# Old one - English words ending in -gry **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [April 30, 1999, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60 "1999-04-30T03:44:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 1999, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/1 "1999-04-30T03:44:00Z")
Just a quick note I wanted to post after reading this oldie… once again, the shining light of reason has demolished a perfectly good bar bet. The question is phrased, “Can you name three English words that end in g or y? Here’s two to get you started - angry and hungry.” When spoken, this leads the poor sap to think that he’s looking for a -gry word. Classic misdirection. It’s a good thing that most saps aren’t Cecil, or we’d have to pay for our own drinks more often. * * * * * * Kazmeyer Ceci n’est pas une signature ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 1999, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/2 "1999-05-03T16:06:00Z")
That reminds of a puzzle I read in a puzzle book once: There are four English words that end with -dous. Two are good: “tremendous” and “stupendous”. Two are bad: “horrendous” and what? Unfortunately, the puzzle book didn’t have the answer. I wondered about it for the next decade or so (literally) until “grep” and UNIX’s /usr/dict/words finally gave me the answer. * * * ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 1999, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/3 "1999-05-09T18:44:00Z")
The book did not give the answer because it would have been superfluous. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 1999, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/4 "1999-05-09T18:50:00Z")
Oh. Duh. dous. I give. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 1999, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/5 "1999-05-10T00:20:00Z")
I’ll probably regret this but: Hazardous. * * * “Yeah, you chew a little Juicy Fruit–it’s good for your soul.” -J.B. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 1999, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/6 "1999-05-10T01:25:00Z")
Well… Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 1999, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/7 "1999-05-11T19:35:00Z")
“dous” isn’t a word, in English anyway. There’s “douse”, but that doesn’t end in -dous. “Supercalifragiliticexpialodocious” is neither a real word, nor does it end with -dous. Congratualtions! “hazardous” is the correct answer. Also, from that puzzle book: Punctuate the following sentence: Jim where Bill had had had had had had had had had was right. ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 1999, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/8 "1999-05-12T16:51:00Z")
Four words Greg? I would say you need a bigger dictionary. At any rate, here are fifty or so englis DOUS words [excuse the duplicates and those with -ly -ness]. 1. diplolepidous 2. gasteropodous 3. haplolepidous 4. heterolepidous 5. macrocladous 6. pachycladous 7. sesquilepidous 2. hazardous 6. horrendous 7. stupendous 8. tremendous 3. blendous 2. cowardous 4. frondous 5. hazardous 7. hybridous 8. infandous 9. iodous 10. jeopardous 11. jeopardously 12. nefandous 13. nodous 14. olidous 15. repandous 16. stupendous 17. stupendously 18. stupendousness 19. tardigradous 4. amphipodous 2. anarthropodous 3. annelidous 4. apodous 5. blendous 6. centifidous 7. cephalopodic cephalopodous 8. curculionidous 9. deccapodal deccapodous 10. discordous 13. frondous 14. gasteropodous 15. gastropodous 16. hazardous 5. unhazardous 6. amphipodous 2. anarthropodous 3. annelidous 4. apodous 5. deccapodous 6. frondous 7. gasteropodous 8. gastropodous 9. haemapodous 12. heteropodous 13. hexapodous 14. iodous 15. laemodipodous 16. ligniperdous 17. macropodous 18. mesomyodous 19. neuropodous ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 1999, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/9 "1999-05-13T13:19:00Z")
Cowardous? Do you mean cowardice? What dictionary did you use, Handy? O…O =o= ---
**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [May 14, 1999, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-one-english-words-ending-in-gry/60/10 "1999-05-14T16:18:00Z")
> [@](#): > > Jim where Bill had had had had had had had had had was right Jim, where Bill had had “had had,” had had “had”; “had had” was right. * * * \*\* Phil D. \*\* “Not only is the world queerer than we imagine, it is queerer than we can imagine.” –J.B.S. Haldane