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Xref: bloom-picayune.mit.edu rec.puzzles:18142 news.answers:3073 Newsgroups: rec.puzzles,news.answers Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!usc!wupost!uunet!questrel!chris From: uunet!questrel!chris (Chris Cole) Subject: rec.puzzles FAQ, part 6 of 15 Message-ID: <puzzles-faq-6_717034101@questrel.com> 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: chris@questrel.com (Chris Cole) Reply-To: uunet!questrel!faql-comment Organization: Questrel, Inc. References: <puzzles-faq-1_717034101@questrel.com> Date: Mon, 21 Sep 1992 00:09:01 GMT Approved: news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: Sat, 3 Apr 1993 00:08:21 GMT Lines: 2063 Archive-name: puzzles-faq/part06 Last-modified: 1992/09/20 Version: 3 ==> english/ladder.s <== Using every unabridged dictionary available, the best yet found are: hit ait act ace pig peg seg sey sty four foud fond find fine five play blay bray bras baas bams gams game green grees greys grays grass wheat theat treat tread bread order older elder eider cider cides codes coles colls coals chals chaos order ormer armer ammer amper imper impel sixth sixty silty silly sally sably sabby nabby nubby hubby speedy speeds steeds steers sheers shyers sayers payers papers papery popery popely pomely comely comedy griming priming prising poising toising toiling coiling colling collins collies dollies doilies dailies bailies bailees bailers failers fablers gablers gabbers gibbers gibbets gobbets goblets chasing ceasing cessing messing massing masting marting martins martens martels cartels carpels carpers campers cambers combers cobbers combers robbers vainest fainest fairest sairest saidest saddest maddest middest mildest wildest wiliest winiest waniest caniest cantest contest confest confess confers conners canners fanners fawners pawners pawnees pawnces paunces jaunces jaunced jaunted saunted stunted stented stenned steined stained spained splined splines salines savines savings pavings parings earings enrings endings ondings ondines undines unlines unlives unwives unwires unwares unbares unbared unpared unpaged uncaged incaged incased incised incises incites indites indices indicts inducts indults insults insulas insulae infulae This is not another travelling salesman - it is merely finding the diameter of connected components of that graph. The simple algorithm for this is to do one depth first search from each word, resulting in an O(n*m) worst case algorithm (where n is the number of words, and m is the number of arcs). In practice, it is actually somewhat better, since the graph breaks down into many connected components. However, the diameters (and solutions) depend on what dictionary is used. Here are the results from various dictionaries: From /usr/dict/words (restricted to words all lower case alphabetical) (19,694 words): sixth - hubby (46 steps) From the official scrabble players dictionary (94,276 words): effaces - cabaret (57 steps) From the british official scrabble words (134,051 words): vainest - infulae (73 steps) From webster's ninth new collegiate dictionary (abridged) (78, 167 words): griming - goblets (56 steps) From all of the above, merged (180,676 words): vainest - injects (58 steps) To see the effect the dictionary has on paths, here are the lengths of the shortest paths these pairs, and for the ones mentioned in previous posts, for each dictionary (a - means that there is no path using only words from that dictionary): UDW OSPD OSW W9 ALL hit - ace 5 3 3 5 3 pig - sty - 5 4 5 4 four - five 6 6 5 7 5 play - game 8 7 7 8 7 green - grass 13 4 4 7 4 wheat - bread 6 6 6 6 6 sixth - hubby 46 9 9 - 9 effaces - cabaret - 57 - - 33 vainest - infulae - - 73 - 52 griming - goblets - 22 19 56 15 vainest - injects - - 72 - 58 ==> english/less.ness.p <== Find a word that forms two other words, unrelated in meaning, when "less" and "ness" are added. ==> english/less.ness.s <== base -> baseless, baseness light -> lightless, lightness sound -> soundless, soundness wit -> witless, witness ==> english/letter.rebus.p <== Define the letters of the alphabet using self-referential common phrases (e.g., "first of all" defines "a"). ==> english/letter.rebus.s <== A first of all, midday B fifth of bourbon, starting block C fifth of scotch D end of the world, back of my hand E end of the line, beginning of the end F starting friction, front G middle of the night, starting gate H end of the earth, top of the heap, middle of nowhere I next of kin J center of project K bottom of the deck, two of a kind L bottom of the barrel, starting line M top of my head N center of attention, final countdown, end run O second in command P bottom of the heap, the first of painters, starting point Q at the front of the queue, top quality R middle of the road, center of inertia S _Last of the Mohicans_, start of something big T top o' the morning, one's wit's end, bottom of my heart, last, central U second guess V center of gravity W end of the rainbow, top of the world X wax finish, climax Y top of your head, center of the cyclone, early years, final extremity Z led zeppelin ==> english/lipograms.p <== What books have been written without specific letters, vowels, etc.? ==> english/lipograms.s <== Such a book is called a lipogram. A novel-length example in English (omitting e) exists, titled _Gadsby_. Georges Perec wrote a French novel titled _La Disparition_ which does not contain the letter 'e', except in a few bits of text that the publisher had to include in or on the book somewhere -- such as the author's name :-). But these were all printed in red, making them somehow ``not count''. Perec also wrote another novel in which `e' was the only vowel. In _La Disparition_, unlike _Gadsby_, the lipogrammatic technique is reflected in the story. Objects disappear or become invisible. We know, however, more or less why the characters can't find things like eggs or even remember their names -- because the words for them can't be used. Amazingly, it's been ``translated'' into English (by Harry Mathews, I think). Another work which manages to [almost] adhere to restrictive alphabetic rules while also remaining readable as well as providing amusement and literary satisfaction (though you have to like disjointed fiction) is _Alphabetical Africa_ by Walter Abish. The rules (which of course he doesn't explain, you can't help noticing most of them) have to do with initial letters of words. There are 52 chapters. In the first, all words begin with `a'; in the second, all words begin with either `a' or `b'; etc, until all words are allowed in chapter 26. Then in the second half, the letters are taken away