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There are just some miscellaneous little puzzles that don't fit anywhere else. Have fun!
What do all the following words have in common:
A, COMMENT, COUNTER, DEED, DEMENT, RAM, RIDGE, SANS
Everyone knows that the suffix "-ly" in English turns adjectives into related adverbs, or nouns into related adjectives (for instance, "week" to "weekly"). But not all words ending in "ly" include the suffix, of course - and if you interpret them as if they did, you'd get a very different definition. For example, "ally" really means "the opposite of enemy", but if you look at it as if it were formed with the suffix ("al-ly"), it might seem to mean "in the manner of Gore or Jolson". Even some words that are formed with the "-ly" suffix are changed somewhat by the addition of the suffix, so that if you look at the root as just what you have left after removing the "ly" you'd get a different definition. "Singly", of course, really means "one at a time" (and is formed from "single"), but if you look at it as "sing-ly" it seems like maybe it should mean something akin to "chorally".
Below are such pseudo-definitions of a few other words that end in "-ly", but that don't mean exactly what you might think if you just assumed they were adverbs formed with the root being whatever's left after taking off the "-ly". Can you figure out what words are being defined, and match the pseudo-definitions (1-20) with the real definitions (a-t) below?
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1. Auditory? 2. Canine? 3. 51 times, to a Roman? 4. In a courting manner? 5. In a manner suggesting above-ness? 6. In an approaching direction? 7. In informal groups? 8. Instinctively, as Freud would say? 9. Involving colored eggs? 10. Involving electrical current? 11. Like a certain fruit? 12. Like a journey? 13. Like a young demon? 14. Like free tickets? 15. Like Santa's laughter? 16. Like the iterations in a physical workout? 17. Prickly? 18. Toward the left side of the ship? 19. Using one's stomach muscles? 20. With a piercing sensation? |
a. Acquiesce b. A type of flower c. Attractive d. Capably; competently e. Firmly; steadily f. From the east, as a wind g. Iridescent h. Lanky i. Lazily, without purpose j. Like a sheep, for instance k. Prompt; in advance l. Sacred m. Sole; solely n. Stout o. Strong p. Sufficiently q. Threefold r. To respond s. To suggest t. Twisted; forming ringlets |
Suppose you have four round stools in a square room. It's easy, of course, to get the same number of stools touching each wall. Here's one way to do it, with one stool touching each wall:
Or you can do it like this, with two stools touching each wall:
Now, here come the trickier parts.
1. Can you find three other different ways (besides the two given above) to arrange the stools so the same number are touching each wall? Note that rotations and reflections are not considered different, nor are arrangements where the stools are moved around but still touching the same walls; the following two arrangements, for example, are not considered different:
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2. Now, can you find a way to arrange the stools so that a different number are touching each wall?
3. And now, can you repeat parts 1 and 2 (finding three different ways to arrange the stools so the same number are touching each wall, and one way to arrange them so a different number are touching each wall), using only three stools?
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