but not Hardy nor Chaplin
39. words…but not sense
40. biwa…but not koto
41. marimba…but not xylophone
42. Moog…but not synthesizer

Moog … but not synthesizer.

It's so obvious. Should have thought of this question.

1. yule log
2. jingle bells
3. Ebenezer…but not Scrooge
4. ivy…but not holly
5. Donner…but not Blitzen
6. gingerbread…but not candycane
7. garlands…but not tinsel
8. bows…but not boxes
9. magi…but not kings
10. myrrh…but not frankincense
11. reindeer…but not Rudolph
12. ballet…but not nutcracker
13. evergreen…but not pear tree
14. doves…but not turtledoves
15. eggs…but not hens
16. birds…but not colly birds
17. gold rings…but not five
18. laying…but not geese
19. dugongs diving…but not swans swimming
20. maids…but not milking
21. ladies…but not dancing
22. lords…but not leaping
23. eleven bonobos on oboes…but not pipers piping
24. drummers drumming…but not twelve
25. woodwind…but not clarinet
26. zither…but not strings
27. bugle…but not tuba
28. diminuendo…but not crescendo
29. gong…but not tam-tam
30. bandura…but not balalaika
31. rhythm…but not tempo
32. “your mom”…but not “is so fat” nor “by the time you were born, you were already three”
33. “your mom is”…but not “so”; “old”… but not “she has thumbs on her feet”
34. violin…but not cello
35. lyre…but not lute
36. melody…but not harmony
37. mandolin…but not sitar
38. Laurel… but not Hardy nor Chaplin
39. words…but not sense
40. biwa…but not koto
41. marimba…but not xylophone
42. Moog…but not synthesizer
43. organ…but not piano

Words that do not contain a pronounced h/k/t, resp. do not contain voiceless consonants?

Finally solved! Words without voiceless consonants – or, looking at it oppositely, words that are voiced all the way through. All-voiced words are considerably less common than ones with at least one voiceless sound.

It remains to explain the sole visual clue of 2013-01-04…Those are the double-reeds inside an oboe, which make their sound vibrating against each other – a loose analogy to how the pair of human vocal cords work together.

!http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/50/Gray956.png!

even knowing the answer I still don't get it (“,)

“A short article about voiced and voiceless consonants”:http://www.clearly-speaking.com/speech-tips/47-foreign-accent/197-what-are-voiced-and-voiceless-consonants.html

I am very pleased to have solved this one, t'was quite hard. Here the next riddle.

1. stope
2. timer
3. fox

1. stope … but not shaft
2. timer … but not clock
3. fox … but not cat
4. sinners … but not salvation
5. taker … but not giver

6. walking … but not strolling

7. personality … but not character

8. million … but not hundred

9. thessalonians … but not babylonians

1. stope … but not shaft
2. timer … but not clock
3. fox … but not cat
4. sinners … but not salvation
5. taker … but not giver
6. walking … but not strolling
7. personality … but not character
8. million … but not hundred
9. thessalonians … but not babylonians
10. knife … but not spoon
11. viciously … but not ferociously
12. baskets … but not buckets
13. edgar … but neither allan nor poe

14. abrogable … but not answering
15. ironworkers … but not blacksmiths
16. fortuneless … but not unlucky
17. flows … but neither flaws nor floss, not even blows, brows, glows or grows

18.
A man who once played second fiddle
decided no longer to piddle
endeavored to reach
the heart of the speech
and thus sought to answer the riddle.