one by one. It's remarkable when, for instance, you finally get `the' and realize how much or little you missed it; earlier, when `I' comes in, you feel something like the difference between third- and first-person narration. As one of the blurbs more or less says (I don't have it here to quote), reading this is like slowly taking a deep breath and letting it out again. ---- Mitch Marks mitchell@cs.uchicago.edu ==> english/multi.lingual.p <== What words in multiple languages are related in interesting ways? ==> english/multi.lingual.s <== Synonymous reversals: Dutch: nier (kidney), French: rein French: etats, English: state ==> english/near.palindrome.p <== What are some long near palindromes, i.e., words that except for one letter would be palindromes? ==> english/near.palindrome.s <== Here are the longest near palindromes in Webster's Ninth Collegiate: catalatic footstool red pepper detonated locofocos red spider dew-clawed nabataean retreater eisegesis possessor stargrass foolproof ratemeter webmember ==> english/palindromes.p <== What are some long palindromes? ==> english/palindromes.s <== The first words spoken were a palindrome: Madam, I'm Adam. or perhaps: Madam in Eden, I'm Adam. The response, of course, must have been: Eve Napolean's lament: Able was I ere I saw Elba. Has been improved with: Unremarkable was I ere I saw Elba, Kramer, nu? A fish is a: laminar animal Other palindromes in ascending length (drum roll please): Dennis sinned. Sir, I'm Iris. Sup not on pus. Name no one man. Naomi, did I moan? Enid and Edna dine. Revenge Meg? Never! No lemons, no melon. A Toyota's a Toyota. Ma is a nun, as I am. He harasses Sarah, eh? Niagara, O roar again! He lived as a devil, eh? Nurse, I spy gupsies, run! Sit on a potato pan, Otis! Slap a ham on Omaha, pals! A slut nixes sex in Tulsa. Rats live on no evil star. Ten animals I slam in a net. Go deliver a dare, vile dog. Was it a car or a cat I saw? Was it Eliot's toilet I saw? Al lets Della call Ed Stella. Draw, O Caeser, erase a coward. Did Eve salt an atlas? Eve did. No pinot noir on Orion to nip on. Naomi, sex at noon taxes! I moan. Evil I did dwell; lewd did I live. Yo, bad anaconda had no Canada boy . Egad! A base tone denotes a bad age. Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas. Red dude kill lion. No ill-liked udder. I roamed under it as a tired, nude Maori. To Peru, named llama mall 'De Manure Pot'. Straw? No, too stupid a fad. I put soot on warts. Now, Ned, I am a maiden nun; Ned, I am a maiden won. Here we no got conical ill lilac in octogon ewer, eh? Salamander a ton now. Raw war won not, a Red Nam, alas. Fool! A dog lives sad a boxer, Rex. O bad ass evil god aloof! 'Tenor Octopus Night' netted a cadet tenth ginsu pot, coronet. Won total, I am a pro. Bali radar I labor. Pa, mail a tot now! Yo, boy! Trap gnus, nude. 'Kangaroo Rag' naked unsung party, O boy! Did I strap red nude, red rump, also slap murdered underparts? I did! Doc, note: I dissent. A fast never prevents a fatness. I diet on cod. So regards Rat's Lib: regrets no more hero monster gerbil stars' drag Eros. Degas, are we not drawn onward, we freer few, drawn onward to new eras aged? Garret, I ogle. Enemy democrats party; trap star comedy men, eel goiter rag. Sagas emit taxes, rat snot, or pastrami. I'm Arts, a proton star - sex at times a gas. Dr. Ana, Cataracts. Uranium enema smarts if fist rams, Amen! Emu in a rust car at a canard. T. Eliot, top bard, notes putrid tang emanating, is sad; I'd assign it a name: gnat dirt upset on drab pot toilet. Those wonderful proper names: Dennis, Nell, Edna, Leon, Nedra, Anita, Rolf, Nora, Alice, Carol, Leo, Jane, Reed, Dena, Dale, Basil, Rae, Penny, Lana, Dave, Denny, Lena, Ida, Bernadette, Ben, Ray, Lila, Nina, Jo, Ira, Mara, Sara, Mario, Jan, Ina, Lily, Arne, Bette, Dan, Reba, Diane, Lynn, Ed, Eva, Dana, Lynne, Pearl, Isabel, Ada, Ned, Dee, Rena, Joel, Lora, Cecil, Aaron, Flora, Tina, Arden, Noel, and Ellen sinned. A poem: Mood's mode! Pallas, I won! (Diaper pane, sold entire.) Melt till ever sere, hide it. Drown a more vile note; (Tar of rennet.) Ah, trowel, baton, eras ago. The reward? A "nisi." Two nag. Otary tastes putrid, yam was green. Odes up and on; stare we. Rats nod. Nap used one-erg saw. (May dirt upset satyr?) A toga now; 'tis in a drawer, eh? Togas are notable. (Worth a tenner for Ate`.) Tone liver. O Man, word-tied I. Here's revel! Little merit, Ned? Lose, Nap? Repaid now is all apedom's doom. -- Hubert Phillips: Headmaster's Palindromic List on his Memo Pad: Test on Erasmus Dr of Law Deliver soap Stop dynamo (OTC) Royal: phone no.? Tel: Law re Kate Race Ref. Football. Caps on for prep Is sofa sitable on? Pots- no tops XI--Staff over Knit up ties ('U') Sub-edit Nurse's order Ned (re paper) Canning is on test (snub slip-up) Eve's simple hot dish (crib) Birch (Sid) to help Miss Eve Pupil's buns Reaper den T-set: no sign in a/c Use it Red roses Put inkspot on stopper Run Tide Bus? Prof.--no space Rev off at six Caretaker (wall, etc.) Noel Bat is a fossil Too mand d*** pots Lab to offer one 'Noh' play-- Wal for duo? (I'd name Dr. O) or 'Pals Reviled'? See few owe fees (or demand IOU?) Sums are not set. -- Joyce Johnson (_New_Statesman_ competition in 1967. 126 words, 467 letters) Some word (not letter) palindromes: So patient a doctor to doctor a patient so. Girl, bathing on Bikini, eyeing boy, finds boy eyeing bikini on bathing girl. In German: Ein Neger mit Gazelle zagt im Regen nie. In Serbo-Croat: Ana voli Milovana. Ana nabra par banana. Imena Amen nema, a me mi. U pero soli i los o repu. Ako jad moli silom daj oka. Odano mati pita: a ti pitam, o nado? Evo sam iza padam mada pazim asove. v v v v A krt u razu mi laze no one zalim u zaru trka. Palindromes in other languages that are palindromes in English: Hebrew: aba or abba, English: dad German: tat, English: deed The timeless classic: A man, a plan, a canal; Panama? Has been improved by: A dog, a plan, a canal: pagoda! -- anonymous A man, a plan, a cat, a canal; Panama? -- Jim Saxe, plan file @ CMU, 9 October 1983 A man, a plan, a cat, a ham, a yak, a yam, a hat, a canal--Panama! -- Guy Jacobson, plan file @ CMU late 1983 A man, a plan, a caret, a ban, a myriad, a sum, a lac, a liar, a hoop, a pint, a catalpa, a gas, an oil, a bird, a yell, a vat, a caw, a pax, a wag, a tax, a nay, a ram, a cap, a yam, a gay, a tsar, a wall, a car, a luger, a ward, a bin, a woman, a vassal, a wolf, a tuna, a nit, a pall, a fret, a watt, a bay, a daub, a tan, a cab, a datum, a gall, a hat, a fag, a zap, a say, a jaw, a lay, a wet, a gallop, a tug, a trot, a trap, a tram, a torr, a caper, a top, a tonk, a toll, a ball, a fair, a sax, a minim, a