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From: uunet!questrel!chris (Chris Cole)
Subject: rec.puzzles FAQ, part 5 of 15
Message-ID: <[e-mail]>
Followup-To: rec.puzzles
Summary: This posting contains a list of
     Frequently Asked Questions (and their answers).
     It should be read by anyone who wishes to
     post to the rec.puzzles newsgroup.
Sender: [e-mail] (Chris Cole)
Reply-To: uunet!questrel!faql-comment
Organization: Questrel, Inc.
References: <[e-mail]>
Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1992 00:08:56 GMT
Approved: [e-mail]
Expires: Sat, 3 Apr 1993 00:08:21 GMT
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Archive-name: puzzles-faq/part05
Last-modified: 1992/09/20
Version: 3

==> decision/red.p <==
I show you a shuffled deck of standard playing cards, one card at a
time.  At any point before I run out of cards, you must say "RED!".
If the next card I show is red (i.e. diamonds or hearts), you win.  We
assume I the "dealer" don't have any control over what the order of
cards is.

The question is, what's the best strategy, and what is your
probability of winning ?

==> decision/red.s <==
If a deck has n cards, r red and b black, the best strategy wins
with a probability of r/n.  Thus, you can say "red" on the first card,
the last card, or any other card you wish.
Proof by induction on n.  The statement is clearly true for one-card decks.
Suppose it is true for n-card decks, and add a red card.
I will even allow a nondeterministic strategy, meaning you say "red"
on the first card with probability p.  With probability 1-p,
you watch the first card go by, and then apply the "optimal" strategy
to the remaining n-card deck, since you now know its composition.
The odds of winning are therefore: p * (r+1)/(n+1)  +
        (1-p) * ((r+1)/(n+1) * r/n  +  b/(n+1) * (r+1)/n).
After some algebra, this becomes (r+1)/(n+1) as expected.
Adding a black card yields: p * r/(n+1)  +
        (1-p) * (r/(n+1) * (r-1)/n  +  (b+1)/(n+1) * r/n).
This becomes r/(n+1) as expected.

==> decision/rotating.table.p <==
Four glasses are placed upside down in the four corners of a square
rotating table.  You wish to turn them all in the same direction,
either all up or all down.  You may do so by grasping any two glasses
and, optionally, turning either over.  There are two catches:  you are
blindfolded and the table is spun after each time you touch the
glasses.  How do you do it?
==> decision/rotating.table.s <==
1.  Turn two adjacent glasses up.
2.  Turn two diagonal glasses up.
3.  Pull out two diagonal glasses.  If one is down, turn it up and you're done.
    If not, turn one down and replace.
4.  Take two adjacent glasses.  Invert them both.
5.  Take two diagonal glasses.  Invert them both.

References
    Probing the Rotating Table"
    W. T. Laaser and L. Ramshaw
    _The Mathematical Gardner_,
    Wadsworth International, Belmont CA 1981.

    ... we will see that such a procedure exists if and
    only if the parameters k and n satisfy the inequality
    k >= (1-1/p)n, where p is the largest prime factor
    of n.

The paper mentions (without discussing) two other generalizations:
more than two orientations of the glasses (Graham and Diaconis)
and more symmetries in the table, e.g. those of a cube (Kim).

==> decision/stpetersburg.p <==
What should you be willing to pay to play a game in which the payoff is
calculated as follows:  a coin is flipped until in comes up heads on the
nth toss and the payoff is set at 2^n dollars?

==> decision/stpetersburg.s <==
Classical decison theory says that you should be willing to pay any
amount up to the expected value of the wager.  Let's calculate the
expected value:  The probability of winning at step n is 2^-n, and the
payoff at step n is 2^n, so the sum of the products of the
probabilities and the payoffs is:

    E = sum over n (2^-n * 2^n) = sum over n (1) = infinity

So you should be willing to pay any amount to play this game.  This is
called the "St. Petersburg Paradox."

The classical solution to this problem was given by Bernoulli.  He
noted that people's desire for money is not linear in the amount of
money involved.  In other words, people do not desire $2 million twice
as much as they desire $1 million.  Suppose, for example, that people's
desire for money is a logarithmic function of the amount of money.
Then the expected VALUE of the game is:

    E = sum over n (2^-n * C * log(2^n)) = sum over n (2^-n * C' * n) =  C''

Here the C's are constants that depend upon the risk aversion of the
player, but at least the expected value is finite.  However, it turns
out that these constants are usually much higher than people are really
willing to pay to play, and in fact it can be shown that any
non-bounded utility function (map from amount of money to value of
money) is prey to a generalization of the St. Petersburg paradox.  So
the classical solution of Bernoulli is only part of the story.

The rest of the story lies in the observation that bankrolls are always
finite, and this dramatically reduces the amount you are willing to bet
in the St. Petersburg game.

To figure out what would be a fair value to charge for playing the game
we must know the bank's resources.  Assume that the bank has 1 million
dollars (1*K*K = 2^20).  I cannot possibly win more than $1 million
whether I toss 20 tails in a row or 2000.

Therefore my expected amount of winning is

    E = sum n up to 20 (2^-n * 2^n) = sum n up to 20 (1) = $20

and my expected value of winning is

    E = sum n up to 20 (2^-n * C * log(2^n)) = some small number

This is much more in keeping with what people would really pay to
play the game.

Incidentally, T.C. Fry suggested this change to the problem in 1928
(see W.W.R. Ball, Mathematical Recreations and Essays, N.Y.: Macmillan,
1960, pp.  44-45).

The problem remains interesting when modified in this way,
for the following reason. For a particular value of the bank's
resources, let

      e denote the expected value of the player's winnings; and let
      p denote the probability that the player profits from the game, assuming
        the price of getting into the game is 0.8e (20% discount).

Note that the expected value of the player's profit is 0.2e.  Now
let's vary the bank's resources and observe how e and p change.  It
will be seen that as e (and hence the expected value of the profit)
increases, p diminishes.  The more the game is to the player's
advantage in terms of expected value of profit, the less likely it is
that the player will come away with any profit at all.  This
is mildly counterintuitive.

==> decision/switch.p <==
Switch? (The Monty Hall Problem)

Two black marbles and a red marble are in a bag. You choose one marble from the
bag without looking at it. Another person chooses a marble from the bag and it
is black. You are given a chance to keep the marble you have or switch it with
the one in the bag. If you want to end up with the red marble, is there an
advantage to switching? What if the other person looked at the marbles remaining
in the bag and purposefully selected a black one?

==> decision/switch.s <==
Generalize the problem from three marbles to n marbles.

If there are n marbles, your odds of having selected the red one are 1/n. After
the other person selected a black one at random, your odds go up to 1/(n-1).
There are n-2 marbles left in the bag, so your odds of selecting the red one
by switching are 1/(n-2) times the odds that you did not already select it
(n-2)/(n-1) or 1/(n-1), the same as the odds of already selecting it. Therefore
there is no advantage to switching.

If the person looked into the bag and selected a black one on purpose, then
your odds of having selected the red one are not improved, so the odds of
selecting the red one by switching are 1/(n-2) times (n-1)/n or (n-1)/n(n-2).
This is (n-1)/(n-2) times better than the odds without switching, so you
should switch.

This is a clarified version of the Monty Hall "paradox":

You are a participant on "Let's Make a Deal." Monty Hall shows you
three closed doors.  He tells you that two of the closed doors have a
goat behind them and that one of the doors has a new car behind it.
You pick one door, but before you open it, Monty opens one of the two
remaining doors and shows that it hides a goat.  He then offers you a
chance to switch doors with the remaining closed door.  Is it to your
advantage to do so?

The original Monty Hall problem (and solution) appears to be due to
Steve Selvin, and appears in American Statistician, Feb 1975, V. 29,
No. 1, p. 67 under the title ``A Problem in Probability.''  It should
be of no surprise to readers of this group that he received several
letters contesting the accuracy of his solution, so he responded two
issues later (American Statistician, Aug 1975, V. 29, No. 3, p. 134).
I extract a few words of interest, including a response from Monty
Hall himself:

   ...  The basis to my solution is that Monty Hall knows which box
   contains the prize and when he can open either of two boxes without
   exposing the prize, he chooses between them at random ...