19. wakas … but no shakira

20. pulmonary … but not respiratory

1. stope … but not shaft
2. timer … but not clock
3. fox … but not cat
4. sinners … but not salvation
5. taker … but not giver
6. walking … but not strolling
7. personality … but not character
8. million … but not hundred
9. thessalonians … but not babylonians
10. knife … but not spoon
11. viciously … but not ferociously
12. baskets … but not buckets
13. edgar … but neither allan nor poe
14. abrogable … but not answering
15. ironworkers … but not blacksmiths
16. fortuneless … but not unlucky
17. flows … but neither flaws nor floss, not even blows, brows, glows or grows
18. /a Limerick hint/
      A man who once played second fiddle
      decided no longer to piddle
      endeavored to reach
      the heart of the speech
      and thus sought to answer the riddle.
19. wakas … but no shakira
20. pulmonary … but not respiratory
21. /a Haiku hint/
      Examine my core
      and you shall reveil that it's
      the essence of all.

22. warners … but not seers

23. yttrium … but not ytterbium

24. virologists … but not bacteriologists

25. kinky, kinkier … but not kinkiest

26. replies … but not answers

27. /a pun-ish hint/
      Do you know what I mean? Are you mean enough?

The “heart of the speech” clue had me noticing that all the good words had odd-number of letters, and certain letters appearing over and over again in the middle position … letters near the middle of the alphabet…

then comes the mean clue…

so, set a=1, b=2, c=3, etc. Sum the values in a word, and the mean average will be the value of the central letter.

Nathan got it.

The letter in the middle of the word is - either in ASCII representation or in the way Nathan described - at the same time the average letter of the word.

I have to admit that only the first three words have been made up by myself. During that I realized that there are way too few words with this property (except simple examples like “fed” or “ace”), so I wrote a C program (called ta for text analyzer) that would analyze an incoming text stream and mark appropriate words with “OK”.

This way I could use something like
     cat war_and_peace.txt \| ./ta \| grep OK \| sort \| uniq
or
     cat bible.txt \| ./ta \| grep OK \| sort \| uniq
in order to find these scarce words. (War and Peace contains 500000 words and about 65 matching expressions. Some of them are quite strange, e.g. “kuzmich”. The bible contains “jehoiakim”, “talketh” and other fancy stuff, but only 52 hits in over 800000 words.)

Most of the words were taken from the SOWPODS list, but “thessalonians”, which I liked very much, was found in the bible.

Other beautiful words with the intended property are
- ozone … but not layer
- mohican … but not sioux
- quicksand … but not dangerous
- untransmissible … but not intransmissible
- rocking … but not rolling
and
- cookies … but not monster

1. king
2. duke
3. earl

4-letter words.

4. cow

5. taps

6. zoo

7. Dada

8. Naxi

9. jab

Something that almost works :) – Any letter in the word can be changed to make a new word. If I change “any letter” to “most letters” I seem pretty close….

I'm afraid that isn't the solution.

10. qaf

11. teatime

12. zax

13. mania

14. anima

15. Jif

16. inmate

These are all games?

Nope, that's not it.

17. suq

visual hint:

!http://www.silverbearcafe.com/private/04.10/images/radio_waves.jpg!

18. minim

19. zip

20. meaty

!http://s2.evcdn.com/images/edpborder500/I0-001/005/765/697-2.jpeg_/beethovens-fifth-symphony-97.jpeg!

21. vug

22. tsetse

!http://i46.tinypic.com/11v30jp.jpg!

23. bib

24. satin

25. Zod

!http://i48.tinypic.com/2i7rbkp.jpg!

26. stain

27. saint

28. FAQ

29. manna

satin, stain, saint… what about antis?

30. antis

:)

31. pax

!http://i49.tinypic.com/akwcb6.jpg!

32. testes

33. vav

34. matter

35. fix

!http://i50.tinypic.com/21mvtww.jpg!

ambiguous Morse code words?

You are getting very close!

Morse code words that have exactly ten dots/dashes

That's it! There seem to be a lot of such words, & eventually
I just used the shortest and longest I could find.

As for the pictures, they were just to suggest Morse code, some
more directly than others.