tenor, a bass, a passer, a capital, a rut, an amen, a ted, a cabal, a tang, a sun, an ass, a maw, a sag, a jam, a dam, a sub, a salt, an axon, a sail, an ad, a wadi, a radian, a room, a rood, a rip, a tad, a pariah, a revel, a reel, a reed, a pool, a plug, a pin, a peek, a parabola, a dog, a pat, a cud, a nu, a fan, a pal, a rum, a nod, an eta, a lag, an eel, a batik, a mug, a mot, a nap, a maxim, a mood, a leek, a grub, a gob, a gel, a drab, a citadel, a total, a cedar, a tap, a gag, a rat, a manor, a bar, a gal, a cola, a pap, a yaw, a tab, a raj, a gab, a nag, a pagan, a bag, a jar, a bat, a way, a papa, a local, a gar, a baron, a mat, a rag, a gap, a tar, a decal, a tot, a led, a tic, a bard, a leg, a bog, a burg, a keel, a doom, a mix, a map, an atom, a gum, a kit, a baleen, a gala, a ten, a don, a mural, a pan, a faun, a ducat, a pagoda, a lob, a rap, a keep, a nip, a gulp, a loop, a deer, a leer, a lever, a hair, a pad, a tapir, a door, a moor, an aid, a raid, a wad, an alias, an ox, an atlas, a bus, a madam, a jag, a saw, a mass, an anus, a gnat, a lab, a cadet, an em, a natural, a tip, a caress, a pass, a baronet, a minimax, a sari, a fall, a ballot, a knot, a pot, a rep, a carrot, a mart, a part, a tort, a gut, a poll, a gateway, a law, a jay, a sap, a zag, a fat, a hall, a gamut, a dab, a can, a tabu, a day, a batt, a waterfall, a patina, a nut, a flow, a lass, a van, a mow, a nib, a draw, a regular, a call, a war, a stay, a gam, a yap, a cam, a ray, an ax, a tag, a wax, a paw, a cat, a valley, a drib, a lion, a saga, a plat, a catnip, a pooh, a rail, a calamus, a dairyman, a bater, a canal--Panama. --Dan Hoey, 'discovered' in 1984. Dan goes on to say "...a little work on the search algorithm could make it several times as long." The entire book _Satire: Veritas_ is a palindrome, it starts "Sir, I stra..." and ends "... Art, sir, is Satire: Veritas." References: Palindromes and Anagrams Howard W. Bergerson Dover Publications New York, 1973 ISBN 0-486-20664-5. The Oxford Guide to Word Games, chapter 11, titled "Palindromes" Tony Augarde ==> english/pangram.p <== A "pangram" is a sentence containing all 26 letters. What is the shortest pangram (measured by number of letters or words)? What is the shortest word list using all 26 letters in alphabetical order? In reverse alphabetical order? ==> english/pangram.s <== The single-letter words that have meanings unrelated to their letter shapes or sounds, position in the alphabet, etc. are: a - indefinite article; on; in; at; to; he; him; she; her; they; them; it; I; have; of; all c - 100; cocaine; programming language d - 500 e - base of natural logs; eccentricity; enlarging g - acceleration of gravity; general ability; $1000; general audience i - one; unit vector in x direction; personal pronoun; in; aye j - one; unit vector in y direction k - 1000; 1024; strikeout; unit vector in z direction l - 50; ell; elevated railroad m - 1000; em; pica; an antigen of human blood n - an indefinite number; en; an antigen of human blood o - oh q - quality of oscillatory circuit R - one of the three Rs; restricted audience t - t-shirt u - upper class v - five w - w particle x - unknown quantity; atmospherics; adults only y - unknown quantity; YMCA z - unknown quantity; buzzing sound; z particle It is therefore advisable to exclude single-letter words, with the possible exception of 'a'. As always, word acceptability varies with the dictionaries used. We use these: 9C - Merriam-Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, 1986 NI3 - Merriam-Webster's Third New International Dictionary, 1961 NI2 - Merriam-Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition, 1935 OED - Oxford English Dictionary with Supplements, 1933 - 85 '+' indicates obsolete, dialectical, slang, or otherwise substandard word. Some exceptional pangrams: Using only words in 9C: Sympathizing would fix Quaker objectives. (5 words, 36 letters) Quick brown fox, jump over the lazy dogs. (8 words, 32 letters) Pack my box with five dozen liquor jugs. (8 words, 32 letters) Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz. (7 words, 31 letters) The five boxing wizards jump quickly. (6 words, 31 letters) How quickly daft jumping zebras vex. (6 words, 30 letters) Quartz glyph job vex'd cwm finks. (6 words?, 26 letters) Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz. (6 words, 26 letters, Dmitri Borgmann) Using words in 9C and NI3: Veldt jynx grimps waqf zho buck. (6 words, 26 letters, Michael Jones) Using words in 9C, NI3 and NI3+: Squdgy fez, blank jimp crwth vox. (6 words, 26 letters, Claude Shannon) Using words in 9C, NI3, NI2 and NI2+: Phlegms fyrd wuz qvint jackbox. (5 words, 26 letters, Dmitri Borgmann) Some exceptional panalphabetic word lists: jackbox viewfinder phlegmy quartz (4 words, 31 letters, Mary Hazard) benzoxycamphors quick-flowing juventude (3 words, 36 letters, Darryl Francis) Some exceptional nearly panalphabetic isogrammatic word lists: blacksmith gunpowdery (2 words, 20 letters) humpbacks frowzy tingled (3 words, 22 letters) Some exceptional panalphabetic word lists with letters in alphabetical order: Using only words in 9C: a BCD ef ghi jack limn op querist ulva wax oyez (11 words, 37 letters) ABC defog hijack limn op querist ulva wax oyez (9 words, 38 letters) Using words in 9C and NI3: a BCD ef ghi jak limn op qres to uva wax oyez (12 words, 34 letters) ABC defy ghi jak limn op qres to uva wax oyez (11 words, 35 letters) ABC defy ghi jak limn opaquers turves wax oyez (9 words, 38 letters) scabicide afghani jokul manrope querist purview oxygenize (7 words, 51 letters) Using words in 9C, NI3 and NI3+: a BCD ef ghi jak limn op QRS to uva wax yez (12 words, 32 letters) ABC defy ghi jak limn op QRS to uva wax yez (11 words, 33 letters) ab cad ef ghi jak limn op qre stun vow ox yez (12 words, 34 letters) ABC defy ghi jak limn op querist uva wax yez (10 words, 35 letters) Using words in 9C, NI3, NI3+, NI2 and NI2+: ABC def ghi jak limn op qre struv wax yez (10 words, 32 letters) ABC def ghi jak limn opaquer struv wax yez (9 words, 34 letters) Using words in 9C, NI3, NI3+, NI2, NI2+ and the OED: ABC defog hij klam nop QRS tu vow XYZ (9 words, 29 letters, Jeff Grant) ABC def ghi jak limn op qres tu vow XYZ (10 words, 30 letters) ABC defog hij klam nop querist uvrow XYZ (8 words, 33 letters, Jeff Grant) ABC defyghe bij sklim nop querist uvrow XYZ (8 words, 36 letters) ABC defog hijack limnophil querist uvrow XYZ (7 words, 38 letters, Jeff Grant) Some exceptional panalphabetic word lists with letters in reverse alpha order: Using words from 9C: lazy ox ow vug tsar quip on milk jib hag fed cab a (13 words, 38 letters) lazy ox