Saturday, September 20, 2008

Fun with word games ...#1

There are lots of different kinds of word games available, and I thought I'd share with you a few of the ones I've completed recently.


Word Games Puzzles ...

The final answer, which is derived by using a combination of logic, unscrambling letters to make a longer word, solving analogies and plays on words, etc., is often in the form of a sort of nonsense poem ... the last phrase or word is sometimes a 'stinger'. Authors are anonymous.


We got a new dalmatian
At my fire station.

Not much of a barker, he's covered in spots.

Now and then
We get a yen

To grab a marker and connect the dots.


Don't you just pity mathematics teachers? They spend their days dealing with one problem after another!


A modest actress rejected a script when she discovered that a scene would require her to wear a bikini. It was more than she could bare.




Syllacrostics ...

This puzzle requires that you put as many as 60 or 70 given syllables together to create words of a specific length that fit the definitions given.


Literature is news that stays news. __ Ezra Pound


The best cure for an old grudge is a bad memory. __ D. Weinbaum


Assumption is the mother of mistakes. __ Donghia


Efficiency is intelligent laziness. __ D. Dunham


The wisest mind has something yet to learn. __ Santayana



Crostic Puzzles ...

Like most word games, these involve a lot of working back and forth between solving definitions and perceiving letter patterns. Here's one finished quote:


The term 'viking' was originally in a sense an action. One would 'go viking', which basically meant to take a seafaring voyage to trade. Over time, the people who did 'the viking' became "Vikings", but technically the vikings were not a people. __ Bernstein, Digging for the Truth



Which type do you like best? I don't have a favorite. I like them all. There's a tremendous sense of satisfaction when I finish one of these, and I often get a chuckle or two. Either that, or I learn something!

I'm creating a new label for my posts with this one ... "Word games" ... look for more entries down the road.

3 comments:

Anonymous Me said...

I love any kind of word game. Did you ever listen to My Word on the radio? My all time favorite radio show.

Tammy said...

Aiiiii! These would make me craaaaazy. :) I do like sudoku and logic problems, though.

Did you ever play the game "Jotto"? I love that. Emily, Katie and I love playing it with each other. If you haven't heard of it, I'll explain the game in another comment later.

Goldenrod said...

Never even HEARD of "My Word"! Ditto with "Jotto". Rrvit!

I very much enjoy "Wheel of Fortune", but have been unable to play it for over a week now. The station that carries it has been Ike, Ike, and more Ike. :(