1. Radio waves
2. The famous duh-duh-duh-duuuuum has been used as a mnemonic for
the code for 'V'.
3. A tree for the 26 English letters. Left/up/blue = dot,
Right/down/yellow = dash.
4. Smoke signals are early telegraphy, so a very primitive forerunner
to Morse.
5. A later telegraphic device using another coded alphabet system.
The handles tipped the needles on a second matching machine.
6. The necklace says 'LOVE' going counterclockwise.

After figuring Morse was involved, if no-one had got any further,
the next visual would have been this:

!http://assets7.gcstatic.com/u/apps/asset_manager/uploaded/2012/46/10-cannon-balls-1352802475-view-1.png!

that was a tough puzzle…The Beethoven picture was a big clue for me, then I saw the smoke signal, and knew I was on to something…I need to think up a new puzzle, will post tonight or tomorrow.

Here we go, new puzzle….good luck!

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog

I'm pretty sure the answer is *not* “animals” :p

Yeah, it's probably not “animals”…maybe it's flavors of ice cream?

It is good to guess animals, that forces me to add a non animal to the list. No, not ice cream, either

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy
12) mgm grand

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy
12) mgm grand
13) al pastor
14) situation

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy
12) mgm grand
13) al pastor
14) situation
15) Pharaoh
16) Sun

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy
12) mgm grand
13) al pastor
14) situation
15) Pharaoh
16) Sun
17) cloud
18) ark

Is Quantum in the list?

Then I guess those are “words without letter z”.

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy
12) mgm grand
13) al pastor
14) situation
15) Pharaoh
16) Sun
17) cloud
18) ark
19) Kazakhstan
20) carnival

Carroll-nope, that is not it.

Here is a hint–some are capitalized, some are not

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy
12) mgm grand
13) al pastor
14) situation
15) Pharaoh
16) Sun
17) cloud
18) ark
19) Kazakhstan
20) carnival
21) scale
22) time
23) Victory

1) Hippopotamus
2) hedgehog
3) lion
4) beaver
5) Bobcat
6) Canary
7) Nightjar
8) Owl
9) Frog
10) newt
11) navy
12) mgm grand
13) al pastor
14) situation
15) Pharaoh
16) Sun
17) cloud
18) ark
19) Kazakhstan
20) carnival
21) scale
22) time
23) Victory
24) craigslist
25) mnemonic
26) fever

27) company
28) nirvana
29) cue
30) znet

31) galaxy
32) gemini
33) astronomy

everything or stuff you find on the internet
tags

no, sorry

34) sequester
35) broken government

words in the headlines of XYZ (XYZ = some specific paper/magazine yet to find out)

or maybe: words from past empathy games

words with more than a million hits on google

this makes me think: are there also nonsensical words like asdf or qwerty on the list?

not even close….here is a hint:
order matters!

36) kraft
37) rbi
38) sri lanka

39) Yahoo!
40) zrii
41) nba

Words beginning with the letter symbols for the elements.
When capitalized, the symbol is one letter.

I had this figured out a while ago, but hadn't wanted to start a new round then.
But I decided to pipe up before Der Monster got to fifty. And also I've now got a new one to do:

1. silver
2. glory
3. weather

congrats Nathan!

4. conceited
5. blood

You can add a word and it still makes sence:
silver amulet, glory hole, weather forecast, conceited ass, blood pressure.

That isn't it, though. (Are there any words one can't add a word to?)

6. rotation

silver -> solver, glory -> glary, weather -> leather, conceited -> conceiled, blood -> flood, rotation -> notation

Very interesting, but no.

7. ore

!http://i49.tinypic.com/mmzuar.jpg!

8. wind
9. useless

10. proud
11. circulation

12. fan

13. blade

14. copper

!http://i49.tinypic.com/33y6qgn.jpg!

15. worthless
16. blasphemous

ring?

“Ring” isn't part of the solution, nor would be a member of the list.

I will say that unlike so many of the recent puzzles, the meaning of the
words is relevant here. But there is a twist.

