[QUOTE=Trunk]
That’s excellent.
It will be more excellent if it catches on and actually becomes a word some day. Then, the puzzle will just be a straight up puzzle with no stupid trick language, and will eventually move into oblivion because it is too mundane.
[/QUOTE]
There are four words in the English language that end in -gry…
[QUOTE=if6was9]
There are four words in the English language that end in -gry…
[/QUOTE]
Then you have to change the puzzle to “There are four words in the fuckin’ English language. Which is the fourth?”
Daniel
Paging mittu, please report to the maternity ward, we are all waiting in antic…pation.
[QUOTE=Mindfield]
It sounded awkward to me too, but on the off chance that it may be “official language” in the world of precious metals I exact-phrase-googled it and found that there were a few people who phrased it in that way, but nothing immediately apparent in any official context.
It was worth a try anyway.
[/QUOTE]
Could it relate to gold coinage?
F = florins?
P D = pillar dollars?
“14 karats of gold in a fillipino pillar dollar”
That looks promising, but I can only find references to a silver pillar dollar.
Does look like they were silver… although I like the idea of “full pillar dollar” (contrasted with pieces-of-eight).
D = dubloons?
14 karats of gold in a Florentine princely ducat?
I thought mittu was going to get back to us.
Although Dopers have shown their usual ingenuity, the phrases are supposed to be in common use.
I’ll predict it was a typo by Mittu. :eek:
Dang, I think my Refresh button is going to burn out.
[QUOTE=glee]
Although Dopers have shown their usual ingenuity, the phrases are supposed to be in common use.
I’ll predict it was a typo by Mittu. :eek:
[/QUOTE]
bannable offence in this case!! 
I’ve had a talk with the guy who got the question sheet, it is definitely “14 k_ of g_ in a f_ p_ d_” so the ‘a’ is the word ‘a’ and not the first letter of a missing word.
He can’t find out the answer at present because whoever can answer all the riddles on the sheet wins a prize, so the person who knows the answer ain’t tellin’!!
Looking at the rest of the questions on the sheet it could quite easily have been lifted from the internet as I recognised them all from internet examples, except this one of course. So, having said that, there is always the chance that the company have made this one up either thinking they are clever or purposely sabotaging the quiz to stop anyone winning the prize. For what it’s worth the company is question is called “Auto Trader” which is a magazine where people and businesses advertise second hand cars for sale so it might be worth looking down the auto route in search of an answer, but I still got nuthin’.
I will keep pestering him so he doesn’t forget to find out the answer when the “prize-time” has ended.
What is their deadline?
In googling letter-equations, I stumbled across this list of unsolved ones the authors have been sent. Let them know if you figure them out!
Ah, so we’ve been trying to help someone win a prize. Humph.
[QUOTE=mittu]
For what it’s worth the company is question is called “Auto Trader” which is a magazine where people and businesses advertise second hand cars for sale
[/QUOTE]
Maybe “f p d” is “full page display”, then?
14 kinds of gas in a finished petroleum distillate?
That’s sort of related to cars.
It’s good that a solution’s likely and that there’s no typo, but I hope everyone realises that the answer when it comes is going to be very unsatisfactory.
I recall a similar sheet some friends and I were given at a quiz once. We flew through practically all them (26 L of the A etc.), and were stumped only by the last one “18 T in a FP”
Turned out to be (I think) “trumpets in a French Parade.”
We weren’t impressed.
14 keys of g? in a full piano d?
Man, this is terrible.
Now that we know the context, I am going to guess it’s something stupid and specific to the Auto Trader magazine.