# Change one letter in one word and wreck an entire sentence **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [February 26, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581 "2009-02-26T23:40:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/1 "2009-02-26T23:40:56Z")
Title says it all. Sentences to abuse: The guard on this floor of the prison has made it impossible to escape. The lamb stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. The dog’s bark alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. I wish I had planned the garden better. ===================== Add any new target sentences you wish. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/2 "2009-02-26T23:54:38Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Title says it all. > > Sentences to abuse: > > The guard on this floor of the prison has made it impossible to escape. > > The lamb stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. > > The dog’s bark alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. > > I wish I had planned the garden better. > > ===================== > > Add any new target sentences you wish. I’ll take a crack at a couple. The limb stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. The dog’s barf alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. should this thread go in the Game Room? ---
**Author:** ![Alastair\_Moonsong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3e96dc/32.png) [@Alastair\_Moonsong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alastair_Moonsong)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/3 "2009-02-26T23:56:52Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Title says it all. > > Sentences to abuse: > > The guard on this floor of the prison has made it impossible to escape. > > The lamb stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. > > The dog’s bark alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. > > I wish I had planned the garden better. > > ===================== > > Add any new target sentences you wish. I’m confused, is there a specific answer to these puzzles? i.e. a “right” letter to change to properly FUBAR the sentence? Ah well, I’ll bite. The lam **p** stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. The dog’s bar **f** alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. No new targets I’m afraid. Edit: Zeldar beat me on the dog one. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/4 "2009-02-26T23:57:34Z")
The guard on this floor of the _paison_ has made it impossible to escape. The lamb _spew_ we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. The _hog’s_ bark alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. Why these odd sentences? Where did they come from? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2009, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/5 "2009-02-26T23:58:02Z")
> [@Jenaroph](#): > > I’ll take a crack at a couple. > > The limb stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. > > The dog’s barf alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. > should this thread go in the Game Room? Game Room’s okay with me, if it’s really a game. I just thought it was nonsense to kill time with. Yours are cool! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/6 "2009-02-27T00:00:23Z")
1. There is no _right_ answer. Have fun. 2. I made them up on the spur of the moment. 3. There ought to be many better ones. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/7 "2009-02-27T00:14:20Z")
The guard on this flour of the prison has made it impossible to escape. The lame stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. The dog’s bark alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sheep. I wish I had planned the garden beater. 1. There is no fight answer. Have bun. 2. I made them up on the spur of the foment. 3. These ought to be many better ones. ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/8 "2009-02-27T00:44:39Z")
The guard on this floor of the prison ham made it impossible to escape. ---
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/9 "2009-02-27T00:50:53Z")
The word “now” in a sentence is always good for this sort of thing. “I am now going to give you a million dollars” I always make sure to triple check that one in an email ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/10 "2009-02-27T01:00:27Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > Title says it all. > > Sentences to abuse: > > The guard on this floor of the prison has made it impossible to escape. > > The lamb stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. > > The dog’s bark alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. > > I wish I had planned the garden better. > > ===================== > > Add any new target sentences you wish. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Just to let you know what I was “thinking” when I posted these: +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ The gourd on this floor of the prison has made it impossible to escape. (This needed more than one letter! :smack:) The lame stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. The dog’s barf alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep. I wish I had planted the garden better. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++= But there is no _right_ answer and the idea is to improve on other manglings or even to modify others’ manglings until these sentences are completely lost to new observers. Just for giggles. No prizes. No awards. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/11 "2009-02-27T01:02:38Z")
The gourd on this floor of the prison has made it impossible to escape.\*\* \*\*I just added one letter, but I cheated by moving one, too. The jamb stew we had for lunch has made my afternoon altogether strange. The log’s bark alarmed the sleeping children and they were unable to go back to sleep.\*\* \*\*Easily alarmed children. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/12 "2009-02-27T01:03:49Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > The gourd on this floor of the prison has made it impossible to escape. (This needed more than one letter! :smack:) You stole my gourd! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/13 "2009-02-27T02:26:31Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > You stole my gourd! Please forgive me for the theft and for the stupidity of thinking guard and gourd differ by only one letter. It was these two words – I saw guard somewhere in a post where gourd would have been a bizarre fit – that gave me the idea for the thread! The fact that I am forever switching letters around as I type and in proofing those things finding how silly or obtuse the switched letters make the sentence read has always been an annoyance. I just thought to make a game of it and see how fucked up we can do things when we do them more or less deliberately. I’d like to see us take a fairly sensical sentence and mutate it one letter at a time into a totally different thing. Maybe we need one starter sentence that everybody takes a crack at – one letter at a whack – to see how long before the original sense of the thing gets lost. How’s this for a start: The brown puppy walked into the corn field and played with the snake that was lying on the rock. Who’ll screw up the first word? ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/14 "2009-02-27T02:38:51Z")
The brown puppy walked into the corn field and prayed with the snake that was lying on the rock. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/15 "2009-02-27T02:43:47Z")
The brown puppy walked into the corn field and prayed with the shake that was lying on the rock. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/16 "2009-02-27T02:45:49Z")
> [@Zeldar](#): > > …Who’ll screw up the first word? And now some political humor, with the help of capitalization: Who’ll screw up the First Ward? ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/17 "2009-02-27T03:00:39Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > And now some political humor, with the help of capitalization: > > Who’ll screw up the First Ward? More with punctuation: Who’ll screw us? The First Ward! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/18 "2009-02-27T03:26:40Z")
Who’ll screw? Ug, the First Ward! ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/19 "2009-02-27T03:29:35Z")
Who’ll strew? Ug, the First Ward! ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2009, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581/20 "2009-02-27T03:36:42Z")
Who’ll stew? Ug, the First Ward! Alternately: Who’ll strew up the First Ward? Plus: The brown guppy walked into the corn field and prayed with the shake that was lying on the rock. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/change-one-letter-in-one-word-and-wreck-an-entire-sentence/487581.md?page=2)