more weird words ...

[bonanova]

Again, brain teasers of sorts ...

[1] what is the longest English word that contains a single, unrepeated vowel?

[2] give 2 9-letter words that have 1 syllable.

[3] give a word that has 5 consecutive vowels.

[4] give 2 words that have 5 consecutive consonants.

[5] give a word that has 6 consecutive consonants

[6] give 2 words that have the 6 vowels a e i o u y in alphabetical order

[7] give a word that has 6 occurrences of the same vowel.

and finally, the one you were waiting for cuz everyone knows it ...

[8] give a word that has three consecutive repeated letters.

answers appended this weekend.

[Guest]

1) senescene

2) strengths

4) angsts

6) facetiously

8 bookkeeper

Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.

[bonanova]

1) senescene

The "e" is repeated. Try your answer to [2] - both have 9 letters.

2) strengths

Yup, a really weird word.

4) angsts

That's one, and you gave the other in [2].

6) facetiously

That's one; another, anyone?

8 bookkeeper

Everyone's fav.

Good work. [3], [5] and [7] remain.

[unreality]

Nope.

Number 8 is actually:

subbookkeeper

[Guest]

Nope.

Number 8 is actually:

subbookkeeper

No, that would be four consecutive letters in a row- and I'd hardly agree that subbookkeeper is a word.

[unreality]

oh i thought it was the MOST in a row... and actually it IS a word

[bonanova]

For the record, onelook.com says...

Sorry, no dictionaries indexed in the selected category contain the word subbookkeeper.

[Guest]

and actually it IS a word

You're basing this on what?

[Guest]

Even if "subbookkeeper" were a word, which I am most sure it is not a word of common English usage, it would be hyphenated as

sub-bookkeeper to be grammatically correct.

[bonanova]

What would you call an accountant on a submarine?

Nah!

[bonanova]

So far we have ...

[1] what is the longest English word that contains a single, unrepeated vowel? Strengths

[2] give 2 9-letter words that have 1 syllable. Strengths and [clue: S t r e _ _ _ _ _ ]

[3] give a word that has 5 consecutive vowels. [clue: Q _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ]

[4] give 2 words that have 5 consecutive consonants. Strengths, Angsts, and yet a third: [clue: W _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ] might find it in MA

[5] give a word that has 6 consecutive consonants. [clue: L _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ] they went out of use 100 yrs ago

[6] give 2 words that have the 6 vowels a e i o u y in alphabetical order Facetiously and A b s t e m i o u s l y freebie - that was tough

[7] give a word that has 6 occurrences of the same vowel. [clue: I n d i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ]

[8] give a word that has three consecutive repeated letters. bookkeeper

2, 3, 4, 5, 7 remain.

[Guest]

5) latchstrings

2) screeched, scrounged ???

Answer time

A verbal contract isn't worth the paper it's written on.

[bonanova]

5) latchstrings

2) screeched, scrounged ???

Answer time <!-- s:D --><!-- s:D -->

Yup, those all work.

Here are the ones I had in mind:

[2] Stretched

[3] Queueing

[4] Witchcraft - that would be in Salem, MA

[5] Latchstring - you got it

[7] Indivisibility

And ... for those who care .... abstemiously:

adverb: in a sparing manner; without overindulgence

[Guest]

Yup, those all work.

Here are the ones I had in mind:

[2] Stretched

[3] Queueing

[4] Witchcraft - that would be in Salem, MA

[5] Latchstring - you got it

[7] Indivisibility

And ... for those who care .... abstemiously:

adverb: in a sparing manner; without overindulgence

hey bona - do you think it's possible for a group of things to be decribed as having indivisibilities? for example, the nations of south america all share the same indivisibilities.

[Guest]

7 indivisiblilities (has 7 i's)

8 woollen

[Guest]

7 indivisiblilities (has 7 i's)

8 woollen

woolen only has one set of double letters, unless you misspell it woollen, which has 2, but you need 3

[Guest]

For the record, onelook.com says...

Sorry, no dictionaries indexed in the selected category contain the word subbookkeeper.

the dictionary on my Mac 2nds this.