17. heart

!http://i46.tinypic.com/2vn0101.jpg!

18. windmill

19. feather

I guess it has something to do with air. Everything either cuts the air, moves the air/oxygen is oxidated by oxygen or something similar.

The pictures are telling me: 1. interwoven, 2. an ear but color channels seperated, what makes me think at seeing -> eyes… and the message would be: use your sences, 3. colors again and different categories… is the answer in the form of property1 or property2 or property3 = valid word?

You aren't getting the right meaning from all of the clues…
yet the answer to your last question is - yes!

20. spider

21. vessel

22. mine

!http://i47.tinypic.com/3498os8.jpg!

23. narcissistic

Elements depending on a flow (eg. Futuristic Narcissistic Flow)?

Sorry, no.

24. ostentatious

25. arrogant

Time for a Celebrity Guest Hint:

!http://i50.tinypic.com/2jyzag.jpg!

The Guest Celebrity is Carly Simon, and the image is the cover of her 1972 album “No Secrets”:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/No_Secrets_(Carly_Simon_album)

The most famous song from that album (and of her career) is almost certainly “You're So Vain”, famous for the mystery of the subject of the song:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You%27re_So_Vain

I have no idea what this has to do with anything else, but I thought I could at least pass this on.

26. branching

27. coal

vane, vein, and vain
!!

Hurrah!! Art solved it..just a little before I began to run out of
reasonable words!

As for the other pics:

1. Borromean rings. Have the neat property that while they are linked,
no _two_ are linked. Here the added color repurposes them as a Venn diagram
meaning A or B or C.

2. Same ear diagram with three different looks–> My way of hinting at
triple homophony. (look different, sound same)

3. Try sorting the items to three groups.

4. Actually a weathervane, just without its compass arrows below.

1. applesauce
2. bagel
3. bee pollen

4. shamrock
5. wild watermelon

edibles

6. desert sand

7. copper
8. denim

9. mountain meadow
10. outer space
11. purple heart

12. almond
13. tan
14. apricot

You may want to temporarily ignore the first 3 clues, which came from a slightly different list as the rest.

15. shadow
16. silver
17. salmon

Is the theme crayon colors?

Yes, colors. More specifically, I was thinking “interesting color names”, and the list I drew from has a subset of crayola brand crayon colors. The first 3 are not crayola colors, but are in fact color names. My source:

http://www.namenerds.com/uucn/listofweek/color.html

The crayola colors are in the second column.

They've gotten a bit more imaginative then when I was a kid.

My next round idea starts:

1. flashgun
2. jigsaw
3. machine

4. harpoon
5. artefact

6. gunmetal
7. shackle

8. disrupt
9. analyzer

10. bedbug
11. dandelion

Not an official guess, just an observation in case it helps someone: Many, but not all, of these words contain other words. Sometimes because they are themselves compound words: flash-gun, jig-saw, gun-metal, bed-bug; others are just there: arts-FACT, SHACK-le, dande-LION, HARP-oon, ANAL-yzer. But I can't put “machine” or “disrupt” in there (unless “in” and “up” count, but in that case, any word with “a” or “i” would count).

12. ptui!
13. meatball

14. snobbish
15. mouthy

!http://i48.tinypic.com/6i4acn.jpg!

16. semihard
17. Afghani

Consecutive letters of the alphabet consecutively, though possibly in reverse order.

Yes! I was thinking of it as “letters staying side by side” – thus the pic.

I prepared by searching through the SOWPODS list…and found some
pairs had no examples in that list at all:

jk, pq, qp, qr, vw, wv, and wx.

for vw you could have: vw bug
for pq you could have: pop quiz

jk = Raj Kapoor

wv: low-velocity

new puzzle coming soon, but maybe not tonight.

new puzzle:

1. all the ladies
2. let's have rice
3. only racecar drivers

What is the mental process to find these empathic rules?

