Author:
Virginia Laurenson
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Date Posted: 10:23:05 07/09/03 Wed
In reply to:
Persistent
's message, "answer to 'gry' riddle" on 06:30:43 04/14/03 Mon
>I FOUND THIS ON ASK JEEVES AND DECIDED TO PUT YOU OUT
>OF YOUR MISERY.
>
>The Great
>"GRY" Riddle
>By now, most of you have seen the seemingly-perplexing
>riddle that's been going around on various radio
>shows, copiers and fax machines, and of course, every
>listserv in existence. The riddle seems to have
>perplexed just about everyone. Many people have
>attempted to be helpful and have posted lengthy
>explanations, many of which, it seemed, were more
>incomprehensible than the original riddle.
>
>So, why then does this riddle continue to mystify even
>the hardiest puzzle-solvers? Simple! It's because the
>riddle itself is almost always stated INCORRECTLY!
>That's right. The way the riddle is most often told,
>there IS no answer!
>
>Don't believe me? Let's start by reading the riddle as
>it is usually told. Here goes:
>
>"There are three words in the English language that
>end in GRY. Two are HUNGRY and ANGRY. The third one
>everyone uses every day and knows what it stands for.
>If you listened carefully, I already told you what the
>word is."
>
>Sound familiar? I'll bet that YOU heard the riddle
>worded something like that, right? And if that's how
>you heard it, no wonder you've been wracking your
>brain trying to find the answer. But you know what?
>There IS no correct answer! This riddle or a version
>of it, has been around for at least 20 years. In the
>ORIGINAL format (as you'll soon see), it makes sense
>and is a true riddle in the sense that, once you find
>the answer, you slap your forehead and go "Of course!"
>
>So, what IS the correct version, you ask? Be patient,
>because first we have to consider the nature of
>riddles. By definition, they are mind-teasers that use
>word tricks. A riddle is not a trivia question for
>which you can go to a reference book and look up an
>answer. In a true riddle, there's always some sneaky
>little trick that makes such a straight answer
>impossible. So to find the sneaky little trick in this
>-GRY puzzler, think of the way magic is performed. The
>magician does something to divert your attention away
>from what he is actually up to. If you watch very
>closely when all those scarves are being waved about,
>you realize that much of the action on stage is simply
>a technique to confuse or befuddle you so that you
>will not catch on to the magician's sly movements.
>That lovely assistant who parades around in high heels
>and sequins is there primarily to keep you distracted
>so you won't figure out the trick. (Hey, it works on
>ME!) Now back to the riddle.
>
>Here is the riddle in its original form (going back
>about 20 years):
>
>"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 everyone uses every day. If you have
>listened carefully, I have already told you what it
>is."
>
>In its proper, original form, the first two sentences
>have absolutely nothing to do with the question:
>"Think of words ending in -GRY. Angry and hungry are
>two of them." Ignore those two sentences. They are
>there only to throw you off course. (And it worked,
>didn't it?) What's left is the actual riddle itself:
>"There are only three words in the English language.
>What is the third word? The word is something that
>everyone uses every day. If you have listened
>carefully, I have already told you what it is."
>
>The key is the phrase "the English language." In this
>three-word phrase, the third word is simply the word
>"language." Get it? "Language" is definitely something
>that "everyone uses every day"! Without that quirky
>little twist, the puzzle would be just another trivia
>question, not a riddle.
>
>You might be tempted to say something like: "That
>can't be the right answer. It's too stupid!" Hey,
>remember that most riddles ARE "stupid." For example,
>there's an old riddle which asks: "What is Bozo the
>Clown's middle name?" (The answer is "the." Now THAT'S
>"stupid"!)
>
>A final note: There are, or have been in the past, a
>number of English words ending in -GRY, for example,
>"mawgry," and "iggry" and even an obscure noun, "gry,"
>that means a small unit of measure. (For a list of ONE
>HUNDRED such obscure words, click here.) Many people
>thought they had solved this puzzle when they found
>one of these words in old dictionary or by scouring
>the Internet. But c'mon, folks, when's the last time
>you used a word like "mawgry" or "iggry" in everyday
>conversation? The thing about riddles is, you must
>follow them to the letter or they just don't work.
>This one got messed up somewhere along the way and has
>become somewhat of a cruel hoax (and perhaps even an
>"urban legend").
>
>I hope this explanation has been helpful.
>
>Jerry Taylor
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