# Constructing valid words ending in -gry. **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 27, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346 "2007-12-27T01:42:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/1 "2007-12-27T01:42:34Z")
(Mods: searching the hundreds (thousands?) of posts in multiple threads on the subject of -gry was too much to even consider. If this question has been answered already, a link would be gladly accepted.) OK, so there are only two words in English that end in -gry: angry and hungry. My question is, could you invent a word ending in -gry that is correct by the same rules of grammar that yielded angry and hungry? As far as I can tell, the basic rules would be: a noun denoting a quality or state of being ending in -er, used to construct an adjective ending in -gry. There might be more to it than that if you go back all the way to the original ME and OE words and rules of construction. Does the suffix -iness turn the adjective back into the noun? Are “anger” and “angriness” synonyms, or do they mean slightly different things? ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/2 "2007-12-27T01:48:13Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] As far as I can tell, the basic rules would be: a noun denoting a quality or state of being ending in -er, used to construct an adjective ending in -gry [/QUOTE] I think it would have to be one ending ~ger - the g is preserved when converting to ~gry. It might even need the N as well. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/3 "2007-12-27T01:52:59Z")
Are “angry” and “hungry” corruptions of “angery” and “hungery?” Is a singer singery? A banger bangery? Therefore “singry” and “bangry?” ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/4 "2007-12-27T01:58:38Z")
Or is a situation where danger is present “dangry”? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/5 "2007-12-27T03:21:52Z")
[QUOTE=Lumpy] (Mods: searching the hundreds (thousands?) of posts in multiple threads on the subject of -gry was too much to even consider. If this question has been answered already, a link would be gladly accepted.) OK, so there are only two words in English that end in -gry: angry and hungry. My question is, could you invent a word ending in -gry that is correct by the same rules of grammar that yielded angry and hungry? As far as I can tell, the basic rules would be: a noun denoting a quality or state of being ending in -er, used to construct an adjective ending in -gry. There might be more to it than that if you go back all the way to the original ME and OE words and rules of construction. Does the suffix -iness turn the adjective back into the noun? Are “anger” and “angriness” synonyms, or do they mean slightly different things? [/QUOTE] Why would you consider there to be a constraint around any neologism? There is not some codified set of “rules of grammar” that “invented” angry and hungry, nor is there any set of (consistent) rules to which new words must conform before they are released to the polloi. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/6 "2007-12-27T03:27:48Z")
[QUOTE=Chief Pedant] Why would you consider there to be a constraint around any neologism? There is not some codified set of “rules of grammar” that “invented” angry and hungry, nor is there any set of (consistent) rules to which new words must conform before they are released to the polloi. [/QUOTE] There is a set of “rules” that show how words \*were \*formed, however, and can be used to form neologisms. In this case, adding a “y” and (apparently) dropping an “e.” > [@](#): > > angry 1360, from anger + -y (see anger). Originally “full of trouble, vexatious;” sense of “enraged, irate” is from c.1386. The phrase angry young man dates to 1941 but was popularized in ref. to the play “Look Back in Anger” (produced 1956) though it does not occur in that work. “There are three words in the English language that end in -gry. Two of them are angry and hungry. What is the third?” There is no third (except some extremely obscure ones). Richard Lederer calls this “one of the most outrageous and time-wasting linguistic hoaxes in our nation’s history” and traces it to a New York TV quiz show from early 1975. > **[Search 'A' on etymonline](https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=a&page=14)** > > Search results for 'A' on etymonline ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/7 "2007-12-27T04:27:05Z")
[Augury](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/augury) ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/8 "2007-12-27T04:29:20Z")
That’s g_u_ry, not gry. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/9 "2007-12-27T04:48:34Z")
I’m sure I’ve read there’s a third word that ends with -gry, but I can’t for the life of me think what it is. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![petew83](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@petew83](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/petew83)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/10 "2007-12-27T05:01:37Z")
“nagry” - what happens when one is too NAGRY to spell right. > **[Urban Dictionary: nagry](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=nagry)** > > nagry is worse than angry because its hardcore!!! no smiling ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/11 "2007-12-27T06:16:27Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam] I’m sure I’ve read there’s a third word that ends with -gry, but I can’t for the life of me think what it is. 😕 [/QUOTE] The -gry word puzzle is tired and old, and a bit silly. Here is a reasonable write up on it: [http://www.fun-with-words.com/word\_gry\_angry\_hungry.html](http://www.fun-with-words.com/word_gry_angry_hungry.html) ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/12 "2007-12-27T12:01:40Z")
Does anyone else find it amusing that _ **Chief Pedant** _ actually provided a link in response to **Siam Sam** ’s whoosh? ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 12:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/13 "2007-12-27T12:06:12Z")
Obligatory link to Unca Cece’s words of wisdom on the subject: [What are the three English words ending in -gry?](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_251.html) ---
**Author:** ![brewha](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@brewha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brewha)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/14 "2007-12-27T12:49:40Z")
[QUOTE=freckafree] Or is a situation where danger is present “dangry”? [/QUOTE] I don’t know, but I’m going to work that word into my vocabulary. 😃 “I’m not going in there! It looks dangry!” ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 12:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/15 "2007-12-27T12:57:38Z")
Obligatory [link to XKCD on the subject.](http://xkcd.com/169/) ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/16 "2007-12-27T13:48:50Z")
[QUOTE=Contrapuntal] Is a singer singery? A banger bangery? [/QUOTE] Maybe in Pee Wee’s Playhouse… ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/17 "2007-12-27T13:55:06Z")
I thinking of a variation on the once perfectly acceptable word [niggard](http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~brians/errors/niggard.html): niggry. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/18 "2007-12-27T16:38:48Z")
[QUOTE=twickster] Does anyone else find it amusing that _ **Chief Pedant** _ actually provided a link in response to **Siam Sam** ’s whoosh? [/QUOTE] I ought to keep my mouth (fingers?) shut and let everyone think it really was a whoosh, but it was not. I knew I’d read it somewhere, but forgot it was a Dope column. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2007, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/19 "2007-12-27T17:33:13Z")
Ah. Oops. 😃 ---
**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:** [December 27, 2007, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346/20 "2007-12-27T19:37:18Z")
Yes, the quaint -gry question. I was just telling my shrink yesterday that youngsters with new Christmas computers tend to drop in at this time of year to post questions we all know by heart, and never want to hear again. I don’t think she believed me. This year, **Lumpy** has pre-empted the clueless newbies with a query about neologisms that would answer the hide-bound riddle. Let’s make the most of this. Instead of the usual :smack: “Oy veygry! Not this again!,” we have a chance for a little amusement. Thanks,\*\* Lumpy.\*\* A bakery sells bread, and we go to an eatery for dinner. Do you go to a Lawry for legal advice? No, it’s a steakhouse, an eatery. However: Gröggry, a place to drink grögg. Singingry, a karaoke joint. Bangry, in the UK, a place to buy sausage. Yinglingry, a place to buy a certain beer, or a certain sailboat. Shagry, a bordello. Stingry, a US sports car with a letter broken off. Now, it’s your turn. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/constructing-valid-words-ending-in-gry/431346.md?page=2)