# Words Ending In -gry

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452>\
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\
**Created:** [July 9, 1999, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452 "1999-07-09T05:11:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 14\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 1999, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/1 "1999-07-09T05:11:00Z")

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I found this on the Internet Public Library

\<title\>IPL FARQ: -gry Words\</title\>  
\</head\>  
\<body bgcolor=“FFFFFF”\>

\<h1\>Words that end in -gry\</h1\>

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 comes from the Stumpers discussion list for reference librarians, and we quote from it below.

Here is the question in its correct “puzzle” form. “Think of words  
ending in -gry. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only  
three words in the English language. What is the third word? The  
word is something that everybody uses everyday. If you have listened  
carefully , I’ve already told you what it is.”

The secret here is that the real question is “There are only three  
words in _the English language_. What is the third word?” That  
is, there are only three words in the phrase “the English  
language”. The third word is “language”, which is indeed something we  
use every day. The first two words are “the” and “English”.

Having found the answer to the actual riddle, however, you may  
still wonder if there are any other English words ending in  
-gry. There are. The intrepid reference librarians of Stumpers found  
the following answers to the question:

For a very long list of -gry words, including places and other proper names, see the [Solution to the /language/english/spelling/gry problem](http://einstein.et.tudelft.nl/~arlet/puzzles/sol.cgi/language/english/spelling/gry) in the rec.puzzles Usenet group’s [Language Puzzles Archive](http://einstein.et.tudelft.nl/~arlet/puzzles/language.html).  
According to the _Oxford English Dictionary_, five words in the  
English language end in -gry. In addition to the common **angry** and  
**hungry** :  
[ul][li] **aggry** , a glass bead found buried in the earth in Ghana.[/li][li] **puggry** , a light scarf wound around a hat or helmet to protect the[/li]head from the sun, and  
[li] **meagry** , of meager appearance.[/ul][/li]  
( --Ann Landers column, in response to question what word besides **angry**  
and **hungry** ends in -gry. _Daily Breeze_ (Torrance CA) 1/31/89; also in _Los Angeles Times_1/31/89 p. V8.)

William Safire in _What’s the Good Word_ (1982) says the question is  
a hoax, intended to waste the questionee’s time. He quotes David  
Guralnik, editor of Simon & Schuster’s _Webster’s New World Dictionary_ as  
saying there are no other “native English words” so ending, except  
**angry** and **hungry**. Guralnik notes three imported words:  
[ul][li] **puggry** – an Indian turban; a scarf worn around a sun helmet.[/li][li] **mawgry** – from Old French: being regarded with displeasure.[/li][li] **aggry** – colored glass beads worn by Africans.[/ul][/li]  
_RQ_, spring 1976, with 12 responses to a fall 1975 question, listed  
**aggry** (“describes a certain type of variegated glass bead found  
buried in the earth in Ghana and in England”), citing **Webster’s Third**  
and _OED_, **puggry** , a variant spelling of **puggree** (“a light scarf wound around a hat or helmet to protect the head from the sun”), citing _OED_,  
_Webster’s 2d_, and _Funk and Wagnall’s Crossword Puzzle Word Finder_.

The same article also listed **gry** itself (obsolete, “the grunt of a pig, the dirt under the nail; hence the veriest trifle,” further explained as “the smallest unit in  
Locke’s proposed decimal system of linear measurement, being the tenth of  
a line, the hundredth of an inch, and the thousandth of a  
[‘philosophical’] foot.”), citing _OED_, also in Walker’s _Rhyming  
Dictionary of the English Language_ and _Funk and Wagnall’s New Standard  
Dictionary_.

**More about -gry … if you care**

**Hungry**. Aside from **angry** , the only other common English word that ends in -gry. For reasons unclear, the commonest query that is addressed to  
the editors at the G.C. Merriam Company goes like this: “There are three  
English words that end in -gry. **Hungry** and **angry** are two of them, what is the third?” Among the 450,000 entries in _Webster’s Third New  
International Dictionary_, there is only one other, which is **anhungry** ,  
an obsolete word for **hungry** that is allowed to stay in the dictionary  
because it shows up in Shakespeare. (_Coriolanus_. I:i:209.) Editors at  
Merriam have found a few others buried deep within the _OED_, usually as  
variant spellings. One is **puggry** , one of several spellings of **pugaree** (also pugree, puggree, puggaree), which is a scarf wound around a  
sun helmet.

– Dickson, Paul. _Words_. New York: Delacorte Pr., 1982. p. 194-195.

