# Playing With Words **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [May 16, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624 "2010-05-16T08:55:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a4c791/32.png) [@Zoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zoe)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/1 "2010-05-16T08:55:47Z")
Have you ever noticed that people who say, “I find it amusing that…” usually follow it with something that they obviously don’t find amusing at all, but are actually hostile about? Example: “I find it amusing that every day that it has rained, you’ve managed to throw the newspaper directly into the one mud puddle we have in our driveway.” * * * When my husband and I are travelling, we often play a game we call X-Questions. It’s like Twenty Questions only there is no limit. The catch is that the “thing” that you choose to be can be very common or very strange or intangible. One of us begins by saying, “I am something.” That’s a cue for the other one to begin asking yes or no questions. I stumped my husband once with **“fire”** and he got me with **“the last letter that Poe ever wrote.”** The time really passes quickly. * * * Have you noticed unusual things about words? Do you play word games? Maybe you just sort of juggle words into a sort of word jazz. Do you know any made up words? Speak up! ---
**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:** [May 16, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/2 "2010-05-16T10:00:19Z")
We have a number-plate game called … well, we don’t actually call it anything, we just do it. But it involves number plates, and dragons. Basically, we take the letters of a standard number-plate (oz standard numberplates have 3 letters, generally) and try to use them to describe a dragon. Eg PQC (ours) could be “Purveys Quick Charcoaling” or “Powerful Questing Creature”. Yes, Qs are difficult. Not as bad as X’s though. Fortunately we live in the city so there’s always a better plate around the corner. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/3 "2010-05-16T10:39:12Z")
We do the same and imagine that they are obscene or bizarre vanity plates, So I would make PQC to be Particularly Queer C–t. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/4 "2010-05-16T13:44:18Z")
Moved MPSIMS --\> The Game Room. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/5 "2010-05-16T17:21:22Z")
> [@Zoe](#): > > Have you ever noticed that people who say, “I find it amusing that…” usually follow it with something that they obviously don’t find amusing at all, but are actually hostile about? Example: > > “I find it amusing that every day that it has rained, you’ve managed to throw the newspaper directly into the one mud puddle we have in our driveway.” Very common in online exchanges as well, and used in quite the same way: “I find it amusing that you say \_\_\_\_\_\_, and yet you \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” I will admit to using this on more than one occasion! > [@](#): > > When my husband and I are travelling, we often play a game we call X-Questions. It’s like Twenty Questions only there is no limit. The catch is that the “thing” that you choose to be can be very common or very strange or intangible. One of us begins by saying, “I am something.” That’s a cue for the other one to begin asking yes or no questions. I stumped my husband once with **“fire”** and he got me with **“the last letter that Poe ever wrote.”** The time really passes quickly. We played this with our kids all the time growing up…on long car trips but at other times too. We called it “I’m Thinking Of,” and it ran by exactly your rules…Yes and No questions only, and no limit. About the only clue given was at the beginning, whether it was an object, a substance, or something more esoteric like an abstract concept. It was loads of fun when you got to be the giver instead of the guesser, and tried to come up with something really obscure. (Although on one occasion I decided that the object in question should be a breadbox, out of respect for the inevitable “Is it bigger than?” question.) > [@](#): > > Have you noticed unusual things about words? Here’s a question I’ve asked many times over the years without ever getting a satisfactory answer. As there has been a recent thread about Scrabble, I’m reminded to ask it again. I once tried to use “ZOOT” in a Scrabble game. As it did not appear in the Scrabble dictionary, I was denied. In fact, the word ZOOT doesn’t appear in any dictionary I’ve ever seen. You only find “zoot suit.” And yet, the four letters (Z, O, O, T) appear independently of “suit,” and look for all the world like a word. If “zoot” isn’t a word, then what, exactly, is it? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/6 "2010-05-30T12:52:27Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Very common in online exchanges as well, and used in quite the same way: “I find it amusing that you say \_\_\_\_\_\_, and yet you \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_” > > I will admit to using this on more than one occasion! I think it makes sense. We also use the synonym “funny” to convey the same concept. “That’s funny, I thought you \_\_\_\_\_” “Funny thing is, I also \_\_\_\_\_\_” It seems to be a type of humor derived from the irony of the situation. ETA: Still, perhaps bemusing would be more appropriate. Bemusing is used for amusing all the time, so why not the other way around? ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2010, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/7 "2010-05-30T13:29:08Z")
We play [ghost](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghost_(game)) and superghost in the car. We also play a game that’s harder to describe. On person will say a two-word phrase (like green onion) and then the other person has to say something like ‘onion sauce’ and we keep linking phrases that way. Approximations and puns are allowed. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2010, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/playing-with-words/539624/8 "2010-05-31T12:29:00Z")
I play this one sometimes to pass the time. Needs a pen and paper. Take two words of the same number of letters, for added fun, with opposite meanings. e.g. SICK and WELL. Turn one into the other, by changing one letter at a time. Each new construction must be a word. SICK SILK SILL SELL WELL Too easy with 3-letters words, sometimes impossible with 5-letter words, so I usually use 4 letter words.