I remember that one! It wanted 'introduce into an environment'.

That's the one that most makes sense, but there still seems to be something odd about it, doesn't there? I've never seen a verbal form of the word that makes any sense with that definition, but as I said before, as a noun meaning 'rumor', it makes a bit of sense, if a rather tenuous link.

Confusing issue:

Ruddle
my answer: 'tie or link together'
"the correct definition for 'tie or link together' is entwine."

Correct answer was 'redden as if with a red ocher color'

FreeDictionary.com defines ruddle as:
Noun 1. ruddle - a red iron ore used in dyeing and marking
raddle, reddle
iron ore - an ore from which iron can be extracted
Verb 1. ruddle - twist or braid together, interlace
raddle
interweave, weave - interlace by or as if by weaving
2. ruddle - redden as if with a red ocher color
redden - make red; "The setting sun reddened the sky"

Seems maybe both definitions should not appear as choices for this word.

8. Subject to a palyful hoax or joke
Your answer: play a joke on

playful...or is this the joke? Will this ever be corrected?

Another confusing, duplicitous answer:

"A time of difficulty"

Your answer: straits

straits means "a bad or difficult situation or state of affairs"

The correct answer was "hard times"

Needs editing, don't you think?

Okay, back to "sough"...

Is it possible that someone mispronouncing it as SOH, instead of "SOW" might have been thinking "sow", which could have the definition of "introduce into an environment"? It's the only thing i can think of, but it's a pretty long shot...

Here is a noun meaning to the word. It is the beginning of the wikipedia encyclopedia entry for the word. It does have to do with moving stuff around in an environment:

"A sough is an underground channel for draining water out of a mine. Its ability to drain a mine depends on the bottom of the mine being higher than a neighbouring valley. If the mine sump is lower, water must be pumped up to the sough."

Edit to add: The pronunciation rhymes with enough, sounds like suff.

An extended area of land
Your answer: strip
- a narrow piece, comparatively long and usually of uniform width: a strip of cloth, metal, land, etc.

The correct answer was parcel
- a distinct, continuous portion or tract of land.
- a distinct portion of land

Strip sounds closer, or at least don't have these together in the same set.

14. On of siblings who have only one parent in common
Your answer: half blood
typo - one of siblings...

Word Wizard is one of my favorite games. I enjoy expanding my vocabulary. The only thing that I find disconcerting is the use of drug slang.(LSD=window pane) Honestly, nowadays, just about any word can be connected to drugs.(I actually chose "dirty linen") Drug slang, even more so than regular slang, is ever evolving and dependent on too many variables.Age, region, and social class are only a few. Plus, alot of drugs use interchangeable slang.

This is definitely not a complaint. (just observing)
You guys do a great job and I'm grateful to play.

6. Elegance by virtue of fineness of manner and expression
Your answer: grace
grace means "a short prayer of thanks before a meal"

The correct answer was gentility

BUT:
grace
Noun: Simple elegance or refinement of movement

gentility
Noun: Genteel manners, behavior, or appearances.

When one of the definitions of the 'wrong' answer is closer than the supposed 'right' answer...You pick 'em.

I came across this word in a subtitle of Brigitte Bardot's "Plucking the Daisy" and thought this might be an a propos venue to share it with those who already knew it or with those, like me, who were unaware of its notion before.

From Wiktionary:
Noun
pettifogger (plural pettifoggers)

1.Someone who quibbles over trivia, and raises petty, annoying objections.  [quotations ▼]
1809, Washington Irving, Knickerbocker's History of New York, ch. 39: Hence the cunning measure of appointing as ambassador some political pettifogger skilled in delays, sophisms, and misapprehensions, and dexterous in the art of baffling argument.

That should settle the issue in a graceful, genteel manner!

I believe both definitions are correct.



"No" should be "not".

This typo regarding the definition of immovability has popped up several times before.

Wow! It's pretty hard getting up in the monthly winners if you have a job!

Don't you lot work

I know what you mean. I'm lucky if I can get three letters a day.

Hello, I just played starting with a rating of 1877.58. I came in # 7 on the leaderboard, and my rating went DOWN to 1877.46. Why would that happen? I am totally confused, and probably don't know something important.
Thanks!
tat

This makes NO sense:

7 the semantic relation of being a manner of does something
hod carrier
rote learning
primus
cozey
curve
troponymy


I've posted oddities before and received no response. Is anyone listening?

And this:

"what a communication that is about something is about"

Getting tired of obscure definitions and unintelligible wordings.... :0(

I made note of that one 4 months ago, and have seen it at least a couple of times since. That and the 'palyful' hoax.

I think the phone has gone dead.

We are noting inconsistencies here for future reference, in case this database can ever be edited. I know JMelston has expressed a desire to do so, but for now, since the dictionary that pulls the words and definitions is not produced by FT, we are simply documenting the inconsistencies we find and maybe someday the will be fixed. I don't think the phone has gone dead at all, it's just that FT doesn't own the material and cannot edit it.

Any Who am I? issues are dealt with immediately, since that is a question-answer set that was prepared in-house and is edited by JMelston.

What about Mind Melt? And thanks for the info :0)

I think that Terry has something that he can do to ensure that certain offensive items don't show up in mind melt, and he can tweak when entries appear together or not, at least that is my understanding. I could be wrong though. The actual entries themselves do come from a different external source.

Anyone who knows more, please feel free to chime in!

Another head-scratcher:

2 banch

effort expended in rubbing one object against another
an easy victory
a community of people smaller than a town
a viral disease (usually fatal) of rabbits
tightly woven fabric with raised cords
(law) the seat for judges in a courtroom


I'm guessing 'bench' was meant here, as in answer #6. Can't find 'banch' in dictionary.

It's a matter of finding the right dictionary. (Some of the entries are downright wrong, but that is the fault of the dictionary used, which is not here on site.) That definition for banch can be seen at this link.

http://lookwayup.com/lwu.exe/lwu/d?s=f&w=banch

We seem to have a surfeit of 'L's.

Skyscraper -

"a very tall building with many stories"

While skyscrapers may have many stories to tell, I believe that the correct word here should be "storeys".

Highfells,

I remember this one coming up before, and was told that 'story' is an acceptable alternative spelling for 'storey' in American. (I know, it looks strange to me, too. )

I'm American, and I always use "storey" for this meaning.