   Benjamin King pointed out the critical assumptions about Monty
   Hall's behavior that are necessary to solve the problem, and
   emphasized that ``the prior distribution is not the only part of
   the probabilistic side of a decision problem that is subjective.''

   Monty Hall wrote and expressed that he was not ``a student of
   statistics problems'' but ``the big hole in your argument is that
   once the first box is seen to be empty, the contestant cannot
   exchange his box.''  He continues to say, ``Oh, and incidentally,
   after one [box] is seen to be empty, his chances are not 50/50 but
   remain what they were in the first place, one out of three.  It
   just seems to the contestant that one box having been eliminated,
   he stands a better chance.  Not so.''  I could not have said it
   better myself.

The basic idea is that the Monty Hall problem is confusing for two
reasons:  first,  there are hidden assumptions about Monty's motivation
that cloud the issue in some peoples' minds; and second, novice probability
students do not see that the opening of the door gave them any new
information.

Monty can have one of three basic motives:
1.  He randomly opens doors.
2.  He always opens the door he knows contains nothing.
3.  He only opens a door when the contestant has picked the grand prize.

These result in very different strategies:
1.  No improvement when switching.
2.  Double your odds by switching.
3.  Don't switch!

Most people, myself included, think that (2) is the intended
interpretation of Monty's motive.

A good way to see that Monty is giving you information by opening doors is to
increase the number of doors from three to 100.  If there are 100 doors,
and Monty shows that 98 of them are empty, isn't it pretty clear that
the chance the prize is behind the remaining door is 99/100?

Reference (too numerous to mention, but this one should do):
    Leonard Gillman
    "The Car and the Goats"
    The American Mathematical Monthly, 99:1 (Jan 1992), pp. 3-7.

==> decision/truel.p <==
A, B, and C are to fight a three-cornered pistol duel.  All know that
A's chance of hitting his target is 0.3, C's is 0.5, and B never misses.
They are to fire at their choice of target in succession in the order
A, B, C, cyclically (but a hit man loses further turns and is no longer
shot at) until only one man is left.  What should A's strategy be?

==> decision/truel.s <==
This is problem 20 in Mosteller _Fifty Challenging Problems in Probability_
and it also appears (with an almost identical solution) on page 82 in
Larsen & Marx _An Introduction to Probability and Its Applications_.

Here's Mosteller's solution:

  A is naturally not feeling cheery about this enterprise.  Having the
first shot he sees that, if he hits C, B will then surely hit him, and
so he is not going to shoot at C.  If he shoots at B and misses him,
then B clearly {I disagree; this is not at all clear!} shoots the more
dangerous C first, and A gets one shot at B with probability 0.3 of
succeeding.  If he misses this time, the less said the better.  On the
other hand, suppose A hits B.  Then C and A shoot alternately until one
hits.  A's chance of winning is (.5)(.3) + (.5)^2(.7)(.3) +
(.5)^3(.7)^2(.3) + ... .  Each term cooresponds to a sequence of misses
by both C and A ending with a final hit by A.  Summing the geometric
series we get ... 3/13 < 3/10.  Thus hitting B and finishing off with
C has less probability of winning for A than just missing the first shot.
So A fires his first shot into the ground and then tries to hit B with
his next shot.  C is out of luck.

As much as I respect Mosteller, I have some serious problems with this
solution.  If we allow the option of firing into the ground, then if
all fire into the ground with every shot, each will survive with
probability 1.  Now, the argument could be made that a certain
strategy for X that both allows them to survive with probability 1
*and* gives less than a probability of survival of less than 1 for
at least one of their foes would be preferred by X.  However, if
X pulls the trigger and actually hits someone what would the remaining
person, say Y, do?  If P(X hits)=1, clearly Y must try to hit X, since
X firing at Y with intent to hit dominates any other strategy for X.
If P(X hits)<1 and X fires at Y with intent to hit, then
P(Y survives)<1 (since X could have hit Y).  Thus, Y must insure that
X can not follow this strategy by shooting back at X (thus insuring
that P(X survives)<1).  Therefore, I would conclude that the ideal
strategy for all three players, assuming that they are rational and
value survival above killing their enemies, would be to keep firing
into the ground.  If they don't value survival above killing their
enemies (which is the only a priori assumption that I feel can be
safely made in the absence of more information), then the problem
can't be solved unless the function each player is trying to maximize
is explicitly given.
--
    -- [e-mail] (Chris Long)

OK - I'll have a go at this.

How about the payoff function being 1 if you win the "duel" (i.e. if at some
point you are still standing and both the others have been shot) and 0
otherwise? This should ensure that an infinite sequence of deliberate misses
is not to anyone's advantage. Furthermore, I don't think simple survival
makes a realistic payoff function, since people with such a payoff function
would not get involved in the fight in the first place!

[ I.e. I am presupposing a form of irrationality on the part of the
  fighters: they're only interested in survival if they win the duel. Come
  to think of it, this may be quite rational - spending the rest of my life
  firing a gun into the ground would be a very unattractive proposition to
  me :-)
]

Now, denote each position in the game by the list of people left standing,
in the order in which they get their turns (so the initial position is
(A,B,C), and the position after A misses the first shot (B,C,A)). We need to
know the value of each possible position for each person.

By definition:

    valA(A) = 1            valB(A) = 0            valC(A) = 0
    valA(B) = 0            valB(B) = 1            valC(B) = 0
    valA(C) = 0            valB(C) = 0            valC(C) = 1

Consider the two player position (X,Y). An infinite sequence of misses has
value zero to both players, and each player can ensure a positive payoff by
trying to shoot the other player. So both players deliberately missing is a
sub-optimal result for both players. The question is then whether both
players should try to shoot the other first, or whether one should let the
other take the first shot. Since having the first shot is always an
advantage, given that some real shots are going to be fired, both players
should try to shoot the other first. It is then easy to establish that:

    valA(A,B) = 3/10       valB(A,B) = 7/10       valC(A,B) = 0
    valA(B,A) = 0          valB(B,A) = 1          valC(B,A) = 0
    valA(B,C) = 0          valB(B,C) = 1          valC(B,C) = 0
    valA(C,B) = 0          valB(C,B) = 5/10       valC(C,B) = 5/10
    valA(C,A) = 3/13       valB(C,A) = 0          valC(C,A) = 10/13
    valA(A,C) = 6/13       valB(A,C) = 0          valC(A,C) = 7/13

Now for the three player positions (A,B,C), (B,C,A) and (C,A,B). Again, the
fact that an infinite sequence of misses is sub-optimal for all three
players means that at least one player is going to decide to fire. However,
it is less clear than in the 2 player case that any particular player is
going to fire. In the 2 player case, each player knew that *if* it was
sub-optimal for him to fire, then it was optimal for the other player to
fire *at him* and that he would be at a disadvantage in the ensuing duel
because of not having got the first shot. This is not necessarily true in
the 3 player case.

Consider the payoff to A in the position (A,B,C). If he shoots at B, his
expected payoff is:

    0.3*valA(C,A) + 0.7*valA(B,C,A) = 9/130 + 0.7*valA(B,C,A)

If he shoots at C, his expected payoff is:

    0.3*valA(B,A) + 0.7*valA(B,C,A) = 0.7*valA(B,C,A)

And if he deliberately misses, his expected payoff is:

    valA(B,C,A)

Since he tries to maximise his payoff, we can immediately eliminate shooting
at C as a strategy - it is strictly dominated by shooting at B. So A's
expected payoff is:

    valA(A,B,C) = MAX(valA(B,C,A), 9/130 + 0.7*valA(B,C,A))

A similar argument shows that C's expected payoffs in the (C,A,B) position are:

    For shooting at A: 0.5*valC(A,B,C)
    For shooting at B: 35/130 + 0.5*valC(A,B,C)
    For missing:       valC(A,B,C)

So C either shoots at B or deliberately misses, and:

    valC(C,A,B) = MAX(valC(A,B,C), 35/130 + 0.5*valC(A,B,C))

Each player can obtain a positive expected payoff by shooting at one of the
other players, and it is known that an infinite sequence of misses will
result in a zero payoff for all players. So it is known that some player's
strategy must involve shooting at another player rather than deliberately
missing.

