Last Saturday I suggested a word game for times when you are really, really bored on long car trips. See how many ways the people in the car can spell a word phonetically. The classic example is FIDO. Fido is a generic name for a dog in the US but no one ever names a dog Fido. Nevertheless, it can be spelled at least 54 ways. Can you get 54 or can you suggest another challenging word?
November 26, 2006, 19:38
Kalleh
I will try a few, but I am sure I can't get 54! BTW, I do know someone who named his dog Fido.
phy-doe f-eye-doe ph-eye-doh fy-doh fy-doe
Is that what you mean? I am not sure how you can get 54.
November 26, 2006, 20:17
KHC
fydough fyedough phydough
November 27, 2006, 02:01
BobHale
ghighddeau
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
******* "Happiness is not something ready made. It comes from your own actions. ~Dalai Lama
November 27, 2006, 05:40
haberdasher
The paradigmatic way-out spelling is "Phydeau" (or sometimes "-x").
(...by the same people who bring you your morning cup of kawphy)
November 27, 2006, 05:44
BobHale
Let's analyse
FIDO
ways to write the F
f ph gh (as in rough)
ways to writh the I i y ai ay aye eye igh (as in high) is (as in island) ye (as in bye) ei (heirarchy) ie (pie)
ways to write D
I can only think of
d dd
ways to write O
o oh ough oe eau ow ew (sew, thanks neveu) owe (thanks jo) oa (boat) au (au contraire) ot (Merlot)
If anyone has any to add please do. Combinations of the above.
3x11x2x11=726This message has been edited. Last edited by: BobHale,
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
November 27, 2006, 10:36
neveu
quote:
ways to write D
I can only think of
d dd
tt as in little; for "O" ew as in sew (Midwestern American accent, at least).
November 27, 2006, 11:45
BobHale
tt? anyone agree? they're different in my accent.
ew, now added to the count
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
November 27, 2006, 12:04
jo
not to pick nits or anything, while I saw "ow" listed, I didn't see "owe."
November 27, 2006, 12:19
BobHale
and the count just keeps on climbing
"No man but a blockhead ever wrote except for money." Samuel Johnson.
November 27, 2006, 12:58
neveu
Can we use French loan (there's another O) words? Au contraire? Merlot?
November 28, 2006, 02:29
arnie
If we're using French -eau endings for O, how about the plural, -eaux?
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.
November 30, 2006, 09:10
missann
Wow! I didn't think I would generate so much interest wih Fido. I loved all your suggestions. Missann
November 30, 2006, 09:25
missann
Since Bob Hale calculated 726, I counted 8 suggestions. I didn't understant the tt so I didn't count that. Thus 726x 8 variables = 5,808. That's impressive when you consider that a dog doesn't know he has a name. He is just dogto himself.
December 03, 2006, 09:22
missann
The tau, as in Asian philosophy, is pronounced DOW. Can we use t for a d sound?
December 03, 2006, 10:36
lop
hello to all. When i'm at work i send text messages to my wife on our cell phone. if I sent her "fido bit me", I would type 3436 248 63. that is fido spelled 3436.
December 06, 2006, 21:58
lop
Hi, what would Michelle Pfeiffer say if she was asked? "pf" sounds like "f" (like in swimming, the p is silent). this sounds like a valid addition to me.
December 07, 2006, 00:21
neveu
quote:
this sounds like a valid addition to me.
Sounds pfine to me, too.
December 12, 2006, 08:26
missann
I accept tt as in little, which I had questioned above, and tau as in Asian pholosophy and pf as in Pfeiffer, bringing the total to 46,400. Now am I pushing it to ask you to accept th as a d sound, as in Brooklyn, where they say dese and dose for these and those? I'm not sure how to count lop's 3436 but it is clever.
January 05, 2007, 14:41
Myth Jellies
A few more from the MW dictionary
gaff calf
geyser coyote
dhow seemed could
pharaoh yeoman brooch boulder quahog cupola
Myth Jellies Cerebroplegia--the cure is within our grasp