Is just looking at the words enough and your brain suddenly gets a haha?
Or are you constructing a long list of possible empathy rules and you check them one after the other?

For me, even reading the solution, I find it hard to check it is true…
Or do you need to have an Asperger syndrome?

Danica Patrick?

Danica Patrick: sorry, no.

@Carroll: The strategies you suggest are about what I do. Maybe I won't give more ideas just now, since I'm setting this puzzle.

New clues:
4. like all xylophones
5. colorful dark grapes
6. don't feed whales

7. fresh ripe apples
8. dogs eat nutritiously
9. all my sisters

Phrases where the beginning letters spell an item in the
International Air Transportation airport code.
e.g. 4. LAX for Los Angeles, 5. CDG = Charles de Gaulle Airport, etc.

Yes!

I'm traveling, so my thoughts were towards airports.

1. ATL Atlanta
2. LHR London Heathrow
3. ORD Chicago O'Hare
4. LAX Los Angeles
5. CDG Paris Charles de Gaulle
6. DFW Dallas/Ft. Worth
7. FRA Frankfurt
8. DEN Denver
9. AMS Amsterdam Schiphol

I stuck with airports in U.S. and Europe, since I thought they would be more familiar to this audience. I went in order of passenger traffic as per wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World's_busiest_airports_by_passenger_traffic

We begin again:

1. jade corn shop
2. olden gala pear
3. highest cat aria

4. hens get pink
5. a jeans tune

6. whales keep airmails
7. maul our oils

8. rich colt machine
9. mink at war

10. lint or jerk
11. real ill crows

12. chicks lend ears
13. bald rhino bros

14. golemers need photos

!http://i39.tinypic.com/122kck7.jpg!

14. a zonked ton
15. no jock land

16. my lone tribe
17. kill my sapience

idea: the picture of Pangea make me think to say each 3-word phrase with the words all smushed together, without taking a breath, e.g., mylonetribe. Some of them sound almost pronounceable this way, but I can't get any further than that. (Oh, and I tried anagrams, but the anagram server didn't make any single words out of the first two clues I tried.)

Just for fun: Nathan, is “Holy smokes, Batman” a potential member of the list? “Book 'em, Danno”?

It would be hard to know if those phrases are members. They are
almost certainly not.

You are or have been closer than you think.

!http://lilt.ilstu.edu/jhreid/escherhands.jpg!

18. mynahs jeer
19. amber stork

“It would be hard to know if those phrases are members.”

So perhaps the list is derived (in one of Nathan's usually devious ways) from another list that is still growing? (Players at LG? Names of famous people? Names of minor planets?) Still no idea how the one list is derived from the other. I was apparently close with anagrams or smushing words together.

BTW, I mean “devious” as a high compliment in this setting.

!http://i40.tinypic.com/33lmh7b.jpg!

20. nine acre
21. brook coin

22. shine soddenly
23. hoarier gloat

24. veal riot

!http://i41.tinypic.com/2zjf7di.jpg!

25. more bull turd
26. angry zee

!http://i43.tinypic.com/2cs8euq.jpg!

27. yam lark
28. algae crawled

“Maybe truth” ?

Is that on the list?

Again, it is hard to know for sure – tho I worked at it
for a while ;)

The solution is along a path you have trodden.

29. a tinselled eel
30. real hairy hut

!http://i39.tinypic.com/2cgdd13.jpg!

I haven't found a good way to check this, but:
Many of the pictures are “binary”: every symbol is one of only two symbols. So I'm thinking something about Morse code. The smushing suggests to remove (or reposition) spaces. “it is hard to know for sure — tho I worked at it for a while” indicates one has to be clever in some way to move the spaces. I tried Morse codifying some of the phrases, removing the spaces, and feeding it back into the Morse code translator, but it either brings back the original phrase, or complete confusion. Maybe someone else can do this better?

!http://i40.tinypic.com/1ruow7.jpg!