Now look at this from the point of view of player B. He knows that *if* it
is sub-optimal for him to shoot at another player, then it is optimal for at
least one of the other players to shoot. He also knows that if the other
players choose to shoot, they will shoot *at him*. If he deliberately
misses, therefore, the best that he can hope for is that they miss him and
he is presented with the same situation again. This is clearly less good for
him than getting his shot in first. So in position (B,C,A), he must shoot at
another player rather than deliberately miss.

B's expected payoffs are:

    For shooting at A: valB(C,B) = 5/10
    For shooting at C: valB(A,B) = 7/10

So in position (B,C,A), B shoots at C for an expected payoff of 7/10. This
gives us:

    valA(B,C,A) = 3/10     valB(B,C,A) = 7/10     valC(B,C,A) = 0

So valA(A,B,C) = MAX(3/10, 9/130 + 21/100) = 3/10, and A's best strategy is
position (A,B,C) is to deliberately miss, giving us:

    valA(A,B,C) = 3/10     valB(A,B,C) = 7/10     valC(A,B,C) = 0

And finally, valC(C,A,B) = MAX(0, 35/130 + 0) = 7/26, and C's best strategy
in position (C,A,B) is to shoot at B, giving us:

    valA(C,A,B) = 57/260   valB(C,A,B) = 133/260  valC(C,A,B) = 7/26

I suspect that, with this payoff function, all positions with 3 players can
be resolved. For each player, we can establish that if their correct
strategy is to fire at another player, then it is to fire at whichever of
the other players is more dangerous. The most dangerous of the three players
then finds that he has nothing to lose by firing at the second most
dangerous.

Questions:

(a) In the general case, what are the optimal strategies for the other two
    players, possibly as functions of the hit probabilities and the cyclic
    order of the three players?

(b) What happens in the 4 or more player case?

    -- David Seal <[e-mail]>

==> english/acronym.p <==
What acronyms have become common words?

==> english/acronym.s <==
The following is the list of acronyms which have become common nouns.
An acronym is "a word formed from the initial letter or letters of each
of the successive parts or major parts of a compound term" (Webster's Ninth).
A common noun will occur uncapitalized in Webster's Ninth.

Entries in the following table include the year in which they first
entered the language (according to the Ninth), and the Merriam-Webster
dictionary that first contains them.  The following symbols are used:

NI1    New International (1909)
NI1+    New Words section of the New International (1931)
NI2    New International Second Edition (1934)
NI2+    Addendum section of the Second (1959, same as 1954)
NI3    Third New International (1961)
9C    Ninth New Collegiate (1983)
12W    12,000 Words (separately published addendum to the Third, 1986)

asdic    Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (1940, NI2+)
dew    Distant Early Warning (1953, 9C)
dopa    DihydrOxyPhenylAlanine (1917, NI3)
fido    Freaks + Irregulars + Defects + Oddities (1966, 9C)
jato    Jet-Assisted TakeOff (1947, NI2+)
laser    Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (1957, NI3)
lidar    LIght Detection And Ranging (1963, 9C)
maser    Microwave Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation (1955, NI3)
nitinol    NIckel + TIn + Naval Ordinance Laboratory (1968, 9C)
rad    Radiation Absorbed Dose (1918, NI3)
radar    RAdio Detection And Ranging (ca. 1941, NI2+)
rem    Roentgen Equivalent Man (1947, NI3)
rep    Roentgen Equivalent Physical (1947, NI3)
scuba    Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus (1952, NI3)
snafu    Situation Normal -- All Fucked (Fouled) Up (ca. 1940, NI2+)
sofar    SOund Fixing And Ranging (1946, NI2+)
sonar    SOund NAvigation Ranging (1945, NI2+)
tepa    Tri-Ethylene Phosphor-Amide (1953, 9C)
zip    Zone Improvement Plan (1963, 9C)

Below are blends that technically are also acronyms:

alnico    ALuminum + NIckel + CObalt (1935, NI2+)
avgas    AViation GASoline (1943, NI3)
boff    Box OFFice (1946, NI3)
ceramal    CERAMic ALloy (ca. 1948, NI2+)
cermet    CERamic METal (1948, NI2+)
comsymp    COMmunist SYMPathizer (ca. 1961, 9C)
cyborg    CYBernetic ORGanism (ca. 1962, 9C)
dorper    DORset horn + blackhead PERsian (1949, NI3)
elhi    ELementary school + HIgh school (1948, 9C)
gox    Gaseous OXygen (1959, 9C)
hela    HEnrietta LAcks (1953, 9C)
kip    KIlo- + Pound (1914, NI2)
linac    LINear ACcelerator (1950, 9C)
loran    LOng-RAnge Navigation (ca. 1932, NI2+)
lox    Liquid OXygen (1923, 9C)
mascon    MASs CONcentration (1968, 9C)
maximin    MAXImum + MINimum (1951, 9C)
minimax    MINImum + MAXimum (1918, 9C)
modem    MOdulator + DEModulator (ca. 1952, 9C)
motocross MOTOr + CROSS-country (1951, 9C)
napalm    NAphthenic and PALMitic acids (1942, NI2+)
parsec    PARallax SECond (ca. 1913, NI1+)
redox    REDuction + OXidation (1828, NI2)
selsyn    SELf-SYNchronizing (1936, NI2+)
shoran    SHOrt-RAnge Navigation (ca. 1932, NI2+)
silvex    SILVa + EXterminator (1961, 9C)
sitcom    SITuation COMedy (1965, 9C)
teleran    TELEvision-RAdar Navigation (1946, NI2+)
telex    TELeprinter EXchange (ca. 1943, 9C)
vidicon VIDeo + ICONoscope (1950, NI3)
wilco    WILl COmply (ca. 1938, NI3)

Acronyms from other languages:

agitprop AGITatsiya + PROPaganda (Russian, ca. 1926, NI2+)
flak    FLiegerAbwehrKanonen (German, 1938, NI2+)
gestapo    GEheime STAatsPOlizei (German, 1934, NI2+)
gulag    Glavnoe Upravlenie ispravitel'notrudovykh LAGerei (Russian, 1974, 9C)
kolkhoz KOLlektivnoe KHOZyaistvo (Russian, 1921, NI2)
moped    MOtor + PEDal (Swedish, ca. 1955, 9C)
sambo    SAMozashchita Bez Oruzhiya (Russian, 1972, 9C)

Selected near misses:

athodyd    Aero-THermODYnamic Duct (1945, NI2+) -- blend
awol    Absent WithOut Leave (1919, NI2+) -- usually capitalized
benday    BENjamin DAY (1903, NI1+) -- blend
deet    Di-Ethyl Tolumide (1962, 9C) -- pronunciation of D. E. T.
echovirus Enteric Cytopathogenic Human Orphan VIRUS (1955, 9C) -- blend
hi-fi    HIgh FIdelity (1948, NI2+) -- hyphenated
ibuprofen Iso-BUtyl PROpionic PHENyl (1969, 12W) -- PH pronounced f
jaygee  Junior Grade (1943, NI3) -- pronunciation of J. G.
jayvee  Junior Varsity (1937, NI3) -- pronunciation of J. V.
jeep    General Purpose (1940, NI2+) -- pronunciation of G. P.
op-ed    OPposite EDitorial (1970, 9C) -- hyphenated
pj's    PaJamas (1951, NI3) -- punctuated
nazi    NAtionalsoZIalist (German, 1930, NI2) -- shorten & alter
nystatin New York STATe + -IN (1952, NI3) -- extraneous suffix
reovirus Respiratory Enteric Orphan VIRUS (1959, 9C) -- blend
sci-fi    SCIence FIction (1955, 9C) -- hyphenated
siloxane SILicon + OXygen + methANE (1922, NI3) -- blend
tokamak    TOroidskaja KAmera MAGneticheskaja (Russian, 1965, 9C) -- G pron. k
tradevman TRAining DEVices MAN  (ca. 1947, NI3) -- blend
updo    UPswept hairDO (1946, NI2+) -- blend
veep    Vice President (1940, NI2+) -- pronunciation of V. P.
warfarin Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation + coumARIN (ca. 1950, NI3) - blend
yuppie    Young Urban Professional + -PIE (1983, 9C) -- extraneous suffix