wave uts reequip on milk jihad gifted cabal (10 words, 42 letters) Using words from 9C and NI3: lazy ox ow vug tsar quip on milk jib hag fed caba (12 words, 38 letters) lazy ox wave uts roque pon milk jihad gifted caba (10 words, 40 letters) Using words from 9C, NI3 and NI2: zo yex wu vug tsar quip on milk jib hag fed caba (12 words, 37 letters) zo yex wave uts roque pon milk jihad gifted caba (10 words, 39 letters) All words are main entries in 9C except the following: 9C: ghi (at 'ghee') NI3: caba, fyrd, jak, opaquers, pon, qre(s), squdgy, uva NI3+: jimp, QRS (at 'QRS complex'), sklim, vox (at 'vox populi'), yez NI2: benzoxycamphors, jackbox, limnophil, quick-flowing, yex, zo NI2+: def, juventude, klam, quar, qvint, struv, tu, wuz OED: defyghe (at 'defy'), bij (at 'buy'), hij, nop, uvrow (at 'yuffrouw'), XYZ (at 'X') The first time I saw this pangram was in Gyles Brandeth's _The Joy of Lex_. It appeared there as: Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex Bud. (7 words, 28 letters, proper noun.) I always wondered why they didn't try modifying it as: Waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex buds. (7 words, 29 letters, no proper noun.) However, why fast dances would irritate incipient flowers is beyond me, so I tried again: Waltz, dumb nymph, for quick jigs vex. (7 words, 29 letters, no proper noun, makes more sense.) However, sounds kind of sexist, and we can maybe chop off a letter and eliminate the sexism, although suffering some loss of sense: Waltz, bud nymph, for quick jigs vex. (7 words, 28 letters, no proper noun, makes less sense.) There are river nymphs and tree nymphs and mountain nymphs, so there can be nymphs of the aforementioned incipent flowers, right? Sense is a matter of opinion, so you can move the bud around or turn it into another imperative verb rather than a noun-as-adjective: Waltz, nymph, bud, for quick jigs vex. (7 words, 28 letters, no proper noun, sense is dubious.) [We've all heard of budding youth, right?] Waltz, nymph, for quick bud jigs vex. (7 words, 28 letters, no proper noun, sense is dubious.) [Yeah, we've all learned to dance a merry jig that looks like one of those infamous incipient flowers.] Dub waltz, nymph, for quick jigs vex. (7 words, 28 letters, no proper noun, came up with this on the spot and actually it looks pretty good!) [The idea being that a nymph, being in control of the soundtrack for a TV sitcom, has to change the music to which a grandmother is listening, from something from Ireland to something from Strauss.] -- Stephen Joseph Smith <sjsmith@cs.umd.edu> It is fairly straightforward, if time-consuming, to search for minimal pangrams given a suitable lexicon, and the enclosed program does this. The run time is of the order of 20 MIPS-days if fed `Official Scrabble Words', a document nominally listing all sufficiently short words playable in tournament Scrabble in Britain. I also enclose a lexicon which will reproduce the OSW results much more quickly. The results are dominated by onomatopoeic interjections (`pst', `sh', etc.), and words borrowed from Welsh (`cwm', `crwth') and Arabic (`qat', `suq'). Other lexicons will contain a very different leavening of such words, and yield a very different set of pangrams. Readers are invited to form sentences (or, less challenging, newspaper headlines) from these pangrams. Few are amenable to this sort of thing. -- Steve Thomas -----cut-----here----- #include <stdio.h> #include <ctype.h> extern void *malloc (); extern void *realloc (); long getword (); #define MAXWORD 26 int list[MAXWORD]; int lp; struct list { struct list *next; char *word; }; struct word { long mask; struct list *list; } *w; int wp; int wsize; char wordbuf[BUFSIZ]; char *letters = "qxjzvwfkbyhpmgcdultnoriase"; int cmp (ap, bp) struct word *ap, *bp; { char *p; long a = ap->mask, b = bp->mask; for (p = letters; *p; p++) { long m = 1L << (*p - 'a'); if ((a & m) != (b & m)) if ((a & m) != 0) return -1; else return 1; } return 0; } void * newmem (p, size) void *p; int size; { if (p) p = realloc (p, size); else p = malloc (size); if (p == NULL) { fprintf (stderr, "Out of memory\n"); exit (1); } return p; } char * dupstr (s) char *s; { char *p = newmem ((void *)NULL, strlen (s) + 1); strcpy (p, s); return p; } main (argc, argv) int argc; char **argv; { long m; int i, j; while ((m = getword (stdin)) != 0) { if (wp >= wsize) { wsize += 1000; w = newmem (w, wsize * sizeof (struct word)); } w[wp].mask = m; w[wp].list = newmem ((void *)NULL, sizeof (struct list)); w[wp].list->word = dupstr (wordbuf); w[wp].list->next = (struct list *)NULL; wp++; } qsort (w, wp, sizeof (struct word), cmp); for (i = 1, j = 1; j < wp; j++) { if (w[j].mask == w[i - 1].mask) { w[j].list->next = w[i - 1].list; w[i - 1].list = w[j].list; } else w[i++] = w[j]; } wp = i; pangram (0L, 0, letters); exit (0); } pangram (sofar, min, lets) long sofar; int min; char *lets; { register int i; register long must; if (sofar == 0x3ffffff) { print (); return; } for (; *lets; lets++) if ((sofar & (1 << (*lets - 'a'))) == 0) break; must = 1 << (*lets - 'a'); for (i = min; i < wp; i++) { if (w[i].mask & sofar) continue; if ((w[i].mask & must) == 0) continue; list[lp++] = i; pangram (w[i].mask | sofar, i + 1, lets); --lp; } } long getword (fp) FILE *fp; { long mask, m; char *p; char c; while (fgets (wordbuf, sizeof (wordbuf), fp) != NULL) { p = wordbuf; mask = 0L; while ((c = *p++) != '\0') { if (!islower (c)) break; m = 1L << (c - 'a'); if ((mask & m) != 0) break; mask |= m; } if (c == '\n') p[-1] = c = '\0'; if (c == '\0' && mask) return mask; } return 0; } print () { int i; for (i = 0; i < lp; i++) { struct word *p = &w[list[i]]; struct list *l; if (p->list->next == NULL) printf ("%s", p->list->word); else { printf ("("); for (l = p->list; l; l = l->next) { printf ("%s", l->word); if (l->next) printf (" "); } printf (")"); } if (i != lp - 1) printf (" "); } printf ("\n"); fflush (stdout); } -----and-----here----- ankh bad bag bald balk balks band bandh bang bank bap bard barf bark bed beds beg bend benj berk berks bez bhang bid big bight bilk bink bird birds birk bisk biz blad blag bland blank bled blend blight blimp blin blind blink blintz blip blitz block blond blunk blunks bod bods bog bok boks bold bond bong bonk bonks bop bord bords bosk box brad brank bred brink brinks brod brods brog brogh broghs bud bug bugs bulk bulks bump bumps bund bunds bung bungs bunk bunks burd burds burg burgh burghs burk burks burp busk by ch crwth cwm cwms dab dag dak damp dap deb debs debt deft delf delfs delft delph delphs depth derv dervs dhak dib dig dight dink dinks dirk disk div divs dob dobs dog dop dorp dowf drab draft drib dribs drip