[Guest]

Here's a little odd-one-out teaser for you all:

Four groups of critters, four critters in each group...

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork

3) boar, cow, chicken, dog

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm

There's an odd one out in each group.

But which group is the odd one out?

just kidding

[Guest]

What do you mean by RN? (I presume its got nothing to do with the Royal Navy, random numbers or runny noses)

Iike the runny nosees but it'snot HAHA!!

Roman Numerals - clearly not the answer, or it would have hit you - slap your forehead NOW!

you thoght your nose was running but it'snot

[Guest]

Iike the runny nosees but it'snot HAHA!!

Roman Numerals - clearly not the answer, or it would have hit you - slap your forehead NOW!

you thoght your nose was running but it'snot

Ahaa!!!! Nope.

Still, thinking outside the box, good stuff, that'll get you there.

[Guest]

Super streeeeeetched!

four - Has no Acronym!

The others are obscure

[Guest]

Super streeeeeetched!

four - Has no Acronym!

The others are obscure

Surely every word's an acronym of something? Now here was me thinking the answer to this puzzle was just too obvious and someone would guess it after 5 mins. Just goes to show you never can tell.

[Guest]

Convert each word into numbers using numerology.

Group 1: Badger=1, Bat=5, Panda=9, Weasel=2; Weasel, only even number

Group 2: Goose=7, Rhea=5, Tern=3, Stork=2; Stork, only even number

Group 3: Boar=9, Cow=5, Chicken=8, Dog=7; Chicken, only even number

Group 4: Beetle=4, Earwig=9, Flea=6, Worm=6; Earwig, only odd number

Group 4 is the odd group because it's odd critter was the only odd number of it's group, whereas the odd critters in the other groups where the only even numbers of their groups.

I hope that makes sense.

[Guest]

Convert each word into numbers using numerology...

Oh. My. God. A truly awesome answer. Why, I almost wish it were the right one, though it would be rather cruel of me to pose a puzzle with such an obscure solution. In some ways you're thinking along the right lines, though obviously not with the whole numerology thing.

You have at least encouraged me to wait another 24 hours before dropping any major hints. There's still time for all the great minds out there to attain maximum kudos! You know you want it...

[Guest]

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel (can fly)

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork (cannot fly)

3) boar, cow, chicken, dog (can fly)

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm (can fly)

Not nearly as mind boggling as The Awesome's awesome answer. Oh, and just in case this isn't the correct answer and you want to challenge me on the matter of chicken flight, here ya go. Or this.

[Guest]

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel (can fly)

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork (cannot fly)

3) boar, cow, chicken, dog (can fly)

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm (can fly)

Not nearly as mind boggling as The Awesome's awesome answer. Oh, and just in case this isn't the correct answer and you want to challenge me on the matter of chicken flight, here ya go. Or this.

"That's not flying! That's falling, with style!" Actually I totally forgot that beetles can fly. Whoops! That would make your answer the best one so far and every bit as good as the "right" one, unless I can locate some species of flying earwig. But the whole flying thing was just one of several big fat red herrings designed to disguise the ONE TRUE ANSWER. I guess I ought to be a bit more careful about that kind of thing in future! The answer remains undiscovered, but equal kudos to Duh Puck nonetheless. Edited May 19, 2008 by octopuppy

[Guest]

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel = Weasel is the only one whos second letter is not 'a'

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork = goose doesn't have an 'r'

3) boar, cow, chicken, dog = chicken doesn't have an 'o'

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm = worm doesn't have an 'e'

The odd one out is group 2 as it is differentiated by a consonant whereas the others are by vowels.

[Guest]

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel = Weasel is the only one whos second letter is not 'a'

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork = goose doesn't have an 'r'

3) boar, cow, chicken, dog = chicken doesn't have an 'o'

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm = worm doesn't have an 'e'

The odd one out is group 2 as it is differentiated by a consonant whereas the others are by vowels.

Ah but you could always differentiate group 2 with an 'e' if you wanted to. Keep 'em coming, people! You'll kick yourselves when you find out the answer!

[Guest]

how about...

... number of legs for 3 of them,

bat only has 2, others 4

worm has none others 6,

chicken has 2 others 4?

But not sure on the others so am therefore probably wrong lol

[Guest]

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel (can fly)

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork (cannot fly)

3) boar, cow, chicken, dog (can fly)

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm (can fly)

Not nearly as mind boggling as The Awesome's awesome answer. Oh, and just in case this isn't the correct answer and you want to challenge me on the matter of chicken flight, here ya go. Or this.

I've herd a rubber banD

I've seen a needle that winked it's eye -

But I've dogone seen about everything when I see an earwig fly-IGH, When I see an earwig FlyyyyyyyyyyyyYYYigh

SORRY DP they do!!