Acronyms that should be in Webster's Ninth:

biopic    BIOgraphical PICture (12W)
fifo    First In, First Out (NI2+)
lifo    Last In, First Out (NI2+)
nomic    NO Metal In Composition (NI3) (John Bulten)
quango    QUAsi-Non Governmental Organization (12W)
shazam    Solomon Hercules Atlas Zeus Achilles Mercury (12W)
tacan    TACtical Air Navigation (12W)

Supposed acronyms:

posh    Port Out, Starboard Home
spiff    Sales Productivity Incentive Fund
tip    To Insure (should be Ensure) Politeness (or Promptness)

==> english/ambiguous.p <==
What word in the English language is the most ambiguous?
What is the greatest number of parts of speech that a single word
can be used for?

==> english/ambiguous.s <==
In Webster's Ninth, "set" occupies 1.2 columns, has 25 vb entries, 11 vi
entries, 23 noun entries, 7 adjective entries; "take" occupies 1.3 columns,
has 19 vb entries, 8 vi entries, 4 noun entries.

The word "like" occupies eight parts of speech:
    verb            "Fruit flies like a banana."
    noun            "He has his likes and dislikes."
    adjective        "People of like tastes agree."
    adverb            "The truth is more like this."
    conjunction        "Time flies like an arrow."
    preposition        "She cries like a woman."
    interjection        "Like, man, that was far out."
    verbal auxiliary    "So loud I like to fell out of bed."

==> english/antonym.p <==
What words, when a single letter is added, reverse their meanings?

Exclude words that are obtained by adding an "a-" to the beginning.

==> english/antonym.s <==
e: fast -> feast, fiancee -> fiance
h: treat -> threat
r: fiend -> friend
s: he -> she
t: here -> there

==> english/behead.p <==
Is there a sentence that remains a sentence when all its words are beheaded?

==> english/behead.s <==
Show this bold Prussian that praises slaughter, slaughter brings rout.

==> english/capital.p <==
What words change pronunciation when capitalized (e.g., polish -> Polish)?

==> english/capital.s <==
A partial list is:
askew
august
begin
chile
colon
concord
degas
ewe    (African language)
herb
job
levy
lima
messier
mobile
natal
nice
polish
rainier
ravel
reading
tang    (Chinese dynasty)
tangier
worms    (Germany city)

==> english/charades.p <==
A ....... surgeon was ....... to operate because he had .......

==> english/charades.s <==
A notable surgeon was not able to operate because he had no table.

==> english/contradictory.proverbs.p <==
What are some proverbs that contradict one another?

==> english/contradictory.proverbs.s <==
Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth.

Look before you leap.
He who hesitates is lost.

Nothing venture, nothing gain.
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Seek and ye shall find.
Curiosity killed the cat.

Save for a rainy day.
Tomorrow will take care of itself.

Life is what we make it.
What is to be will be.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.
Many hands make light work.

One man's meat is another man's poison.
Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

With age comes wisdom.
Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings come all wise sayings.

Bear ye one another's burdens. (Gal. 6:2)
For every man shall bear his own burden. (Gal. 6:5)

Great minds run in the same channel.
Fools think alike.

A rolling stone gathers no moss.
A setting hen never lays.

==> english/contranym.p <==
What words are their own antonym?

==> english/contranym.s <==
In his 1989 book _Crazy English_, Richard Lederer calls such words contranyms
and lists more than 35, although some are phrases instead of words.
These can be divided into homographs (same spelling) and homophones (same pronunciation).

A partial list of homographs:
aught = all, nothing
bill = invoice, money
cleave = to separate, to join
clip = cut apart, fasten together
comprise = contain, compose
dust = to remove, add fine particles
fast = rapid, unmoving
literally = actually, figuratively
moot = debatable, not needing to be debated (already decided)
note = promise to pay, money
oversight = care, error
peep = look quietly, beep
peer = noble, companion
put = lay, throw
puzzle = pose problem, solve problem
quantum = very small, very large (quantum leap)
ravel = entangle, disentangle
resign = to quit, to sign up again
sanction = to approve of, to punish
sanguine = murderous, optimistic
scan = to examine closely, to glance at quickly
set = fix, flow
skin = to cover with, remove outer covering
speak = express verbally, express nonverbally
table = propose [British], set aside
temper = calmness, passion
trim = cut things off, put things on

A very short list of homophones:
aural, oral = heard, spoken
fiance, fiancee = female betrothed, male betrothed
raise, raze = erect, tear down

A pair of French words which can be very confusing:
La symetrie (symmetry) and L'asymetrie (asymmetry).

Latin:
immo = yes, no

Possibilities:
draw (curtains, open or close) (money, withdraw, accumulate interest)
eke

==> english/element.p <==
The name of what element ends in "h"?

==> english/element.s <==
Bismuth.

"The Elements" by Tom Lehrer
Sung to the tune of "The Major-General's Song" from Gilbert & Sullivan's
"The Pirates of Penzance":

There's antimony, arsenic, aluminum, selenium
And hydrogen and oxygen and nitrogen and rhenium
And nickel, neodymium, neptunium, germanium
And iron, americium, ruthenium, uranium,
Europium, zirconium, lutetium, vanadium
And lanthanum and osmium and astatine and radium
And gold and protactinium and indium and gallium
And iodine and thorium and thulium and thallium.

There's yttrium, ytterbium, actinium, rubidium
And boron, gadolinium, niobium, iridium
And strontium and silicon and silver and samarium
And BISMUTH, bromine, lithium, beryllium and barium.

There's holmium and helium and hafnium and erbium
And phosphorous and francium and fluorine and terbium
And manganese and mercury, molybdenum, magnesium,
Dysprosium and scandium and cerium and cesium
And lead, praseodymium and platinum, plutonium,
Palladium, promethium, potassium, polonium
And tantalum, technetium, titanium, tellurium
And cadmium and calcium and chromium and curium.

There's sulfur, californium and fermium, berkelium
And also mendelevium, einsteinium, nobelium
And argon, krypton, neon, radon, xenon, zinc and rhodium
And chlorine, carbon, cobalt, copper, tungsten, tin and sodium.

These are the only ones of which the news has come to Ha'vard
And there may be many others but they haven't been discavard.

==> english/equations.p <==
Each equation below contains the initials of words that will make the phrase
correct.  Figure out the missing words.  Lower case is used only to help the
initials stand out better.