drop drub drubs drunk drunks dub dug dugs dung dunk dunks dup dusk dwarf dzo dzos fad fag falx fank fard fax fed fend fends fenks fez fib fid fig fight fink firk fisk fix fiz fjord fjords flab flag flak flank flap flax fled fleg flex flight flimp flip flisk flix flog flogs flong flongs flop flops flub flump flumps flung flunk flux fob fobs fog fogs fold folds folk folks fond fonds fop fops ford fords fork forks fox frab frank frap fremd fright friz frog frond frump frumps fub fud fug fugs fund funds funk funks fy fyrd fyrds gab gad gamb gamp gap gawk gawp ged geld gib gid gif gild gink gip gju gjus gled glib glid glift glitz glob globs glyph glyphs gob god gold golf golfs golp golps gonk gov govs gowd gowf gowfs gowk gowks graft graph grub grypt gub gubs gulf gulfs gulp gulph gulphs gunk gup gym gymp gyp gyps hadj hank hyp hyps jab jag jak jamb jap jark jerk jerks jib jibs jig jimp jink jinks jinx jird jirds jiz job jobs jog jogs jud juds jug jugs junk junks jynx kang kant kaw keb kebs ked kef kefs keg kelp kemb kemp kep kerb kerbs kerf kerfs kex khan khud khuds kid kids kif kifs kight kild kiln kilp kind kinds king kip klepht knag knight knob knobs knub knubs kob kobs kond kop kops kraft krantz kranz kvetch ky kynd kynds lav lev lez link luz lynx mawk nabk nth pad park pawk pax ped peg pegh peghs pelf pelfs penk perk perv pervs phang phiz phlox pig pight pix pleb plebs pled plight plink plod plongd plonk pluck plug plumb plumbs plunk ply pod polk polks pong pork pox poz prex prod prof prog pst pub pud pug pugh pulk pulks punk pyx qat qats qibla qiblas quark quiz sh skelf skid skrump skug sphinx spiv squawk st sunk suq swiz sylph tank thilk tyg vamp van vang vant veg veld velds veldt vend vends verb verbs vet vex vibs vild vint vly vox vug vugs vuln waltz wank welkt whack zag zap zarf zax zed zek zeks zel zig zigs zimb zimbs zing zings zip zips zit zurf zurfs ==> english/phonetic.letters.p <== What does "FUNEX" mean? ==> english/phonetic.letters.s <== FUNEX? (Have you any eggs?) SVFX. (Yes, we have eggs.) FUNEM? (Have you any ham?) SVFM. (Yes, we have ham.) FUMNX? (Have you ham and eggs?) S,S:VFM,VFX,VFMNX! (Yes, yes: we have ham, we have eggs, we have ham and eggs!) CD ED BD DUCKS? (See the itty bitty ducks?) MR NOT DUCKS! (Them are not ducks!) OSAR, CDEDBD WINGS? (Oh yes they are, see the itty bitty wings?) LILB MR DUCKS! (Well I'll be, them are ducks!) In Spanish: SOCKS. (Eso si que es.) ==> english/piglatin.p <== What words in pig latin also are words? ==> english/piglatin.s <== cess -> essay coke -> okay lawn -> onlay lout -> outlay lover -> overlay plover -> overplay plunder -> underplay sass -> assay stout -> outstay trash -> ashtray wear -> airway wonder -> underway ==> english/pleonasm.p <== What are some redundant terms that occur frequently (like "ABM missile")? ==> english/pleonasm.s <== 11.5% APR ABM missile ABS system AC current ACT tests AMOCO Oil Co. APL programming language ATM macine BASIC Code BBS System CAD design CNN news network DC current DMZ zone DOS operating system GMT time Geirangerfjorden (Fjord Fjord Fjord) HIV virus ISBN number ISDN network LCD display LED diode La Brea Tar Pits Los Altos Hills (The Hills Hills) MIDI Interface Mount Fujiyama (Mount Mountain) NATO organization NFS File System PCV valve PIN number RAM (or ROM) memory Ruidoso River (Noisy River River) SALT talks SAT test SCSI Interface SEATO organization VIN number floccinoccinihlipilification (from 4 latin words meaning "nothing") hoi polloi (a genuine bilingual redundancy) hot water heater ==> english/plurals/collision.p <== Two words, spelled and pronounced differently, have plurals spelled the same but pronounced differently. ==> english/plurals/collision.s <== axe and axis -> axes base and basis -> bases ellipse and ellipsis -> ellipses ==> english/plurals/doubtful.number.p <== A little word of doubtful number, a foe to rest and peaceful slumber. If you add an "s" to this, great is the metamorphosis. Plural is plural now no more, and sweet what bitter was before. What am I? ==> english/plurals/doubtful.number.s <== cares -> caress ==> english/plurals/drop.s.p <== What plural is formed by DROPPING the terminal "s" in a word? ==> english/plurals/drop.s.s <== necropolis -> necropoli ==> english/plurals/endings.p <== List a plural ending with each letter of the alphabet. ==> english/plurals/endings.s <== Legend 0 = plural formed (basically) by adding letter 1 = plural spelled differently from singular 2 = ditto, plural contains punctuation 3 = plural spelled the same as singular All entries are from Merriam-Webster's Ninth Collegiate Dictionary, except those marked "(NI3)", which are from the Third International. Entries in brackets are probable dictionary artifacts. A 0 VAS VASA B 1 SLUBBI SLEYB (NI3) C 0 CALPULLI CALPULLEC (NI3) D 2 GRANT-IN-AID GRANTS-IN-AID E 0 ALA ALAE F 1 SHARIF ASHRAF (NI3) G 0 AIRE AIRIG (NI3) H 0 LIRA LIROTH I 0 BAN BANI J 1 KHARIJITE KHAWARIJ (NI3) K 0 PULI PULIK L 1 ARMFUL ARMSFUL M 0 GOY GOYIM N 0 KRONE KRONEN O 2 DERRING-DO DERRINGS-DO (NI3) [1 MEO MIAO/MIXTECA MIXTECO/PAPIOPIO PAPIO/SUMU SUMO (NI3)] P 2 AIDE-DE-CAMP AIDES-DE-CAMP Q 3 QARAQALPAQ QARAQALPAQ (NI3) R 0 KRONE KRONER S 0 A AS T 0 MATZO MATZOT U 0 HALER HALERU V 3 TIV TIV (NI3) W 2 SON-IN-LAW SONS-IN-LAW [1 KWAPA QUAPAW (NI3)] X 0 EAU EAUX Y 0 GROSZ GROSZY Z 3 HERTZ HERTZ ==> english/plurals/french.p <== What English word, when spelled backwards, is its French plural? ==> english/plurals/french.s <== state/etats ==> english/plurals/man.p <== Words ending with "man" make their plurals by adding "s". ==> english/plurals/man.s <== caiman doberman German human leman ottoman pitman Pullman Roman shaman talisman ==> english/plurals/switch.first.p <== What plural is formed by switching the first two letters? ==> english/plurals/switch.first.s <== falaj -> aflaj (Chambers English Dictionary) ==> english/portmanteau.p <== What are some words formed by combining together parts of other words? ==> english/portmanteau.s <== Such words are called "Portmanteau" words. Here is a very incomplete list: beefalo beef, buffalo brunch breakfast, lunch chortle chuckle, snort fantabulous fantastic, fabulous flare flame, glare flounder flounce, founder glimmer gleam, shimmer glitz glamour, ritz liger lion, tiger motel motor, hotel smash smack, mash smog smoke, fog squiggle squirm, wiggle tangelo tangerine, pomelo tigon tiger, lion **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/potable.color.p <== Find words that are both beverages and colors. ==> english/potable.color.s <== burgundy champagne chartreuse chocolate claret cocoa coffee cream midori (Japanese for green. Does Japanese count?) rose wine ==> english/rare.trigraphs.p <== What trigraphs (three-letter combinations) occur in only one word? ==> english/rare.trigraphs.s <== Here is a list of all the trigraphs which occur exactly once in the union of _Official Scrabble Words_ (First Edition), the _Official Scrabble Players Dictionary_ and _Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (Second Edition)_, together with the words in which they occur. The definition of "word" is a problematic. For example, lots of words starting deoxy- contain the trigraph `eox', but no others do. Should `eox' be on the list? Common words are marked with a *. aae baaed adq*headquarter headquarters ajs svarajs aqs talaqs bks nabks bze subzero cda ducdame dph*headphone headphones dsf*handsful dts veldts dzu kudzu kudzus ekd*weekday weekdays evh evhoe evz evzone evzones exv sexvalent ezv*rendezvous fhu cliffhung fjo fjord fjords fsp*offspring offsprings gds smaragds ggp*eggplant eggplants gnb signboard signboards gnp*signpost signposted signposting signposts gnt sovereignty gty hogtying gza*zigzag zigzagged zigzagging zigzaggy zigzags hds camanachds hky droshky hlr kohlrabi kohlrabies kohlrabis hrj lehrjahre hyx asphyxia asphyxias asphyxiate asphyxies asphyxy itv mitvoth iwy skiwy ixg sixgun jds slojds jje hajjes jki pirojki pirojki jym jymold kky yukky ksg*thanksgiving kuz yakuza kvo mikvoth kyj*skyjack skyjacked skyjacker skyjackers skyjacking skyjackings skyjacks llj killjoy killjoys lmd filmdom filmdoms ltd*meltdown meltdowns lxe calxes lzy schmalzy mds fremds mfy comfy mhs ollamhs mky dumky mmm dwammming mpg*campground mss bremsstrahlung muo muon muonic muonium muoniums muons nhs sinhs njy benjy nuu continuum obg hobgoblin hobgoblins ojk pirojki okc*bookcase bookcases ovk sovkhoz sovkhozes sovkhozy pev*grapevine grapevines pfs dummkopfs php ephphatha pss topssmelt pyj pyjama pyjamaed pyjamas siq physique physiques slt juslted smk besmkes spb*raspberries raspberry spt claspt swy swythe syg*easygoing szy groszy tux*tux tuxedo tuxedoes tuxedos tuxes tvy outvying tzu tzuris ucd ducdame vho evhoe vkh sovkhoz sovkhozes sovkhozy sovkhos vly vly vns eevns voh evohe vun avuncular wcy gawcy wdu*sawdust sawdusted sawdusting sawdusts sawdusty wfr bowfront wft ewftes xeu exeunt xgl foxglove foxgloves xiw taxiway taxiways xls cacomixls xtd nextdoor xva sexvalent yks bashlyks yrf gyrfalcon gyrfalcons ysd paysd yxy asphyxy zhk pirozhki zow zowie zwo*buzzword buzzwords zzs*buzzsaw ==> english/records/pronunciation/silent.p <== What words have an exceptional number of silent letters? ==> english/records/pronunciation/silent.s <== longest sequence BROUGHAM (4, UGHA) for each letter AISLE, COMB, INDICT, HANDSOME, TWITCHED, HALFPENNY, GNOME, MYRRH, BUSINESS, MARIJUANA, KNOCK, TALK, MNEMONIC, AUTUMN, PEOPLE, PSYCHE, CINQCENTS, FORECASTLE, VISCOUNT, HAUTBOY, PLAQUE, FIVEPENCE, WRITE, TABLEAUX, PRAYER, RENDEZVOUS homophones, for each letter O(A)R, LAM(B), S(C)ENT, LE(D)GER, DO(E), WAF(F), REI(G)N, (H)OUR, WA(I)VE, HAJ(J)I, (K)NOT, HA(L)VE, PRIM(M)ER, DAM(N), J(O)UST, (P)SALTER, ?, CAR(R)IES, (S)CENT, TARO(T), B(U)Y, ?, T(W)O, ?, RE(Y), BIZ(Z) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/pronunciation/spelling.p <== What words have exceptional ways to spell sounds? ==> english/records/pronunciation/spelling.s <== same spelling, different sound -OUGH (7) BOUGH, COUGH, DOUGH, HICCOUGH, LOUGH, ROUGH, THROUGH different spelling, same sound AIR (9) AIR, AIRE, ARE, AYR, AYER, E'ER, ERE, ERR, HEIR **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/pronunciation/syllable.p <== What words have an exceptional number of letters per syllable? ==> english/records/pronunciation/syllable.s <== longest for each number of syllables one SCRAUNCHED [SQUIRRELLED (11)] two SCRATCHBRUSHED (14) one, for each letter ARCHED, BROUGHAMS, CRAUNCHED, DRAUGHTS, EARTHED, FLINCHED, GROUCHED, HAUNCHED, ITCHED, JOUNCED, KNIGHTS, LAUNCHED, MOOCHED, NAUGHTS, OINKED, PREACHED, QUETCHED, REACHED, SCRAUNCHED, THOUGHTS, UMPHS, VOUCHED, WREATHED, XYSTS, YEARNED, ZOUAVES two, for each letter ARCHFIENDS, BREAKTHROUGHS, CLOTHESHORSE, DRAUGHTBOARDS, EARTHTONGUES, FLAMEPROOFED, GREATHEART, HAIRSBREADTHS, INTHRALLED, JUNETEENTHS, KNICKKNACKS, LIGHTWEIGHTS, MOOSETONGUES, NIGHTCLOTHES, OUTSTRETCHED, PLOUGHWRIGHTS, QUICKTHORNS, ROUGHSTRINGS, SCRATCHBRUSHED, THROATSTRAPS, UNSTRETCHED, VERSESMITHS, WHERETHROUGH, XANTHINES, YOURSELVES, ZEITGEISTS shortest for each number of syllables two AA three AREA (4) [O'IO (3)] four IEIE (4) five OXYOPIA (7) six ONIOMANIA [AMIOIDEI (8)] seven EPIDEMIOLOGY (12) [OMOHYOIDEI (10)] eight EPIZOOTIOLOGY nine EPIZOOTIOLOGICAL (16) ten EPIZOOTIOLOGICALLY twelve HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUAA (21) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/longest.p <== What is the longest word in the English language? ==> english/records/spelling/longest.s <== The longest word to occur in both English and American "authoritative" unabridged dictionaries is "pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis." The following is a brief citation history of this "word." New York Herald Tribune, February 23, 1935, p. 3 "Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis succeeded electrophotomicrographically as the longest word in the English language recognized by the National Puzzlers' League at the opening session of the organization's 103d semi-annual meeting held yesterday at the Hotel New Yorker. The puzzlers explained that the forty-five-letter word is the name of a special form of silicosis caused by ultra-microscopic particles of siliceous volcanic dust." Everett M. Smith (b. 1/1/1894), President of NPL and Radio News Editor of the Christian Science Monitor, cited the word at the convention. Smith was also President of the Yankee Puzzlers of Boston. It is not known whether Smith coined the word. "Bedside Manna. The Third Fun in Bed Book.", edited by Frank Scully, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1936, p. 87 "There's been a revival in interest in spelling, but Greg Hartswick, the cross word king and world's champion speller, is still in control of the situation. He'd never get any competition from us, that's sure, though pronouncing, let alone spelling, a 44 letter word like: Pneumonoultramicrosopicsilicovolkanakoniosis, a disease caused by ultra-microscopic particles of sandy volcanic dust might give even him laryngitis." It is likely that Scully, who resided in New York in February 1935, read the Herald Tribune article and slightly misremembered the word. Supplement to the Oxford English Dictionary, 1936 Both "-coniosis" and "-koniosis" are cited. "a factitious word alleged to mean 'a lung disease