[Guest]

What would you call an accountant on a submarine?

Nah!

hhhhhhha <_<

[Guest]

give 2 words that have the 6 vowels a e i o u y in alphabetical order

There are only 5 vowels as well

[Guest]

There are only 5 vowels as well

I think he added Y because it's "the vowel that isn't", so to speak. It is often used in place of vowels, in words such as gypsy, tyne (the river) etc.

[Guest]

i don't actually know the answer to any of them but i think that the people who do are like, really cool, even if i tried for like, twenty days, straight, i wouldn't be able to come up with a single one, even if i did use a dictionary, seriously, you guys are awesome, shame i'm not, he he

[Guest]

So far we have ...

[1] what is the longest English word that contains a single, unrepeated vowel? Strengths

[4] give 2 words that have 5 consecutive consonants. Strengths, Angsts, and yet a third: [clue: W _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ] might find it in MA

[5] give a word that has 6 consecutive consonants. [clue: L _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ] they went out of use 100 yrs ago

"Rhythmics" also meets all of the above, with the possible exception of 4, if 5 supercedes it.

[bonanova]

"Rhythmics" also meets all of the above, with the possible exception of 4, if 5 supercedes it.

I think the rule for counting "y" as a vowel is that it makes the sound of a vowel, and it adds a syllable to the word.

rhyth·mics has two syllables, and the first syllable is formed by the sound of the y.

[Guest]

I think the rule for counting "y" as a vowel is that it makes the sound of a vowel, and it adds a syllable to the word.

rhyth·mics has two syllables, and the first syllable is formed by the sound of the y.

From AskOxford.com:

Yes, the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant! In terms of sound, a vowel is 'a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction...', while a consonant is 'a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed' (definitions from the New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998). The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition. In myth or hymn it is clearly a vowel, and also in words such as my, where it stands for a diphthong (a combination of two vowel sounds). On the other hand, in a word like beyond there is an obstacle to the breath which can be heard between two vowels, and the same sound begins words like young and yes. (This consonant sound, like that of the letter W, is sometimes called a 'semivowel' because it is made in a similar way to a vowel, but functions in contrast to vowels when used in words.) Whether the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant is therefore rather an arbitrary decision. The letter is probably more often used as a vowel, but in this role is often interchangeable with the letter I. However, the consonant sound is not consistently represented in English spelling by any other letter, and perhaps for this reason Y tends traditionally to be counted among the consonants.

[bonanova]

From AskOxford.com:

Yes, the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant!

In terms of sound, a vowel is 'a speech sound which is produced by comparatively open configuration of the vocal tract, with vibration of the vocal cords but without audible friction...', while a consonant is 'a basic speech sound in which the breath is at least partly obstructed' (definitions from the New Oxford Dictionary of English, 1998). The letter Y can be used to represent different sounds in different words, and can therefore fit either definition.

In myth or hymn it is clearly a vowel, and also in words such as my, where it stands for a diphthong (a combination of two vowel sounds). On the other hand, in a word like beyond there is an obstacle to the breath which can be heard between two vowels, and the same sound begins words like young and yes. (This consonant sound, like that of the letter W, is sometimes called a 'semivowel' because it is made in a similar way to a vowel, but functions in contrast to vowels when used in words.)

Whether the letter Y is a vowel or a consonant is therefore rather an arbitrary decision. The letter is probably more often used as a vowel, but in this role is often interchangeable with the letter I. However, the consonant sound is not consistently represented in English spelling by any other letter, and perhaps for this reason Y tends traditionally to be counted among the consonants.

Nice breakdown.

So ... in "rhythm" and related words,

the consonants "r" and "th" partly obstruct the breath; "h" is silent; and "y" is left to provide the vowel sound.

[Guest]

I think he added Y because it's "the vowel that isn't", so to speak. It is often used in place of vowels, in words such as gypsy, tyne (the river) etc.

In my day, from which so much has changed, y and w were counted as vowels. They made us memorize all the adverbs too, lol. I am now a senior citizen and I still can quote them.