Example:  26 = L. of the A.
    would be  26 = Letters of the Alphabet

1 = G. L. for M. K.
1 = S. C. in D. P.
1 = S. S. for a M.
1 = W. on a U.
2 = H. in a W.
2 = P. in a P.
3 = B. M., S. H. T. R.!
3 = D. of the C.
3 = W. M.
4 = Q. in a F. G.
4 = S. in a Y.
5 = D. in a Z. C.
5 = D. of the C.
5 = S. in the S. C.
5 = T. on a F.
6 = P. in a P.
6 = T. Z. in the U. S.
6 = of O. and a H. D. of the O.
7 = C. in a R.
7 = K. of F. in H. P.
7 = W. of the W.
8 = L. on a S.
8 = L. on an O.
8 = S. on a S. S.
9 = D. in a Z. C., with the S. C.
9 = L. of a C.
9 = P. in the S. S.
10 = L. I. B.
11 = P. on a C. T.
11 = P. on a F. T.
12 = D. of C.
12 = D. of J.
12 = S. of the Z.
12 = T. of I.
13 = B. D.
13 = S. on the A. F.
14 = D. in a F.
15 = M. on a D. M. C.
16 = O. in the P.
18 = H. on the G. C.
20 = C. in a P.
24 = B. B. B. in a P.
24 = B. B. to a C.
24 = H. in a D.
25 = Y. of M. for a S. A.
26 = L. of the A.
29 = D. in F. in a L. Y.
32 = D. F. at which W. F.
36 = I. on a Y. S.
40 = D. and N. of the G. F.
43 = B. in E. C. of N.
46 = C. in the H. B.
50 = W. to L. Y. L.
52 = W. in a Y.
54 = C. in a D.
57 = H. V.
64 = S. on a C.
76 = T. L. the B. P.
88 = C. in the S.
88 = P. K.
90 = D. in a R. A.
96 = T., by ?
100 = B. of B. on a W.
101 = D.
101 = a S. M. L.
200 = D. for P. G. in M.
206 = B. in the H. B.
365 = D. in a Y.
432 = P. in a H.
500 = M. in the I. F. H.
500 = S. in a R.
1000 = I. in N. Y.
1000 = W. that a P. is W.
1001 = A. N.
20000 = L. U. the S.

==> english/equations.s <==
This puzzle originally was printed in "Games" magazine in 1981, by Will Shortz.
Many people have added to it since then.

1 = G. L. for M. K. (1 giant leap for man kind)
1 = S. C. in D. P. (1 single calorie in diet pepsi)
1 = S. S. for a M. (1 small step for a man)
1 = W. on a U. (1 wheel on a unicycle)
2 = H. in a W. (2 halves in a whole)
2 = P. in a P. (2 peas in a pod)
3 = B. M., S. H. T. R.! (3 blind mice, see how they run!)
3 = D. of the C. (Days of the Condor -- movie)
3 = W. M. (3 wise men)
4 = Q. in a F. G. (4 quarters in a football game)
4 = S. in a Y. (4 seasons in a year)
5 = D. in a Z. C. (5 digits in a zip code)
5 = D. of the C. (Days of the Condor -- book)
5 = S. in the S. C. (stars in the Southern Cross)
5 = T. on a F. (5 toes on a foot)
6 = P. in a P. (6 pigs in a poke)
6 = T. Z. in the U. S. (time zones in the United States)
6 = of O. and a H. D. of the O. (6 of one and a half dozen of the other)
7 = C. in a R. (colors in a rainbow : ROYGBIV)
7 = K. of F. in H. P. (7 kinds of fruit in hawaiian punch)
7 = W. of the W. (7 wonders of the world)
8 = L. on a S. (legs on a spider)
8 = L. on an O. (8 legs on an octopus)
8 = S. on a S. S. (8 sides on a stop sign)
9 = D. in a Z. C., with the S. C. (digits in a zip code, with the street code)
9 = L. of a C. (9 lives of a cat)
9 = P. in the S. S. (9 planets in the solar system)
10 = L. I. B. (10 little indian boys)
11 = P. on a C. T. (11 players on a cricket team)
11 = P. on a F. T. (11 players on a football team)
12 = D. of C. (12 days of Christmas)
12 = D. of J. (disciples of Jesus)
12 = S. of the Z. (12 signs of the zodiac)
12 = T. of I. (12 tribes of Israel)
13 = B. D. (13 = baker's dozen)
13 = S. on the A. F. (13 stripes on the American flag)
14 = D. in a F. (14 days in a fortnight)
15 = M. on a D. M. C. (15 men on a dead man's chest)
16 = O. in the P. (ounces in the pound)
18 = H. on the G. C. (18 holes on the golf course)
20 = C. in a P. (20 cigarettes in a pack)
24 = B. B. B. in a P. (24 black birds baked in a pie)
24 = B. B. to a C. (24 beer bottles to a case)
24 = H. in a D. (24 hours in a day)
25 = Y. of M. for a S. A. (25 years of marriage for a silver anniversary)
26 = L. of the A. (letters of the alphabet)
29 = D. in F. in a L. Y. (29 days in Febuary in a leap year.)
32 = D. F. at which W. F. (32 degrees Fahrenheit at which water freezes)
36 = I. on a Y. S. (36 inches on a yard stick)
40 = D. and N. of the G. F. (40 days and nights of the great flood)
43 = B. in E. C. of N. (beans in each cup of Nescafe)
46 = C. in the H. B. (chromosomes in the human body)
50 = W. to L. Y. L. (50 ways to leave your lover)
52 = W. in a Y. (52 weeks in a year)
54 = C. in a D. (with the J.) (54 cards in a deck with the jokers)
57 = H. V. (57 heinz varieties)
64 = S. on a C. (64 squares on a checkerboard)
76 = T. L. the B. P. (76 trombones led the big parade)
88 = C. in the S. (constellations in the sky)
88 = P. K. (88 piano keys)
90 = D. in a R. A. (90 degrees in a right angle)
96 = T., by ? (96 Tears, by ?)
100 = B. of B. on a W. (100 bottles of beer on a wall)
101 = D. (101 dalmations)
101 = a S. M. L. (101, a silly millimeter longer)
200 = D. for P. G. in M. (200 dollars for passing go in monopoly)
206 = B. in the H. B. (206 bones in the human body)
365 = D. in a Y. (365 days in a year)
432 = P. in a H. (pints in a hogshead)
500 = M. in the I. F. H. (500 miles in the Indianapolis Five Hundred)
500 = S. in a R. (sheets in a ream)
1000 = I. in N. Y. (1000 islands in new york)
1000 = W. that a P. is W. (1000 words that a picture is worth)
1001 = A. N.  (1001 arabian nights, as in tales of)
20000 = L. U. the S. (20000 leagues under the sea)

==> english/fossil.p <==
What are some examples of idioms that include obsolete words?

==> english/fossil.s <==
These are called fossil expresions -- words that have dropped out of
common use but hang around in idioms.  Not all of them are separate
words, some are part of other words or have prefixes or suffixes
attached.  There are also words which have current meaning, but the
meaning in the idiom is unrelated to it.

idiom               fossil          meaning of fossil
--------------------------------------------------
swashbuckler        buckler        small shield
newfangled        fangled        siezed
rank and file        file        column
to and fro        fro        from
gormless        gorm        attention
hem and haw        haw        make the sound "haw"
hem and haw        hem        make the sound "hem"
hue and cry        hue        outcry
kit and kaboodle    kaboodle    collection
out of kilter        kilter        order
kith and kin        kith        friends
let or hinderance    let        hinderance
footpad            pad        highwayman
pratfall        prat        buttocks
rank and file        rank        row
raring to go        raring        enthusiastic
ruthless        ruth        compassion
short shrift        shrift        confession
spick-and-span        span        chunk of wood
spick-and-span        spick        nail (spike)
swashbuckler        swash        bluster or stagger
bank teller        tell        to count

==> english/frequency.p <==
In the English language, what are the most frequently appearing:
    1) letters overall?
    2) letters BEGINNING words?
    3) final letters?
    4) digrams (ordered pairs of letters)?

==> english/frequency.s <==
web2 = word list from Webster's Second Unabridged
web2a = hyphenated words and phrases from Webster's Second Unabridged
both = web2 + web2a
net = several gigabytes of Usenet traffic

1) Most frequently appearing letters overall:
web2:    eiaorn tslcup mdhygb fvkwzx qj
both:    eairon tslcud pmhgyb fwvkzx qj
net:    etaoin srhldc umpfgy wbvkxj qz

2) Most frequently appearing letters BEGINNING words:
web:    spcaut mbdrhi eofgnl wvkjqz yx
both:    spcatb umdrhf eigowl nvkqjz yx
net:    taisow cmbphd frnelu gyjvkx qz

3) Most frequent final letters:
web:    eysndr ltacmg hkopif xwubzv jq
both:    eydsnr tlagcm hkpoiw fxbuzv jq
net:    estndr yolafg mhipuk cwxbvz jq

4) Most frequent digrams (ordered pairs of letters)
web:    er in ti on te al an at ic en is re ra le ri ro st ne ar ...
both:    er in te ti on an re al at le en ra ic ar st ri ro ed ne ...
net:    th he in er re an on at te es or en ar ha is ou it to st nd ...