\<address\>the Internet Public Library - = - [http://www.ipl.org/](http://www.ipl.org/) - = - [ipl@ipl.org](mailto:ipl@ipl.org)\</address\>

Last updated Jun 24, 1998  
\</body\>

* * *

Brian O’Neill  
CMC International Records  
[www.cmcinternational.com](http://www.cmcinternational.com)

ICQ 35294890  
AIM Scrabble1  
Yahoo Messenger Brian\_ONeill

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 9, 1999, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/2 "1999-07-09T05:44:00Z")

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Satan, You seem to have done a lot of research. Can you tell me if there is any other word in the English language that changes its pronounciation when capitalized? ie: polish to Polish. herb to Herb has been suggested. Then there’s the town in Texas, which is spelled Tow, (pronounced Tau), so would it be tow to Tow? Doesn’t seem fair to include such. Example: If I name my kid Ice, and pronounce it issy, do we now have ice to Ice?  
Hope you can help me out?  
~bb~

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 1999, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/3 "1999-07-15T01:32:00Z")

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Poppyp,

Not to seem picky, but I’d like to point out a slight disinction just in case someone picks up your question AND in case this becomes relevant - namely, that polish and Polish are NOT a “word in the English language that changes its pronounciation when capitalized.”

They are two separate words. Of course they can be pronounced differently.

By the same token, \<\<be/bee, cant/can’t, yore/your/you’re\>\> are not ‘a word that _doesn’t_ change pronunciation even when you change the spelling or punctuation.’

That being said, it still might be interesting to look for word groups with limits of the form you propose. Did you find the polish/Polish one yourself?

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 1999, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/4 "1999-07-15T01:34:00Z")

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Hmm, I have apparently stumbled upon “feature” of this site. Originally the \< and the \> separated this list: be/bee, cant/can’t, yore/your/you’re.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 1999, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/5 "1999-07-15T02:58:00Z")

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No C&P.

Not to be picky here, and yes, Cecil DID do a column on this subject, but where is the column referenced in this discussion?

If that’s what’s being discussed, this is an appropriate place for it; if not, it’s really a General Questions deal.

Just trying to keep our forums on topic here. And thanks.

your humble TubaDiva/SDStaffDiv  
for the Straight Dope  
not normally a killjoy

PS In the past, we’ve tended to get this “riddle” about once a month . . . it incites the Fist of Death like nothing else I’ve ever seen.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 1999, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/6 "1999-07-15T05:09:00Z")

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[[More about -gry … if you care]]

I, for one, don’t.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 1999, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/7 "1999-07-15T16:42:00Z")

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If someone ASKS you this question, try sneaking pedigree by them.

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 16, 1999, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/8 "1999-07-16T05:45:00Z")

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TUBADIVA

The reference to the answer was a more complete answer that Cecil gave, adding more details. I certainly didn’t provide the work, but since I found it, I thought I’d share. And since is has to do with a question he did indeed answer, I thought it the right board. Sorry if I was mistaken!

* * *

Brian O’Neill  
CMC International Records  
[www.cmcinternational.com](http://www.cmcinternational.com)

ICQ 35294890  
AIM Scrabble1  
Yahoo Messenger Brian\_ONeill

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 1999, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/9 "1999-07-15T20:36:00Z")

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[[And since is has to do with a question he did indeed answer, I thought it the right board. Sorry if I was mistaken!]]

Satan (kind of strange, addressing someone as that),

You are not technically mistaken… we’re just kind of sensitive about this particular GRY issue. It’s been discussed to death around here. But this _is_ the appropriate MB to discuss Cecil’s columns, and he did write about it.  
Jill

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**Author:** ![system](https://global.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/original/2X/e/e489c3b7d8fce19c4b355dd4fc3f88cc39c34b87.png) [@system](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/system)\
**Post date:** [July 17, 1999, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/10 "1999-07-17T05:47:00Z")

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Just as an aside that may interest you, one of the hosts of a tacky television show in Sweden is called Gry. Interesting first name what?

* * *

What’s the ugliest part of your body?  
Some say your nose, some say your toes,  
But I think it’s your Mind - Frank Zappa

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/11 "2000-01-19T00:16:00Z")

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[[Satan, You seem to have done a lot of research. Can you tell me if there is any other word in the English language that changes its pronounciation when capitalized? ie: polish to Polish. herb to Herb has been suggested.]]

Richard Lederer coined the term capitonym to refer to these. There are lots of them, but most involve personal or place names: Nice, France, Menachem Begin, Reubin Askew, Mount Rainier. Among the few that aren’t are Junker (Prussian aristocrat) and Ewe (African language).

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**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/12 "2000-01-19T17:04:00Z")

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_SIGH_ Eleven posts and still no links to the original article. HERE!  
[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3\_251.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a3_251.html)

Satan, it seems you did a more thorough reply. In particular, the phrasing of the puzzle.

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**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/13 "2000-01-19T20:55:00Z")

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What is the earliest cite for the “-gry” question?

I don’t believe that it was worded as a trick question.

I think it was meant all along as a wild goose chase.

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**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\
**Post date:** [January 19, 2000, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/words-ending-in-gry/452/14 "2000-01-19T22:04:00Z")

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Unfortunately, the earliest known cite for the -gry question was a radio show in 1975. As far as I know, no one has hunted down a tape of that show to find the exact wording used there.

Personally, I would say that if any hunting were to be done, it would be to find the writer of that show and apply every torture forbidden under the Geneva conventions. Completely justifiable, of course, no jury would convict…