# Puzzler Will Shortz' favorite word **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 3, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996 "2016-07-03T13:00:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/1 "2016-07-03T13:00:19Z")
Asked of him by the person calling in to his NPR bit today. **Ucalegon** : a neighbor whose house is on fire. From Greek. Fun. My favorite word isn’t in English: \*\*Cinquecento \*\*, Italian for the number 500. Just say it: Cheen-kwah-CHEN-toh. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Asimovian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asimovian/32/172_2.png) [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/2 "2016-07-03T13:07:11Z")
Last week, Shortz said he was in Hawaii for the first time in his life. I don’t know why I found that as shocking as I did. I guess I just assumed that a Puzzle Master had been _everywhere_! ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/3 "2016-07-03T13:17:10Z")
Shortz’s There’s no earthly reason not include the possessive “s” after his name. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/4 "2016-07-03T13:33:03Z")
> [@guanolad](#): > > Shortz’s > > there’s no earthly reason not include the possessive “s” after his name. **Thank you!!!** 🙂🙂🙂 ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/5 "2016-07-03T13:39:04Z")
:smack: Sigh. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/6 "2016-07-03T14:30:43Z")
> [@Asimovian](#): > > Last week, Shortz said he was in Hawaii for the first time in his life. I don’t know why I found that as shocking as I did. I guess I just assumed that a Puzzle Master had been _everywhere_! Well, not everywhere, but certainly places like MAUI, OAHU, and LANAI. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/7 "2016-07-03T14:46:22Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Shortz’s > > There’s no earthly reason not include the possessive “s” after his name. Perhaps, but it’s a style guide quirk. Modern US styles tend to go with apostrophe-ess, regardless of final letter and whether it is sounded or not (and this is style I follow), but others had you use a bare apostrophe on names ending in s, z, or x. Still other style guides had you use the bare apostrophe, unless the final consonant was not pronounced (like Perez’, but Montreaux’s). I’ve always kind of been fond of trying to sneak antepenultimate (second from last) into conversation with certain types of wordish people. Simulacrum is nice, too. And, of course, callipygian. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/8 "2016-07-03T14:54:58Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > Perhaps, but it’s a style guide quirk. Modern US styles tend to go with apostrophe-ess, regardless of final letter and whether it is sounded or not (and this is style I follow), but others had you use a bare apostrophe on names ending in s, z, or x. Still other style guides had you use the bare apostrophe, unless the final consonant was not pronounced (like Perez’, but Montreaux’s). > > I’ve always kind of been fond of trying to sneak antepenultimate (second from last) into conversation with certain types of wordish people. Simulacrum is nice, too. And, of course, callipygian. I should’ve included an Oxford comma. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/9 "2016-07-03T15:40:01Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Shortz’s > > There’s no earthly reason not include the possessive “s” after his name. While I agree with the sentiment (I also write “Jesus’s robe” and “Rory Williams’s wife”), there is in fact a reason not to use the apostrophe-s to indicate the possessive form. Orthography tends to follow pronunciation. The tendency in English is to elise the genitive /ɨs/ marker in words ending in /s/ or /z/. If you do that, you’ll also tend to jdrop the [s] in spelling the clitic. I find both the pronunciation and the orthography grating, but it’s become so common that it’s no longer an error. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/10 "2016-07-03T16:13:40Z")
My rule of thumb as a professional translator and editor: If you pronounce the possessive ending, write it. I’m perfectly happy with “Mel Brooks’ movies,” but not “Jesus’ disciples.” WTF is a “Jesus’ disciple”??? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/11 "2016-07-03T16:27:12Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve always kind of been fond of trying to sneak antepenultimate (second from last) into conversation with certain types of wordish people. Simulacrum is nice, too. And, of course, callipygian. Marvelous words, all! They rank right up there with **manichaeistic** , **spudder** , **struthiomimus** , and **threnody.** \* 🆒 \*I’ve been waiting 20 years to use this word in a sentence! :o ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/12 "2016-07-03T16:32:31Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > My rule of thumb as a professional translator and editor: If you pronounce the possessive ending, write it. > > I’m perfectly happy with “Mel Brooks’ movies,” but not “Jesus’ disciples.” WTF is a “Jesus’ disciple”??? 😕 Except that people are increasing eliding the /ɪz/ in speaking. I heart it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/13 "2016-07-03T16:35:26Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > I heart it all the time. ¿Qué? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/14 "2016-07-03T16:41:43Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, not everywhere, but certainly places like MAUI, OAHU, and LANAI. Ha ha! Yeah, you would think Shortz would feel comfortable in a place where one is surrounded by so many vowels and a limited range of consonants ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/15 "2016-07-03T16:43:42Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > ¿Qué? :dubious: Typo for “hear.” Bad eyes. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/16 "2016-07-03T16:52:27Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I’ve always kind of been fond of trying to sneak antepenultimate (second from last) into conversation with certain types of wordish people. Simulacrum is nice, too. And, of course, callipygian. To be clear, when you say that “antepenultimate” means “second from last,” you mean third from the end, yes? Considering a row of 10 objects, “ultimate” would be #10, “penultimate” would be #9, and “antepenultimate” would be #8. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/17 "2016-07-03T16:53:25Z")
> [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](#): > > Ha ha! Yeah, you would think Shortz would feel comfortable in a place where one is surrounded by so many vowels and a limited range of consonants **FUN FACT:** The “O” in such Pacific names (Polynesian, I think) is a noun marker. In William Bligh’s book about the mutiny on the _Bounty_, he talks about visiting “Otahiti,” as Europeans then called it. ---
**Author:** ![davidm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/davidm/32/225_2.png) [@davidm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/davidm)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/18 "2016-07-03T16:57:04Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > To be clear, when you say that “antepenultimate” means “second from last,” you mean third from the end, yes? Considering a row of 10 objects, “ultimate” would be #10, “penultimate” would be #9, and “antepenultimate” would be #8. You’re right. I was about to post this same correction. > **[Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/antepenultimate)** > > The world's leading online dictionary: English definitions, synonyms, word origins, example sentences, word games, and more. A trusted authority for 25+ years! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/19 "2016-07-03T17:16:59Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > To be clear, when you say that “antepenultimate” means “second from last,” you mean third from the end, yes? Considering a row of 10 objects, “ultimate” would be #10, “penultimate” would be #9, and “antepenultimate” would be #8. I was going with ‘before the second-from-last,’ which would be a more general meaning. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2016, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996/20 "2016-07-03T17:40:41Z")
I would have figured Shortzseses’ favorite word was NENE, ERTE, OMOO, EMU, or LEI. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/puzzler-will-shortz-favorite-word/758996.md?page=2)