Program to compute this from word list in standard input:
#include <stdio.h>
#include <ctype.h>
typedef struct {
    int count;
    char name[3];
} FREQ;

FREQ all[256],initial[256],terminal[256],digram[65536];

int compare(p,q)
FREQ *p,*q;
{    return q->count - p->count;
}

void sort_and_print(freq,count,description)
FREQ *freq;
int count;
char *description;
{   register FREQ *p;

    (void)qsort(freq,count,sizeof(*freq),compare);
    puts(description);
    for (p=freq;p<freq+count;p++)
    if (p->count) printf("%s %d\n",p->name,p->count);
}

main()
{   char s[BUFSIZ];
    register char *p;
    register int i;

    while (gets(s)!=NULL) {
    if (islower(*s)) {
        initial[*s].count++;
        sprintf(initial[*s].name,"%c",*s);
        for (p=s;*p;p++) {
        if (isalpha(*p)) {
            all[*p].count++;
            sprintf(all[*p].name,"%c",*p);
            if (isalpha(p[1])) {
            i = p[0]*256 + p[1];
            digram[i].count++;
            sprintf(digram[i].name,"%c%c",p[0],p[1]);
            }
        }
        }
        terminal[*--p].count++;
        sprintf(terminal[*p].name,"%c",*p);
    }
    }
    sort_and_print(all,256,"overall character distribution: ");
    sort_and_print(initial,256,"initial character distribution: ");
    sort_and_print(terminal,256,"terminal character distribution: ");
    sort_and_print(digram,65536,"digram distribution: ");
}

==> english/gry.p <==
Find three completely different words ending in "gry."

==> english/gry.s <==
Aside from "angry" and "hungry" and words derived therefrom, there is
only one word ending with "-gry" in Webster's Third Unabridged: "aggry."
However, this word is defective in that it is part of a phrase "aggry beads."
The OED's usage examples all talk about "aggry beads."

Moving to older dictionaries, we find that "gry" itself is a word in Webster's
Second Unabridged (and the OED):

gry, n. [L. gry, a trifle; Gr. gry, a grunt]
   1. a measure equal to one-tenth of a line. [Obs.] (Obs. = obsolete)
   2. anything very small. [Rare.]

This is a list of 94 words, phrases and names ending in "gry":
[Explanation of references is given at the end of the list.]

aggry [OED:1:182; W2; W3]
Agry Dagh (Mount Agry) [EB11]
ahungry [OED:1:194; FW; W2]
angry [OED; FW; W2; W3]
anhungry [OED:1:332; W2]
Badagry [Johnston; EB11]
Ballingry [Bartholomew:40; CLG:151; RD:164, pl.49]
begry [OED:1:770,767]
bewgry [OED:1:1160]
bowgry [OED:1:1160]
braggry [OED:1:1047]
Bugry [TIG]
Chockpugry [Worcester]
Cogry [BBC]
cony-gry [OED:2:956]
conyngry [OED:2:956]
Croftangry [DFC, as "Chrystal Croftangry"]
dog-hungry [W2]
Dshagry [Stieler]
Dzagry [Andree]
eard-hungry [CED (see "yird"); CSD]
Echanuggry [Century:103-104, on inset map, Key 104 M 2]
Egry [France; TIG]
ever-angry [W2]
fire-angry [W2]
Gagry [EB11]
gry (from Latin _gry_) [OED:4/2:475; W2]
gry (from Romany _grai_) [W2]
haegry [EDD (see "hagery")]
half-angry [W2]
hangry [OED:1:329]
heart-angry [W2]
heart-hungry [W2]
higry pigry [OED:5/1:285]
hogry [EDD (see "huggerie"); CSD]
hogrymogry [EDD (see "huggerie"); CSD (as "hogry-mogry")]
hongry [OED:5/1:459; EDD:3:282]
huggrymuggry [EDD (see "huggerie"); CSD (as "huggry-muggry")]
hungry [OED; FW; W2; W3]
Hungry Bungry [Daily Illini, in ad for The Giraffe, Spring 1976]
Jagry [EB11]
kaingry [EDD (see "caingy")]
land-hungry [W2]
Langry [TIG; Times]
Lisnagry [Bartholomew:489]
MacLoingry [Phillips (as "Flaithbhertach MacLoingry")]
mad-angry [OED:6/2:14]
mad-hungry [OED:6/2:14]
magry [OED:6/2:36, 6/2:247-48]
malgry [OED:6/2:247]
Margry [Indians (see "Pierre Margry" in bibliog., v.2, p.1204)]
maugry [OED:6/2:247-48]
mawgry [OED:6/2:247]
meagry [OED:6/2:267]
meat-hungry [W2]
menagry [OED (see "managery")]
messagry [OED]
overangry [RH1; RH2]
Pelegry [CE (in main index as "Raymond de Pelegry")]
Pingry [Bio-Base; HPS:293-94, 120-21]
podagry [OED; W2 (below the line)]
Pongry [Andree (Supplement, p.572)]
pottingry [OED:7/2:1195; Jamieson:3:532]
puggry [OED:8/1:1573; FW; W2; W3]
pugry [OED:8/1:1574]
rungry [EDD:5:188]
scavengry [OED (in 1715 quote under "scavengery")]
Schtschigry [LG/1:2045; OSN:97]
Seagry [TIG; EB11]
Segry [Johnston; Andree]
self-angry [W2]
self-hungry ?
Shchigry [CLG:1747; Johnson:594; OSN:97,206; Times:185,pl.45]
shiggry [EDD]
Shtchigry [LG/1:2045; LG/2:1701]
Shtshigry [Lipp]
skugry [OED:9/2:156, 9/1:297; Jamieson:4:266]
Sygry [Andree]
Tangry [France]
Tchangry [Johnson:594; LG/1:435,1117]
Tchigry [Johnson:594]
tear-angry [W2]
tike-hungry [CSD]
Tingry [France; EB11 (under "Princesse de Tingry")]
toggry [Simmonds (as "Toggry", but all entries are capitalized)]
ulgry [Partridge; Smith:24-25]
unangry [W2]
vergry [OED:12/1:123]
Virgy [CLG:2090]
Wirgy [CLG:2090; NAP:xxxix; Times:220, pl.62; WA:948]
wind-angry.
wind-hungry [W2]
yeard-hungry [CED (see "yird")]
yerd-hungry [CED (see "yird"); OED]
yird-hungry [CED (see "yird")]
Ymagry [OED:1:1009 (col. 3, 1st "boss" verb), (variant of "imagery")]

This list was gathered from the following articles:

George H. Scheetz. In Goodly Gree: With Goodwill. Word Ways 22:195 (Nov. 1989)
Murray R. Pearce. Who's Flaithbhertach MacLoingry? Word Ways 23:6 (Feb. 1990)
Harry B. Partridge. Gypsy Hobby Gry. Word Ways 23:9 (Feb. 1990)

References:
(Many references are of the form [Source:volume:page] or [Source:page].)

