# Three English words that end in -gry **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [August 8, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173 "2005-08-08T20:23:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/1 "2005-08-08T20:23:01Z")
[Linky](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_251.html) Wait wait! Put away the keys (at least for now!) It appears that Cecil knew about the “joke” concerning -gry, as he ended the article saying the answer is “three” But nowhere in the article, nor in the comments appended thereto was the joke explained, nor the correct wording of the joke revealed. Here’s an [article](http://www.word-detective.com/gry.html) from a peer to Cecil (you thought he was peerless?) > [@Walt Meier](#): > > Angry and hungry are two words that end in ‘-gry’. There are three words in the English language. What is the third word? Everyone knows what it means and everyone uses it every day. Look closely and I have already given you the third word. What is it? The correct answer is “language” which makes much more sense if you consider the above modified by adding quotes thusly: …There are three words in “The English language.” What is the third word?.. Now, before everyone curses me (rubbing my voodoo gris-gris), I searched SDMB before posting. There have been so many references to past transgressions by newbies posting the question “What’s the third word” I thought for sure someone would have mentioned the above correction to the original joke. I could barely find anything in my search concerning -gry other than these types of reference. Either my search skills are lacking, or the original post-fests were deleted. Were they in the Winter? ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/2 "2005-08-08T21:00:44Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > … Here’s an [article](http://www.word-detective.com/gry.html) from a peer to Cecil (you thought he was peerless?)… Heretic! Everyone _knows_ Cecil is The Perfect Master. Presence of the definite article “The” indicates peers are nonexistent. And I wouldn’t be caught dead anywhere near your gris-gris. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/3 "2005-08-08T21:49:33Z")
> [@Feydeau](#): > > Heretic! Everyone _knows_ Cecil is The Perfect Master. Presence of the definite article “The” indicates peers are nonexistent. Shh… Listen to this… thwwwwAAWWK! That was the sound of me removing my tongue from my cheek. It’s hard to talk with it there, but easy to type. **I** know] Unca Cece is peerless… **You** know he’s peerless… **He** knows you and I know he’s peerless… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/4 "2005-08-08T23:03:10Z")
Oh. Never mind, then. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2005, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/5 "2005-08-08T23:06:39Z")
> [@Feydeau](#): > > Oh. > Never mind, then. On re-reading my reply it appears I was trying to be a prick. Honestly I wasn’t. I just thought the sound of a tongue/cheek extraction would be funny. My apologies, seriously… ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/6 "2005-08-09T02:59:27Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > It appears that Cecil knew about the “joke” concerning -gry, as he ended the article saying the answer is “three” But nowhere in the article, nor in the comments appended thereto was the joke explained, nor the correct wording of the joke revealed. One of the problems, of course, is that there is no longer a “correct wording” of the joke. Whatever the joke originally was, it got distorted. You’ve cited one version, where there third word [in “the English language”] is “language.” Cecil cited another version: > [@](#): > > “There are three English words ending with -gry. Two of them are hungry and angry. The third word is very common; in fact you have just encountered it. What is the third word?” … where the third word [in the joke] is “three.” ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/7 "2005-08-09T03:02:02Z")
Some previous threads that mention the “language” answer: > **[I am evil!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=308859)** > > And I can prove it. My brother is someone who gets a question and stops at nothing–nothing–until he finds the answer. He won’t flag or fail, he won’t ever give up, he won’t ever surrender or admit defeat until he has that knowledge in his hands. ... > **[What's the third word?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=150278)** > > I heard this riddle a few years ago that mentions something about there being 3 words in the English language that end in -gry. Angry is one of them and so is hungry. What is the third word? I was thinking it was a trick riddle to where the answer is... > **[Grrr.... Somebody pls help me with this riddle!](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=125567)** > > I had to “C&P” so please forgive… RIDDLE THAT’LL KILL YOUR BRAIN This is going to make you so MAD! There are three words in the English language that end in “gry”. ONE is angry and the other is hungry. EveryONE knows what the third ONE means... > **[I just wanted to share](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=48336)** > > For anyone unfamiliar with Cecil’s take on this one From time to time a word question will come up on this board and someone will quote Evan Morris from his “Word Detective” website. Well, old Evan has finally gotten around to doing something Cecil... > **[\-gry threads](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=8507)** > > Please don’t flame me. I got the -gry question in e-mail today, and I’ve been searching for old threads where it has been cussed and discussed in the past, but I can’t find them. I can’t get the search to work for me today. Is there someone with... > **[GRY Riddle](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=7788)** > > There are supposedly three words in the English language that end in GRY. One word is ANGRY and the other one is HUNGRY. What is the third word? > **[Words Ending In -gry](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=529)** > > I found this on the Internet Public Library IPL FARQ: -gry Words Words that end in -gry For reasons that we can’t determine, the “-gry question” is turning up again and again from our patrons. The best and most comprehensive answer to it... ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/8 "2005-08-09T03:23:12Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > Some previous threads that mention the “language” answer… What, that’s all you could find? Slacker. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Feydeau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Feydeau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Feydeau)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/9 "2005-08-09T06:17:39Z")
> [@Nature's Call](#): > > On re-reading my reply it appears I was trying to be a prick. Honestly I wasn’t. I just thought the sound of a tongue/cheek extraction would be funny. > > My apologies, seriously… No, no, my apologies. I saw your recent Join Date and jumped to a conclusion. (Although that’s patently unfair, as I myself have lurked here for years.) ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/10 "2005-08-09T11:54:31Z")
> [@C K Dexter Haven](#): > > One of the problems, of course, is that there is no longer a “correct wording” of the joke. Whatever the joke originally was, it got distorted. You’ve cited one version, where there third word [in “the English language”] is “language.” Cecil cited another version: … where the third word [in the joke] is “three.” You’re right, of course, that there is no “correct” version of any joke - bad choice of words on my part. However the “language” version has an advantage over the “three” version in that it makes no false statements (if you grant the implicit "there are three words _in the phrase_, ‘The Engliish language’ "). It’s just about as funny as: “Transcontinental is a long word. Spell it.” To which the correct answer is “I-T”. Ha! Ha ha! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Now why **did** the chicken cross the road, no really? ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/11 "2005-08-09T12:05:53Z")
> [@Exapno Mapcase](#): > > Some previous threads that mention the “language” answer: Thank you **Exapno Mapcase**. I stand corrected, shamed, humbled, contrite, etc, both at my presumption in trying to add to one of the Cecil’s untouchable masterpieces, as well as my e **gre** gious lack of search skills. I have learned my lesson. I shall not do it again. until next time, that is… ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2005, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/three-english-words-that-end-in-gry/316173/12 "2005-08-09T13:04:21Z")
> [@Q.E.D.](#): > > What, that’s all you could find? Slacker. 😃 Obviously I’m no Q.E.D. 😉