Two for the kids:

31. erst nil
32. dress us

!http://i40.tinypic.com/i6h4qq.jpg!

The last two are anagrams of Dr. Seuss and R.L. Stine, children's authors. Is it just anagrams of authors?

Yes! Finally!

I'll explain the pics first: (**SPOILERS** for the other entries and pics,
should anyone wish to ponder them further)

1. The Pangea has the continents that are to be rearranged - hinting anagrams.

2. The two hands are writing (or probably more precisely drawing) to hint
writers, authors.

Most of the pics are to hint how to try anagramming, with some limiting data.

3. Shape frames for the first three items, for low-going letters, letters
that are tall (ascenders, capitals, or the dot) or neither.
they fit 1. Joseph Conrad 2. Edgar Allan Poe 3. Agatha Christie

4. Signatures reduced to Consonants or Vowels. 4. Stephen King 5. Jane Austin

5. Substitution cypher. 6. William Shakespeare 7. Louis Lamour

6. Six lines of Morse with spaces out (including code for '8' and '9' –
making 8. Michael Crichton 9. Mark Twain

7. Visual allusion: The first line says 'golem' in _cirth_, a rune-like
alphabet invented by 10. J.R.R. Tolkien. The second line, being reflected
writing, is a thing used by 11. Lewis Carrol, in connection to a different
monster, the Jabberwocky.

8. The shifty tiles show Scrabble tile values for 12. Charles Dickens
and 13. Harold Robbins

The remaining members:

14. Dean Koontz
15. Jack London
16. Emily Bronte
17. Mickey Spillane
18. Henry James
19. Bram Stoker
20. Anne Rice
21. Robin Cook
22. Sidney Sheldon
23. Horatio Alger
24. Voltaire
25. Robert Ludlum
26. Zane Grey
27. Karl May
28. Edgar Wallace
29. Danielle Steel
30. Arthur Hailey

What made this hard is that anagram servers don't have names in their mix.

Anyway, let's try something new:

1. venus
2. palestine
3. paris

Places you haven't visited yet?

4. kermit
5. wink

Things that ought to be capitalized. No. 5 must refer to Wink Martindale.

Clever, but no

6. canadian
7. rice

Things that represent two different things

@Carroll: It's in this direction, but that's not quite it. (Though, following this hint too precisely will probably lead you down the wrong track.)

8. dime box
9. detroit

Things you can find in, or separating two different places

10. west
11. odessa

Texanian cities? (Or whatever the adjective for things from Texas is)

@maraca: Yes!

When I was a kid, I read one or two of these “one-minute mysteries” [where there's really just one trick to figure out in order to solve the mystery], where the trick was that the person they're trying to catch has made an itinerary consisting of something like “London, Moscow, Paris, Palestine”, and the hero realizes it must be the Texas version of those cities because [and this is dating the books I read] “Palestine” had just been renamed “Israel”. Later I realized how silly this is, because (a) these are mostly really little towns in Texas, and (b) just because something (or someplace) has had its name changed recently doesn't mean people stop using that name. Anyway the story always stuck with me, and so I thought it might make a good puzzle here.

Some other disclaimers:
\* Capitalization: I suppose it's a little unfair that I didn't capitalize all the clues. I thought this way made the puzzle a little harder.
*“Places you haven't visited yet”: Well, strictly speaking, I have not been to any of these cities (at least their Texas versions; I have been to Paris, France). I thought about adding some small town I've passed through, but decided that it was still fair to just not count ypercube's answer as correct.
*“Things that represent two different things”. Well, I guess the point is that I was picking Texas place names that also had another meaning. But that seems to be missing the bigger picture, hence my response, which I hope was accurate enough.

BTW, my source was:
http://forums.bands.org/vb/showthread.php?30364-Random-Funny-Texas-city-names
(including the comments), though I also knew about Kermit and Wink (not on that webpage) from a friend from college. West is from the news recently (fertilizer plant explosion), and Odessa actually is a big (OK, at least medium) city.