[Guest]

almost alphabetically

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork - tern/stork is in wrong order

3) boar, chicken, cow, dog

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm

Hoping you did'nt notice a switch ????

[Guest]

how about...

... number of legs for 3 of them,

bat only has 2, others 4

worm has none others 6,

chicken has 2 others 4?

But not sure on the others so am therefore probably wrong lol

Not the answer I'm afraid! I'd question whether a bat has 2 legs anyhow. Plus a weasel has 6 legs if you count the invisible ones in the middle.

[Guest]

Hoping you did'nt notice a switch ????

almost alphabetically

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork - tern/stork is in wrong order

3) boar, chicken, cow, dog

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm

I did . That was one of my smaller herrings. Hint coming up soon, though judging by recent postings it should hardly be necessary...

[Guest]

This puzzle's been unsolved for too long, it's time for a

* * * H I N T * * *

Arguably it might have been more appropriate to use something like duck instead of chicken for group 3.

But then the puzzle would have been too easy, wouldn't it?

[Guest]

1) badger, bat, panda, weasel

2) goose, rhea, tern, stork

3) boar, cow, chicken, dog

4) beetle, earwig, flea, worm

odd ones are: panda, rhea, cow & earwig

not sure about the group yet

Edited May 20, 2008 by Pzlmenot

[Guest]

This puzzle's been unsolved for too long, it's time for a

Arguably it might have been more appropriate to use something like duck instead of chicken for group 3.

But then the puzzle would have been too easy, wouldn't it?

or should I say eggsactly!

[Nikyma]

bat, goose, boar(bore), flea(flee) are all verbs?

[Guest]

bat, goose, boar(bore), flea(flee) are all verbs?

almost!!!

[Guest]

Probably being stupid here.

1) badger, bat, and weasel are all verbs. Panda, not a verb.

2) rhea, tern, stork are not verbs. Goose, only verb.

3) boar (bore), cow, chicken, and dog could all be verbs.

4) beetle, flea (flee), and worm are verbs. Earwig, not a verb.

In group 3 I'm not sure which one you're going for. I initially was thinking chicken, but you said duck would work better, so that makes me think boar is supposed to be the odd one out. But cow and dog are more obscure verbs, so it could be either one of them.

Even considering the problem with group 3, I would say that group 2 is the odd one out because it only has one verb.

[Guest]

Probably being stupid here.

1) badger, bat, and weasel are all verbs. Panda, not a verb.

2) rhea, tern, stork are not verbs. Goose, only verb.

3) boar (bore), cow, chicken, and dog could all be verbs.

4) beetle, flea (flee), and worm are verbs. Earwig, not a verb.

In group 3 I'm not sure which one you're going for. I initially was thinking chicken, but you said duck would work better, so that makes me think boar is supposed to be the odd one out. But cow and dog are more obscure verbs, so it could be either one of them.

Even considering the problem with group 3, I would say that group 2 is the odd one out because it only has one verb.

* * * WOO HOO! We have a winner! * * *

You missed a few features, but what the hell, it's close enough. Here's the complete answer:

Each group contains three verbs, plus one homophone (soundalike) of a verb. Except group 2, which has 3 verb-homophones but only one actual verb.

Verbs in blue, homophones in red:

badger, bat, panda (pander), weasel

goose, rhea (rear), tern (turn), stork (stalk)

boar (bore), cow, chicken, dog

beetle, earwig, flea (flee), worm

Congrats to Awesome for finally cracking that. Personally I thought the 3 verb-homophones in group 2 made the whole thing really obvious but I guess that's only when you look at it from the perspective of someone who already knows that.

And now an EXTRA CHALLENGE FOR BONUS POINTS:

Other birds I didn't use because I thought they would be too obvious are swallow, quail and grouse. There's lots of animals like bear, rat, beaver, the list goes on and on. But can anyone think of any verb-homophones in the animal kingdom which I didn't use? I can think of two others, "bee" and (a bit obscure) "collie". Things like "whale"/"wail" don't make the grade because "whale" is also a verb.

Triple points if you get a sea-life themed one! The nearest I can come is "mullet", as in "I'll have to 'mullet' over" . All in spoilers please!

[grey cells]

eel . It sounds like "heal". And moreover it belongs to the water kingdom.

Great puzzle , puppy . Really puzzled everyone.

[Guest]

Good one. However, I'm guessing you must live somewhere with a thick English accent (uh, Veneto, Italy? I suppose the accent would be pretty thick there), cause I noticed a couple homophones right away, but I would never have come up with the matches panda/pander, rhea/rear, or stork/stalk. When I say them out loud, however, the first two sound British and the last one, uh, like a two-generation-removed Italian in Brooklyn.

Of course, I'm sure the Brits, Aussies, and Kiwi's of the world would have plenty to say about my drab American accent.

[Guest]

koi, coy

plaice, place

bonus, containing two verbs: crappie