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Possible new etymology word game? Login/Join
 
Member
Picture of arnie
posted
Hi all,

I wonder if we might be interested in a new word game, a variation on the Bluffing Game? The way I see it, a member (the "host") posts a word with an interesting or unusual etymology, with a set of possible etymologies. It is then up to the other members to guess the true etymologies. I leave it up to members to decide if an etymology is "interesting or unusual". Wink

How we arrive at the alternative etymologies can be a matter for discussion here (see second poll below). First, though, a poll to see if there is any interest in the game:

Question:
Would you be interested in playing a game along the lines given above?

Choices:
Yes
No
Maybe sometimes

Question:
Should the host make up a full set of etymologies for the word, or should members make up one each and send them to the host by PM for collation and posting later, as with the Bluffing Game?

Choices:
Host makes them all up
Members send a PM with their own etymology
I don't care which
I have another suggestion (posted below)

 


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Richard English
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Won't we need first to know the definition of the word?


Richard English
 
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UKReply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
Picture of arnie
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I wouldn't think so as a rule, although that's really up to the host. The words used won't necessarily be esoteric.

As an example, feisty comes from PIE *pezd-, "fart", apparently, via lapdogs. See Online Etymology Dictionary. I think most people know the current meaning of the word so won't need a definition.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of arnie
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Only two people have voted so far on this. Even if you aren't interested in taking part in such a game, please take the poll!


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Richard English
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I can't remember whether or not I've voted - is there some way in which I can tell?


Richard English
 
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UKReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of arnie
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Try voting. The forum should remember and prevent you from voting a second time if you've already voted.

Still only two votes, people!


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Richard English
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I must have voted. I voted again and the results didn't alter.


Richard English
 
Posts: 8038 | Location: Partridge Green, West Sussex, UKReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of arnie
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Well, we've got another vote, making a grand total of three members who have voted. It doesn't look like there's enough interest but let's give it a little while longer.


Build a man a fire and he's warm for a day. Set a man on fire and he's warm for the rest of his life.
 
Posts: 10940 | Location: LondonReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Too bad - it looks fun to me.


It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
 
Posts: 6168 | Location: Muncie, IndianaReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of BobHale
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Just thought I'd nudge this back to the top.

Surely we can find enough people to at least try out the game.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
 
Posts: 9421 | Location: EnglandReply With QuoteReport This Post
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As you know, Bob, finding sufficient people to play the Bluffing Game is often impossible. I've searched for sites that are specifically designed for a dictionary game such as our Bluffing Game, but the only one I found had such arcane rules that it spoiled the fun. A decade ago I started a version of our Bluffing Game on the A Word A Day board, but the "in crowd" co-opted me and twisted it into a rules-heavy drudge, ruining it for me. I bet they don't even remember that I started it.

Anyway, I like the idea of your game, but such games seem ill-suited for language discussion sites.


It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. -J. Krishnamurti
 
Posts: 6168 | Location: Muncie, IndianaReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of BobHale
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Wasn't my idea, it was arnie's.

Of course we don't HAVE to run this as game as such. It could be like the "dis" game with people just inventing fanciful etymologies and posting them.


"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
 
Posts: 9421 | Location: EnglandReply With QuoteReport This Post
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Picture of Kalleh
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Sorry, I missed this.

I do think, though, that be it the bluffing game or the limerick game, we get far too worried about how many people are playing. So what if a game has only 4? If people are busy, out of town, living in China, or whatever, let's play with 4 and go on to the next. Some limerick or bluffing games have lasted for weeks because people want a certain number of responses. To me, that's balderdash. Let's play and be on with it!
 
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