# "-gry" (and other inside jokes at the SDMB) **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [September 4, 2001, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638 "2001-09-04T07:19:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![pezwookiee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@pezwookiee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pezwookiee)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/1 "2001-09-04T07:19:24Z")
ACK!!! Inside jokes! Fine, fine, if you don’t want to tell me, don’t… But, jeez!!! I need to know! Can someone please explain the continual references I’m finding to a thread containing a riddle about words ending with “gry”??? I know this is old news to a lot of you, but inside jokes make me feel sad when I’m on the outside. (If anyone wants to prime me on some more classic SDMB references, I’d be all ears for that, too. Thanks.) ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/2 "2001-09-04T09:22:29Z")
> [@](#): > > \*originaly posted by **pezwookiee** > Fine, fine, if you don’t want to tell me, don’t The fine thing with boards like this is that **nothing is hidden**. The old threads are still there, all you need to do is to find them! Try the **search** button! It is very useful to find old threads. (Admittedly you will find more threads with sly references, than actual questions.) The deal is that there is a kind of question that is generally frowned upon here in **GQ** , and that is riddles / wordplay / etc. Some people have posted the age-old riddle > [@](#): > > here are two words that end with “gry”. > Angry is one and hungry is another. > What is the third word. > Everyone uses it every day and > Everyone knows what it means. > If you have been listening, > I have already told you what the word is. For a taste of what you might expect as replies to that question, read some of [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=7788). excerpts: > [@](#): > > Do you want smacked? Do you? > … > Change your screen name now. Come back in a new identity. You may be allowed to contribute in the future under a new name. This is important for your continued well-being. Don’t say I didn’t warn you > … > It is times like this that I curse the fact that the building I work in is only 3 stories tall and I would likely end up maimed rather than blissfully put out of my misery after reading this claptrap. For a serious answer to the original riddle: [Cecil speaks](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_251.html) [or Michael Quinion of WorldWideWords speaks](http://www.worldwidewords.org/articles/gry.htm) [sup](I must admit that I do feel a bit guilty for answering this. Not only am I a relative newbie, but I also think this thread deserves to sink to the bottom of the list quickly.)[/sup] ---
**Author:** ![Francesca](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9fc348/32.png) [@Francesca](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francesca)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/3 "2001-09-04T11:51:01Z")
And because I think it’s mean to make people feel like they’re on the oustide, here’s a couple more for you: **"Hi Opal!"** - this arose way back in the days of the AOL message board when a poster named **OpalCat** complained that lists should always contain more than two items. To remedy this, a lot of people who only had two items on their lists would add “Hi Opal!” as the third item on their list thus: 1. Jam made of twigs 2. A small decorative bowl 3. Hi Opal! This mutated so that the third item on any list, no matter how long it was, is customarily “Hi Opal!”. This has worn off in recent times, and it’s a little old now. * * * There are some legendary posters that I think it’s good (not to mention amusing) to do a search for. For starters, you might want to do a search on MarkSerlin and Jack Dean Tyler - two renowned loonies that are referred to quite often. * * * These are the first things that came to mind. Anything else, don’t be afraid to ask. Some people might roll their eyes, but we’ve all got to learn somehow. Fran ---
**Author:** ![Popup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/94ad74/32.png) [@Popup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Popup)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 12:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/4 "2001-09-04T12:04:33Z")
On second thought. This thread doesn’t belong here. It 'll probably be moved to ATMB ( **A** bout **t** his **m** essage **b** oard) soon. ---
**Author:** ![manhattan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/manhattan/32/7_2.png) [@manhattan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/manhattan)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/5 "2001-09-04T14:41:59Z")
Yeah, I guess ATMB is as good a place as any for it. Off it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/6 "2001-09-04T15:42:08Z")
You may also wish to do a search for threads about **Wallym7** , the man who inspired this: :wally In fact, try [here](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions/wally.adp) first. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [September 4, 2001, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/7 "2001-09-04T23:27:35Z")
The Opal thing explained by OpalCat herself: [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=971670#post971670](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?postid=971670#post971670) ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/8 "2001-09-05T01:37:23Z")
And you’ll occasionally see the word “manny” instead of “many”, or the phrase “manny peoples”. This was a phrase some nitwit years ago used very often. ---
**Author:** ![AwSnappity](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a3d4f5/32.png) [@AwSnappity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AwSnappity)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/9 "2001-09-05T04:37:34Z")
[The collection of inside jokes at the Teeming Millions Homepage](http://fathom.org/teemingmillions/injokes.html). I guess this would be as good a time as any for me to thank someone who, a few months ago, very calmly explained the “-gry” riddle to me. I don’t remember who did it, but bless your soul for not flying off the handle and condemning me to the fiery pits of Hell! Honestly, if I had gotten yelled at for asking that question (which, at that point, I had no clue I wasn’t supposed to do), I might have gone away and never come back. Thank you, mystery Doper, for explaining the “-gry” joke to me! A thousand kisses to you! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 9:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/10 "2001-09-05T09:44:40Z")
“Cow orkers”. Yet another joke that started (somewhere) as a misspelling, and has subsequently appeared in _Dilbert_ (although I doubt Scott Adams was the first to use it) and of course on this MB. Don’t ask me how one “orks” a cow, and don’t tell me if you find out… ---
**Author:** ![tavalla](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tavalla/32/89_2.png) [@tavalla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tavalla)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/11 "2001-09-05T13:36:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by waterj2 \* > \*\*And you’ll occasionally see the word “manny” instead of “many”, or the phrase “manny peoples”. This was a phrase some nitwit years ago used very often. \*\* And here was me thinking there was a Cult of Manhattan around here somewhere 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/12 "2001-09-05T16:37:58Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by FireUnderpantsBoobs \* > \*\* > I guess this would be as good a time as any for me to thank someone who, a few months ago, very calmly explained the “-gry” riddle to me._\* Consider yourself fortunate. I tried to express _my_ gratitude for the same thing, but was called a **moron** for having brought it up. And this was by a moderator for whom I had a lot of respect. Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 5, 2001, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/13 "2001-09-05T21:49:34Z")
One must, of course, note that the Fathom list of inside jokes dates back to the AOL days of this board, and has little to no relevance now. Most of the inside jokes from that page that are still widely remembered are misremembered: The only reason that “manny” stuck around was that most folks thought it _was_ a reference to **manhattan** , and most of those who have even heard of “He Who Must Not Be Named” think it’s a reference to Phaedrus. References to felching used to be quite common a year ago or so, but I haven’t seen the word here for months. “Hi, Opal” also seems to be on the decline, though it’s still seen occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![waterj2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/858c86/32.png) [@waterj2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/waterj2)\ **Post date:** [September 6, 2001, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gry-and-other-inside-jokes-at-the-sdmb/79638/14 "2001-09-06T01:05:21Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tavalla \* > \*\*And here was me thinking there was a Cult of Manhattan around here somewhere 🙂 \*\* There is. But it’s irrelevant to the use of “manny” for “many”.