This idea of Paris, Texas vs. Paris, France shows up in a humorous song (called “Paris, France”) by Allison Downey on her 2008 album “Across the Sea”; track 13 at:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/across-the-sea/id274510659

ps: The adjective (and denonym) is “Texan”.

Thanks, still thinking about the new puzzle, if somebody comes up with something sooner, go ahead.

new puzzle…good luck!

1. wing
2. king
3. swing
4. paper
5. mail

6. math
7. engine
8. forward

9. list
10. sound

11. oil
12. weather

13. Sex ?

Simulation

incorrect….

13. coat
14. reservation

nouns that are “verbified” using the same word?

Come to think of it, math and reservation don't seem to fit. Phooey!

nice try, but no…

15. email
16. mirrors

17. bag
18. bed bugs

19. warranty
20. instructions

21. grill
22. background

23. lottery numbers
24. book

25. expiration date
26. calories

check!

(though I don't see the connection to: wing; math; or grill)

I propose we vote on our intuition between a semantic or syntactic rule…

I still think it may be semantic.

I agree with Carroll: semantic. The 2-word clues are especially baffling to me.

check is correct! congrats, Art…

In hockey, you check the wing (right wing or left wing) and you also check the forward… (in baseball, you check your swing, in chess you check the king)

When you are cooking steaks on the grill, you need to check the grill now and then to make sure they aren't burning…

you should always check your math…

Alrighty then….

1. at
2. for
3. for it

I'm going to have an early guess at prime numbers, these clues have 2, 3 and 5 letters

no not right [count the number of letters in each word of that response :)]

4. easy
5. into

Go ?

ypercube's got it!

No-one has started a round for over a week… so here is something new:

1. coo
2. dack
3. darf

4. gonk

5. curr

The first initial is that of an animal, the end of the word is the end of the noise they make.

Not sure if this works for all of them, and I could be totally wrong, but seems to work for 2 (duck - quack), 4 (goose - honk) and 5 (cat - purr)

And 1 (cow - moo), which I've just seen, though I can't work out what 3 is

@Martyn: dog - warf ?

Yes! the theme is “Animals trying to tell you their names.”

No. 3 is just dog + arf.

Your turn!

Does drunk person - barf work for this as well :o)

Anyway, here's a new one.

1. Belgium
2. Brazil
3. Romania

4. Jamaica

countries

Countries with “i”

They are countries, but not all countries would be on the list. The USA for example.

5. Spain

Ypercube, that's not it either

6. Sweden

7. Ukraine

Countries with yellow in their flag.

Congrats Art, that's it

1. right
2. kind
3. trip

4. can
5. gross

6. yard
7. tie

words that can be used as a noun and also can be used as a non-noun (verb, adverb, etc)

8. just
9. fine

3-5 letter words? I know there will be more to it than that, but curious to see if any longer words are on the list.

10. evening
11. change

true homonyms

Ray's got it!

(“homonyms” = 2 different words that are spelled and pronounced the same)

new game, good luck!

1) her
2) ma
3) of
4) van
5) rev

6) or
7) on

8) our
9) hog

I'll have an obvious guess, 2-3 letter words?

10) four
11) sofa

12) do
13) re
14) mi

(but not “fa”)

15) lit
16) act

17) sand
18) felt

19) ever
20) game

21) rough
22) lithe

23) box
24) ski

25) fact
26) tree

hint…

of course, 'a lot of little children playing chess'- how come I dint't get it immediately after 'van'? ;-)

The photo above is from the largest chess tournament in the history of the world, Nashville 2013, 5335 players

slaapgraag….sorry, not the right answer…

27) sandbox
28) slit

29) chess
30) faction

31) break
32) line

33) stein
34) mino

35) street
36) row

37) azo
38) connect

39) action
40) dot