Andree, Richard. Andrees Handatlas (index volume). 1925.
Bartholomew, John. Gazetteer of the British Isles: Statistical and
    Topographical. 1887.
BBC = BBC Pronouncing Dictionary of English Names.
Bio-Base. (Microfiche) Detroit: Gale Research Company. 1980.
CE = Catholic Encyclopedia. 1907.
CED = Chambers English Dictionary. 1988.
Century = "India, Northern Part." The Century Atlas of the World. 1897, 1898.
CLG = The Colombia Lippincott Gazetteer of the World. L.E.Seltzer, ed. 1952.
CSD = Chambers Scots Dictionary. 1971 reprint of 1911 edition.
Daily Illini (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign).
DFC = Dictionary of Fictional Characters. 1963.
EB11 = Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed.
EDD = The English Dialect Dictionary. Joseph Wright, ed. 1898.
France = Map Index of France. G.H.Q. American Expeditionary Forces. 1918.
FW = Funk & Wagnalls New Standard Dictionary of the English Language. 1943.
HPS = The Handbook of Private Schools: An Annual Descriptive Survey of
    Independent Education, 66th ed. 1985.
Indians = Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. F. W. Hodge. 1912.
Jamieson, John. An Etymological Dictionary of the Scottish Language. 1879-87.
Johnston, Keith. Index Geographicus... 1864.
LG/1 = Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer
    or Geographical Dictionary of the World. 1888.
LG/2 = Lippincott's New Gazetteer: ... 1906.
Lipp = Lippincott's Pronouncing Gazetteer of the World. 1861, undated
    edition from late 1800's; 1902.
NAP = Narodowy Atlas Polski. 1973-1978 [Polish language]
OED = The Oxford English Dictionary. 1933. [Form: OED:volume/part number if
    applicable:page]
OSN: U.S.S.R. Volume 6, S-T. Official Standard Names Approved by the United
    States Board on Geographic Names. Gazetteer #42, 2nd ed. June 1970.
Partridge, Harry B. "Ad Memoriam Demetrii." Word Ways, 19 (Aug. 1986): 131.
Phillips, Lawrence. Dictionary of Biographical Reference. 1889.
RD = The Reader's Digest Complete Atlas of the British Isles, 1st ed. 1965.
RH1 = Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged. 1966.
RH2 = Random House Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition
    Unabridged. 1987.
Simmonds, P.L. Commercial Dictionary of Trade Products. 1883.
Smith, John. The True Travels, Adventvres and Observations: London 1630.
Stieler, Adolph. Stieler's Handatlas (index volume). 1925.
TIG = The Times Index-Gazetteer of the World. 1965.
Times = The Times Atlas of the World, 7th ed. 1985.
W2 = Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language,
    Second Edition, Unabridged. 1934.
W3 = Webster's Third New International Dictionary of the English Language,
    Unabridged. 1961.
WA = The World Atlas: Index-Gazetteer. Council of Ministires of the USSR, 1968.
Worcester, J.E. Universal Gazetteer, Second Edition. 1823.

Some words containing "gry" that do not end with "gry": agrypnia,
agrypnotic, Gryllidae, gryllid, gryllus, Gryllus, grylloblattid,
Gryllotalpa, gryllos, grypanian, Gryphaea, Gryll, Gryphaea, gryposis,
grysbok, gryphon, Gryphosaurus, Grypotherium, grysbuck.  Most of these
are in Webster's Second also with one from Webster's Third Edition and
one from the Random House Dictionary, Second Edition Unabridged.

==> english/homographs.p <==
List all homographs (words that are spelled the same but pronounced differently)

==> english/homographs.s <==
This list composed by Mark Brader <[e-mail]>

Classes:

A - All of the following "defects" absent
B - Basic meanings are related
C - Capitalization differs ("capitonyms")
D - Different spellings also exist (US vs UK, hyphenation, etc.)
E - Equal pronunciations also exist (US vs UK, regional, etc.)
F - Foreign word, or may be distinguished with accent marks
G - Gcontrived :-), coined, jargon, or other uncommon word

N - Alleged, but I could not find support for this one in my dictionary
    and it is not familiar to me

3 - 3-way homograph
4 - 4-way homograph

B    abstract {corresponding noun and verb; henceforth abbreviated NV}
B    abuse {NV}
B    addict {NV}
B    advocate {NV}
BG    affect {alter; emotion}
B    affiliate {NV}
B    affix {NV}
G    agape {wide open; form of love}
B    aggregate {NV}
G    ai {sloth; ouch!}
BE    ally {NV}
B    alternate {NV}
BD    analyses {plural noun; singular verb (UK)}
B    animate {verb; adjective}
A    appropriate {take posession of; suitable}
B    approximate {verb; adjective}
E    are {form of to be; unit of area}
B    arithmetic {noun; adjective}
B    articulate {verb; adjective}
4DFG    as {like; Roman coin; Persian card game; pl. of a}
B    aspirate {NV}
B    associate {NV}
B    attribute {NV}
C    august
A    axes {plural of ax; plural of axis}
A    bases {plural of base; plural of basis}
A    bass {~ fiddle; fishing for ~}
N    blessed
A    bow(ed) {~ and arrow; ~ to the king}
E    buffet {jostle; ~ lunch}
B    bustier {undergarment; more busty}
B    close {~ call; ~ the door}
B    closer {door ~; more close}
B    coagulate {NV}
G    coax {urge; coaxial cable}
3FG    colon {":"; colonial farmer; Costa Rican monetary unit}
B    combat {NV}
B    combine {NV}
A    commune {take Communion; administrative district}
A    compact {closely arranged; treaty}
B    compound {NV}
B    compress {NV}
B    conduct {NV}
B    confect {NV}
B    confines {NV}
B    conflict {NV}
B    conglomerate {NV}
B    conjugate {NV}
BE    conserve {preserve; jam}
A    console {soothe; keyboard desk}
B    consort {NV}
B    construct {NV}
B    consummate {verb; adjective}
N    contact
E    content {what is contained; satisfied}
B    contest {NV}
B    contract {NV}
B    contrast {NV}
N    convent
A    converse {logic term; to talk}
B    convert {NV}
B    convict {NV}
BE    coordinate {NV}
FG    dame {woman; term in the game of Go}
DE    decameter {poetic line with 10 feet; 10 meters (US)}
B    defect {flaw; turn traitor}
E    defense {sports term; fortification}
BE    delegate {NV}
B    deliberate {adjective; verb}
A    desert {leave alone; Sahara ~}
B    desolate {adjective; verb}
D    dingy {dull; small boat}
BE    discharge {NV}
N    divers {plural diver; various}
F    do {perform; tonic note of scale}
A    does {~ the buck see the ~?}
A    dove {dived; pigeon}
F    dozen {12; stun (Scottish)}
B    drawer {one who draws; chest of ~s}
B    duplicate {NV}
B    elaborate {verb; adjective}
A    entrance {door; delight}
BDE    envelop {NV}
N    envelope
N    ergotism {logical reasoning; ergot poisoning}
B    escort {NV}
N    escrow
B    essay {piece of writing; try}
B    estimate {NV}
CFG    ewe {female sheep; African language}
B    excuse {NV}
B    exploit {NV}
BF    expose {NV}
B    ferment {NV}
N    fiasco {failure; bottle}
BDE    fillet {cut of meat/fish; band of ribbon/wood}
G    formal {ceremonious; methylal}
DEG    genet {civetlike animal; horselike animal}
A    gill {volume unit; organ in fish}
A    glower {sullen look; one that glows}
B    graduate {NV}
F    he {pronoun; Hebrew letter}
CE    herb {name; plant}
A    hinder {hamper; posterior}
B    house {NV}
B    import {NV}
A    incense {infuriate; perfume for burning}
B    increase {NV}
B    initiate {NV}
B    insert {NV}
B    insult {NV}
B    intern {NV}
A    intimate {~ relations; to suggest}
A    invalid {cripple; erroneous}
B    invite {NV}
G    is {form of to be; plural of i}
B    jagged {slashed or cut; having a zigzag edge}
C    Job
BCF    jubilate {rejoice; joyous song}
CF    junker/Junker
3A    lather {suds; lath worker; lathe worker}
A    lead {~ pipe; ~ astray}
B            {past tense verb; adjective}
BE    legged {past tense verb; adjective}
CF    Lima
B    live {~ in peace; ~ audience}
B    lives {~ in peace; for all of our ~}
D    lower {to let down; frown}
F    manes {plural of mane; Roman gods}
F    mate {friend; type of tea}
N    mead
A    minute {60 seconds; tiny}
B    misconduct {NV}
BE    mobile {movable; wind-blown sculpture}
B    moderate {NV}
EG    molar {back tooth; chemical term}
A    moped {brooded; fun vehicle}
B    mouse {rodent; to hunt them}
B    mouth {NV}
A    mow {pile of hay; to cut down}
B    multiply {verb; adverb}
A    number {decimal ~; more numb}
B    object {thing; complain}
E    offense {sports term; attack}
3DG    os {bone; esker; pl. of o}
A    overage {too old; surplus}
BD    paralyses {plural noun; singular verb (UK)}
A    pasty {pastelike; British meat pie}
3FG    pate {head; food paste; porcelain paste for ceramics}
A    peaked {sharply pointed; unhealthy looking}
A    peer {equal; one who pees}
B    perfect {verb; adjective}
G    periodic {regularly occurring; ~ acids, HIO4 and related substances}
B    permit {NV}
C    Placer
C    polish
A    poll {head; group of students}
B    predicate {NV}
N    premise
A    present {current; Christmas ~}
E    primer {intro book/material (US); device for priming}
B    proceeds {goes; income}
B    produce {give rise to; fruits and vegetables}
B    progress {to move forward; work in ~}
A    project {planned undertaking; to throw forward}
N    prospect
B    protest {NV}
A    pussy {cat; infected}
B    putter/putting {golf club; one that puts}
DG    rabat {clerical garment; pottery piece used for polishing}
DG    rabbi {clerical garment; Jewish religious official}
B    ragged {teased; tattered}
F    re {pertaining to; 2nd note of scale}
B    read {present tense; past tense}
C    Reading
F    real {actual; former Spanish coin}
B    rebel {NV}
B    recess {NV}
B    recoil {NV}
B    record {NV}
D    recreate {relax; create again}
3BD    redress {compensate; compensation; dress again}
B    refill {NV}
B    refund {NV}
B    refuse {NV}
B    regress {NV}
B    reject {NV}
N    repent {regret; creeping}
B    replay {NV}
D    represent {stand for; present again}
B    rerun {NV}
D    research {investigate; search again}
A    resent {be indignant; sent again}
D    reserve {hold back; serve again}
D    resign {quit; sign again}
D    resolve {settle dispute; solve again}
D    resort {vacation spot; sort again}
F    resume {work summary; restart}
A    river {watercourse; one who rives}
F    rose {flower; wine}
DE    routing {making a route for (US spelling); woodworking term}
A    row {a fight; ~,~,~ your boat}
DF    sake {purpose; Japanese drink}
3AF    salve {ointment; salvage; hail!}
N    second
B    segment {NV}
B    separate {NV}
A    severer {cutter; more severe}
3AG    sewer {one who sews; storm ~; head servant at table}
A    shower {one who shows; ~ stall}
B    syndicate {NV}
A    singer {one who singes; one who sings}
A    skied {past tense of ski; past tense of sky}
A    slaver {slave taker; drool}
A    slough {swamp; cast-off}
A    sow {~ seeds; female pig}
A    stingy {meager; able to sting}
B    subject {NV}
A    supply {in a supple way; ~ and demand}
B    survey {NV}
B    suspect {NV}
N    swinger {whopper; one that swings}
CF    tang {flavor; Chinese dynasty}
A    tarry {covered in tar; dawdle}
A    tear {~ down; shed a ~}
A    thou {you; slang for thousand}
A    thymic {of thyme; of thymus}
A    tier {one who ties; row or rank}
B    torment {NV}
A    tower {one who tows; leaning ~}
B    transfer {NV}
B    transplant {NV}
B    transport {NV}
DG    unionized {~ labor; ~ hydrogen}
B    upset {NV}
G    us {we; plural of u}
B    use {NV}
A    violist {viol player; viola player}
A    wind {~ the clock; north ~}
CF    worms
A    wound {injury; wrapped around}
N    yak {ox; laugh}


