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Topic: Consonyms (Read 1835 times) |
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Barukh
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Define consonym to be a word that has the same consonants as another word, in any order*. For instance, “limbo” and “mobile” are consonyms.
Here’s the problem: find a triple of consonants that “produce” the maximum number of consonyms.
The rules for the solution are as follows:
1. “Y” is considered a vowel.
2. No plural nouns.
3. Verbs are allowed only in infinitive form.
4. No personal names, names of places etc. are allowed.
5. Every consonant must be used once and only once.
I don’t know the answer to this problem, or how difficult is it. Neither do I know if it’s original. I hope you will find it interesting, though.
* There is a different definition of this on the Web.
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| « Last Edit: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:47am by Barukh » |
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FiBsTeR
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #1 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:01am » |
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Must a word use the same number of consonants as its consonyms?
Well seeing as T, N, R are some of the most common consonants in the English language, maybe these are it, although my vocabulary isn't very large. I'm just writing whatever comes to mind, in no particular order, and they are, of course, not the only consonyms of the letters above:
runt, torn, turn, nurture, rant, torrent, rent
I don't know how one would go about finding the "maximum", unless you had a way to search the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) for consonyms with a computer.
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pex
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #2 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:19am » |
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on Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:01am, FiBsTeR wrote:Must a word use the same number of consonants as its consonyms?
Well seeing as T, N, R are some of the most common consonants in the English language, maybe these are it, although my vocabulary isn't very large. I'm just writing whatever comes to mind, in no particular order, and they are, of course, not the only consonyms of the letters above:
runt, torn, turn, nurture, rant, torrent, rent
I don't know how one would go about finding the "maximum", unless you had a way to search the OED (Oxford English Dictionary) for consonyms with a computer. |
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Adding to FiBsTeR's list (just from the top of my head):
Using each consonant once: toner, entry, intro, train, enter, retina, routine, inertia, entire
Using some consonants multiple times: terrain
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FiBsTeR
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #3 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:27am » |
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Or even:
nature, neuter, turner (one who turns?), and ranter, renter, trainer, [and really, if allowing multiple uses of n,t,r, many infinitive verbs using n,t,r can be made nouns adding -er]
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pex
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #4 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:33am » |
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on Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:27am, FiBsTeR wrote:| really, if allowing multiple uses of n,t,r, many infinitive verbs using n,t,r can be made nouns adding -er |
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Like entertainer, using all consonants twice...
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towr
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #5 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:34am » |
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A dictionary search gives 313; although I still have to weed out some things that don't really seem words.
[edit]
Good grief what a load of crap in that dictionary. I only recognize 52 50 words on the list.
Aaronite
aeration
aeronaut
aren't
atoner
enter
entree
entry
inaurate
inert
inertia
intro
natura |
nature
neater
neuter
nitro
notary
notoire
oration
orient
outearn
outran
outrun
rainout
rant |
ration
rent
retain
retinue
reunite
rotan
routine
ruinate
runout
runt
tenor
toner
torn |
tourney
train
trainee
tRNA
tuner
turn
unitary
uniter
unroot
untire
untrue
urinate
yantra
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[/edit]
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| « Last Edit: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:53am by towr » |
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Barukh
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #6 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:46am » |
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I was afraid the problem statement won't be precise!
on Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:01am, FiBsTeR wrote:| Must a word use the same number of consonants as its consonyms? |
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Not only that, every consonant must be used once and only once.
Quote:
Isn't this the third form of the verb "tear"? As such, it's not allowed by the rule #3.
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FiBsTeR
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #7 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 7:20am » |
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"to tear" is the infinitive form of the verb, "tear" is the present first person, "tore" is the past, and "torn" is the adjective, as in "That piece of paper is torn."
on Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:34am, towr wrote:| A dictionary search gives 313; although I still have to weed out some things that don't really seem words. |
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How did you search a dictionary? Or did you mean you manually searched?
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| « Last Edit: Oct 3rd, 2007, 7:20am by FiBsTeR » |
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rmsgrey
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #9 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 11:53am » |
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What? No tureen?
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towr
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #10 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 11:56am » |
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on Oct 3rd, 2007, 11:53am, rmsgrey wrote:Possibly, but I have no idea what it is.
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Barukh
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #11 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 11:59am » |
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Nice! 
What about other combinations? For instance: S, P, T?
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rmsgrey
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #12 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 12:10pm » |
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on Oct 3rd, 2007, 11:56am, towr wrote:
Possibly, but I have no idea what it is.
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From www.dictionary.com: "a large, deep, covered dish for serving soup, stew, or other foods."
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towr
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #13 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 12:34pm » |
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on Oct 3rd, 2007, 11:59am, Barukh wrote:| What about other combinations? For instance: S, P, T? |
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From among 160 the following 35 seem ok to me.
autopsy
eyespot
isotope
isotype
outspy
past
pasta
paste
pastie |
patsy
peseta
pest
pesto
piteous
posit
post
setup
situp |
spat
spate
spit
spite
spot
spout
steep
step
stoop |
stop
stupa
tapas
tipsy
tops
topsy
upset
upstay
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| « Last Edit: Oct 3rd, 2007, 12:36pm by towr » |
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FiBsTeR
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #14 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 2:25pm » |
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on Oct 3rd, 2007, 6:46am, Barukh wrote:Not only that, every consonant must be used once and only once.
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So words such as "tooth" have no consonyms, by your definition, since the consonant "t" is used twice?
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Obob
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Re: Consonyms
« Reply #15 on: Oct 3rd, 2007, 8:09pm » |
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Two words are consonyms if they use the same consonants, and those consonants appear the same number of times in each word. So "tooth" and "teeth" are consonyms, but "tooth" and "the" are not. I suppose you could look for triples with repeated consonants as well, (such as T T H), but I would be very surprised if a triple with repeated consonants generates the most consonyms.
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