caused by the inhalation of very fine silica dust' but occurring chiefly as an instance of a very long word." Webster's first cite is "-koniosis" in the addendum to the Second Edition. The Third Edition changes the "-koniosis" to "-coniosis." I conjecture that this "word" was coined by word puzzlers, who then worked assiduously to get it into the major unabridged dictionaries (perhaps with a wink from the editors?) to put an end to the endless squabbling about what is the longest word. ==> english/records/spelling/most.p <== What word has the most variant spellings? ==> english/records/spelling/most.s <== catercorner There's eight spellings in Webster's Third. catercorner cater-cornered catacorner cata-cornered catty-corner catty-cornered kitty-corner kitty-cornered If you look in Random House, you will find one more which doesn't appear in Web3, but it only differs by a hyphen: cater-corner --- Dan Tilque -- dant@techbook.com ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/deletion.p <== What exceptional words turn into other words by deletion of letters? ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/deletion.s <== longest beheadable word P(REDETERMINATION) (16/15) longest for each letter (6-88,181,198,213,13-159,14-219,15-155,16-96,220, 17-85) APATHETICALLY, BLITHESOME, CHASTENING, DEMULSIFICATION, EMOTIONLESSNESS, FUTILITARIANISM, GASTRONOMICALLY, HEDRIOPHTHALMA, IDENTIFICATION, JUNCTIONAL, KINAESTHETIC, LIMITABLENESS, METHYLACETYLENE, NEOPALEOZOIC, OENANTHALDEHYDE, PREDETERMINATION, QUINTA, REVOLUTIONARILY, SELECTIVENESS, TREASONABLENESS, UPRAISER, VINDICATION, WHENCEFORWARD, XANTHOPHYLLITE, YOURSELVES, ZOOSPORIFEROUS longest beheadable down to a single letter PRESTATE (8) longest curtailable word (not a plural) (BULLETIN)G (9) longest curtailable down to a single letter LAMBASTES longest alternately beheadable and curtailable word ASHAMED (7) longest arbitrarily beheadable and curtailable (all subsequences words) SHADES (6) longest terminal ellision word D(EPILATION)S (11) longest letter subtraction down to a single letter STRANGLING, STRANGING, STANGING, STAGING, SAGING, AGING, GING, GIN, IN, I longest charitable word (subtract letter anywhere) PLEATS: LEATS,PEATS,PLATS,PLEAS,PLEAT shortest stingy word (no deletion possible) PRY (3) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/insertion.and.deletion.p <== What exceptional words turn into other words by both insertion and deletion of letters? ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/insertion.and.deletion.s <== longest word both charitable and hospitable AMY: AM,AY,MY;GAMY,ARMY,AMOY,AMYL shortest word both stingy and hostile IMPETUOUS (9) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/insertion.p <== What exceptional words turn into other words by insertion of letters? ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/insertion.s <== longest hydration (double reheadment) (D,R)EVOLUTIONIST (12/13) longest hospitable word (insert letter anywhere) CARES: SCARES, CHARES, CADRES, CARIES, CARETS, CARESS shortest hostile word (no deletion possible) SYZYGY (6) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/movement.p <== What exceptional words turn into other words by movement of letters? ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/movement.s <== longest word allowing exchange of letters (metallege) CONSERVATIONAL, CONVERSATIONAL longest head-to-tail shift SPECULATION, PECULATIONS longest double head-to-tail shift STABLE-TABLES-ABLEST longest complete cyclic transposal ATE-TEA-EAT (3) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/substitution.p <== What exceptional words turn into other words by substitution of letters? ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/substitution.s <== longest onalosi (substitution in every position possible) PASTERS: MASTERS,POSTERS,PALTERS,PASSERS,PASTORS,PASTELS,PASTERN shortest isolano (no substitution possible) ECRU longest word, all letters changed to other letters in minimum number of steps, yielding another word THUMBING-THUMPING-TRUMPING-TRAMPING- TRAPPING-CRAPPING-CRAPPIES-CRAPPOES longest word girders BADGER/SUNLIT, BUDLET/SANGIR (6) longest word with full vowel substitution CL(A,E,I,O,U)CKING (8) also Y D(A,E,I,O,U,Y)NE (4) longest words with vowel substitutions DESTRUCTIBILITIES, DISTRACTIBILITIES (17) longest word constant-letter-shifted to another PRIMERO-SULPHUR (7) arithmetical-letter-shifted DREAM-ETHER (5) constant-shift-with-transposal (shiftgrams) AEROPHANE-SILVERITE (9) longest word pair shifted one position on typewriter keyboard WAXIER-ESCORT (6) longest word pair confusable on a telephone keypad AMOUNTS-CONTOUR (7) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/transposition.p <== What exceptional words turn into other words by transposition of letters? ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/transposition.s <== longest reversal DESSERTS,STRESSED (8) longest well-mixed transposal CINEMATOGRAPHER, MEGACHIROPTERAN (15) longest transposition list APERS, APRES, ASPER, PARES, PARSE, PEARS, PRASE, PRESA, RAPES, REAPS, SPARE, SPEAR (12) ANGRIEST, ANGRITES, ASTRINGE, GAIRTENS, GANISTER, GANTRIES, GRANITES, INGRATES, RANGIEST, TEARINGS (10) [SATING(ER), SIGNATE(R), TANGIER(S) (3)] ANORETICS, ATROSCINE, CANOTIERS, CERTOSINA, CONARITES, CREATIONS, REACTIONS, TRICOSANE (8) transposition with deletion, insertion, or substitution longest well-mixed transdeletion SONOLUMINESCENCES, UNECONOMICALNESSES (17/18) longest word transdeletable to a single letter CONCENTRATIONS-CONSTERNATION-CONTORNIATES-TRANSECTION- STENTORIAN-TRANSIENT-ENTRAINS-NASTIER-ASTERN-TEARS-SATE-TEA-AT-A (14) longest Baltimore transdeletion (word transdeletable on every letter) IDOLATERS: DELATORS, SOTERIAL, DILATERS, ASTEROID, STOLIDER, SOREDIAL, DILATORS, DIASTOLE, TAILORED (9) shortest word that cannot be transadded to another word SYZYGY (6) longest well-mixed transubstitution MICROELECTROPHORESIS, SPECTROCOLORIMETRIES (20) **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/words.within.words.p <== What exceptional words contain other words? ==> english/records/spelling/operations.on.words/words.within.words.s <== longest non-trivial charade IN-DISC-RIM-IN-A-TI-ON (16) longest forward and reverse charade MAT-HE-MA-TI-CAL, LAC-IT-AM-EH-TAM longest snowball or rhopalic T-EM-PER-AMEN-TALLY (15) longest reverse rhopalic HETERO-TRANS-PLAN-TAT-IO-N (21) highest ratio of subwords/length (logogram) FIRESTONE: RE, TO, ON, NO, IF, FIR, IRE, RES, TON, ONE, NOT, RIF, FIRE, IRES, REST, TONE, FIRES, STONE, SERIF (20/9) longest charlinkade FORESTALL: FOREST, ALL; FORE, REST, TALL (9) longest alternade TRIENNIALLY: TINILY, RENAL (11) shortest three-letter-minimum word deletions PILGRIMAGE: RIM, GAG, PILE; GRIM, LAG, PIE **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/sets.of.words/nots.and.crosses.p <== What is the most number of letters that can be fit into a three by three grid of words, such that no letter is repeated in any row, column or diagonal? ==> english/records/spelling/sets.of.words/nots.and.crosses.s <== Games magazine ran a contest on this. The winner had 62: proxying| buckwash | veldt ------------------------------------ stumbled| j | zincography ------------------------------------ whack | providently | bumfs Here are some good tries: backsword |thumpingly | fez ---------------------------------- vexingly | q | throwbacks = 61 ---------------------------------- thump | beadworks | jingly backsword | thumpingly| vex ---------------------------------- vexingly | q | throwbacks = 60 ---------------------------------- thump | bedrocks | flying subjack |downrightly| fez ---------------------------------- novelwright| q | backups = 59 ---------------------------------- pyx | subface | downright krafts | exhuming | blowzy ----------+-----------+----------- phylum | j | transfixed = 56 ----------+-----------+----------- vexing | folkways | chump klutz | cymograph | fend ----------+-----------+----------- exscind | j | kymograph = 54 ----------+-----------+----------- myograph |flunked | vibs **** Unless noted otherwise, all words occur in Webster's Third New International Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, Springfield, MA, 1961. ==> english/records/spelling/sets.of.words/squares.p <== What are some exceptional word squares (square crosswords with no blanks)? ==> english/records/spelling/sets.of.words/squares.s <== Word squares are a particular example of a type of crossword known as "forms". They were more popular early in the 20th century than they are now, but people still like to compose and solve them. Forms appear every month in the _Enigma_, which is the monthly publication of the National Puzzlers' League. The membership fee is $13 for the first year, and information may be obtained from: David A. Rosen 207 East 27th St. #3K New York, NY 10016 All members have the option of choosing a nom de plume; for example, I go by the nom "Cubist". Another good place to find information on forms is in _Word Ways_, which is a quarterly journal of recreational linguistics: _Word Ways_ Spring Valley Road Morristown, NJ 07960 I'll have a paper appearing here at some point on the "support" of a form (which I'll discuss below). Word squares come in two flavors, regular and double. In regular word squares the words are the same across and down; in double word squares all words are different. The largest legitimate word square has order 9 (although Jeff Grant has come close to the 10), and what is considered to be the finest example was discovered by Eric Albert via computer search: necessism existence circumfer escarping sturnidae sempitern infidelic scenarize mergences All words appear in from Webster's New International Dictionary, Second Edition. It's the *only* single-source 9-square known, and its only flaw is that "Sturnidae" is a proper (capitalized) word. All words are also solid-form (no phrases, spaces, punctuation marks, etc.). Eric was using about 63,000 words when he discovered his square. Using about 78,500 9-letter words, I found an additional square: bortsches overtrust reparence trabeatae strestell creatural hunterite escalates steelless All are in the OED, except for "trabeatae", which is in NI2. This makes this square arguably the second-best ever discovered. All words are uncapitalized and solid-form, but it has the flaw of using more than one source. It is, however, the *only* known 9-square that uses only uncapitalized, solid-form dictionary words. There are about 2000 9-squares known, all of which were constructed by hand except for the two noted above. Almost all of these use very obscure sources of words. As a general rule of thumb, if you discover a new form via computer search, it is probably going to be of high quality, since it is hard to obtain computer-readable word lists that contain *really* obscure words. The largest known double word-squares are of order-8. They are considered to be about as hard to construct as a regular word square of order-9, and this is substantiated by the work I've done on the mathematics of form construction. The following fine example was constructed by Jeff Grant (see his article in _Word Ways_, Vol. 25 Num. 1, pp. 9-12): trattled hemerine apotomes metapore nailings aloisias tentmate assessed All are dictionary terms, but there are some weak entries, e.g. Aloisias: individuals named Aloisia, a feminine form of Aloysius occurring in the 16th and 17th century in parish registers of Hinton Charterhouse, England (The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names, 3rd Edition, E.G. Withycombe, 1977) Such words are, however, dear to the heart of logologists! For other examples of double squares see the article mentioned above. There are also many other types of forms. Some of the most common are pyramids, stars, and diamonds, and some come in regular and double varieties, and some are inherently double (e.g. rectangles). How hard is it to discover a square, anyway, and how many are there? As a data point, my program using the main (Air Force) entries in NI2 (26,332 words), found only seven 8x8 squares. This took an hour to run. They are: outtease appetite unabated acetated interact repeated repeated unweaned prenaris nopinene cadinene neomenia evenmete evenmete twigsome perscent apostate edentate toxicant pectosic pectosic teguexin ensconce bistered tindered emittent entresol entresol easement taconite antehall antehall rectoral amoebula amoebula anoxemia irenicum tearable tearable anaerobe tessular tessular seminist tincture entellus entellus cinnabar etiolate etiolate edentate esteemer deedless deedless tattlery declarer declared If the heuristic mathematics are worked out, the number of different words in your word-list before you'd expect to find a regular word square of order-n (the "support") is about e^{(n-1)/2}, where e ~ 15.7. For a double word square of order-n the support is about e^{n/2}. There is a simple algorithm which is more precise, and this gives a support of 75,641 for a regular 9-square, and a support of 272,976 for a double 9-square (using my 9-letter word list), which agrees well with reality. -- Chris Long, 265 Old York Rd., Bridgewater, NJ 08807-2618 clong@remus.rutgers.edu ==> english/records/spelling/single.words.p <== What words have exceptional lengths, patterns, etc.?