==> english/homophones.p <==
What words have four or more spellings that sound alike?

==> english/homophones.s <==
air, aire, are, ayr, ayer, e'er, ere, err, heir
cense, cents, scents, sense
eau, eaux, O, oh, owe

==> english/j.ending.p <==
What words and names end in j?

==> english/j.ending.s <==
Following is a compilation of words ending in j from various
dictionaries.  Capitalized words and words marked as foreign
are included, but to keep the list to a managable size,
personal and place names are excluded.


aflaj     plural of falaj (Cham)
benj     variant of bhang - hemp plant (NI2)
bhimraj     the rachet-tailed drongo (F&W)
Bhumij     branch of Munda tribes in India (NI3)
Chuj     a people of Northwestern Guatemala (NI3)
esraj     an Indian musical instrument with 3 or 4 strings (OED2)
falaj    a water channel as part of the ancient irrigation
     system of Oman (Cham)
Funj     variant of Fung - a people dominant in Sennar (NI3)
gaj     Omanese coin (NI2)
genj     a common type of cotton cloth in Sudan (F&W)
gunj     a grannery in India (NI2)
hadj     variant of hajj (NI3)
haj     variant of hajj (NI3)
hajilij     the bito - a small scrubby tree that grows in dry
     parts of Africa and Asia (NI2)
hajj     pilgimage to Mecca (NI3)
hij     obsolete form of hie or high (OED2)
Jubaraj     variant of Yuvaraja - the male heir to an Indian
     pricipality (OED2)
kaleej     variant of kalij (NI3)
kalij     any of several crested Indian pheasants (NI3)
kankrej     guzerat - a breed of Indian cattle (NI3)
kharaj     a tax on unbelievers (NI2)
Khawarij plural of Kharijite - a member of the oldest
     religious sect of Islam (NI3)
khiraj     variant of kharaj (NI2)
kilij     a Turkish saber with a crescent shaped blade (RHD)
kurunj     variant of kurung - the Indian beech (NI2)
Maharaj     variant of Maharaja - East Indian prince (OED2)
munj     a tough Asiatic grass (NI3)
naranj     Maldive Island name for mancala - an Arabian board
     game (CD)
pakhawaj a doubleheaded drum used in Indian music (OED2)
raj     rule (NI3)
saj     the Indian laurel (NI2)
samaj     Hindu religious society (NI3)
sohmaj     variant of samaj (NI2)
somaj     variant of samaj (NI2)
svaraj     variant of swaraj (F&W)
swaraj     local self-government in India (NI3)
taj     a tall conical cap worn by Moslems (NI3)
tedj     variant of tej (OED2)
tej     Ethiopian mead (OED2)
Viraj     in Hindu Mythology, the mysterious primeval being
     when differentiating itself into male and female (F&W)
Yuvaraj     same as Jubaraj (OED2)
Yuveraj     same as Jubaraj (OED2)
Yuvraj     same as Jubaraj (OED2)
zij     Persian astronomical tables (F&W)

This list is almost certainly not complete.  For example, on
page 187 of Beyond Language, Dmitri Borgmann has "Udruj" in a
word list.  What reference he dug this word out of is unknown;
the combined efforts of the NPL electronic mailing list could
not produce the source of this word.  So additions to this list
will be welcomed by the author.


REFERENCES

CD - The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia, 1911
Cham - Chambers English Dictionary, 1988
F&W - Funk & Wagnall's New Standard Dictionary of the English
      Language, 1941
NI2 - Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition,
      1942
NI3 - Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1981
OED2 - Oxford English Dictionary, Second Edition, 1989
RHD - Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 1966

---
Dan Tilque    --    [e-mail]

==> english/ladder.p <==
Find the shortest word ladders stretching between the following pairs:
hit - ace
pig - sty
four - five
play - game
green - grass
wheat - bread
order - chaos
order - impel
sixth - hubby
speedy - comedy
chasing - robbers
effaces - cabaret
griming - goblets
vainest - injects
vainest - infulae