We use a database provided by Princeton's dictionary project.

I think the "free dictionary" you folks sometimes refer to is also derived from that same project, which is why you can often find words there that match what we use.

Yikes -- it has been a while since I did a prune.

But it has been done...

Over 500 entries removed based on all of the feedback to this point. Lots of drug street names removed, lots of fish / types of meat, and entries with errors.

Thanks for posting the errors you have found. Something that is very nice to see is that there was actually quite a lot of duplication of errors found over the months. That means we're actually covering most of the word database, and lots of errors have come out. Hopefully we've trimmed out most of the "obvious" stuff by now. Well, fingers crossed at least!

As for why we used this obviously error-filled database: well, for one it was free. It is simply prohibitive to use say Webster's dictionary in our games. It's simply not available. And even if we had a more thoroughly edited dictionary, we'd still have every single one of the "ambiguity" issues, because those are a function of extracting random words from any dictionary.

The other reason is that I like some of the weird definitions that make their way into word wizard. This is a trivia site after all, and trivia is all about strange, unexpected bits of information. This Princeton dictionary is filled with bits of culture and history, and to me at least, that's pretty cool. Keeps things interesting.

Terry

Raine D2007,

No, the technical term is "panovariohysterectomy" for a female cat or dog.

Spay is usuable for both genders, but is usually used only for females with neuter for males.

30 years in a Veterinary Hospital...

Edited to address to whom the message was meant.

I agree with the strange definitions being in keeping with linguistic trivia. Thanks for the pruining!

Sue

I think it's nice that Terry did some pruning. However, I honestly didn't mind the game as it was. I didn't mind drug references (there isn't a policeman on earth who wouldn't recommend that all parents learn every "nickname" for stuff sold on the streets) or any other seemingly "obscure" stuff.

Word/phrases have many different meanings and I think it's cool that some of those "different" meanings will still be included. Sure, there might be a typo here or there - who cares? Most of the folks under 25 these days don't use real English anyway when messaging LOL! Regardless of the "nitpicky" errors, I'd have to say that in most cases, those situations wouldn't cause you to get the actual question WRONG : ) And I really don't care what dictionary is used, but it's good that Terry explained about it.

If I can get the monthly word wiz badge, then I suspect most other people can too (although perhaps not on the first attempt) - regardless of how many typos they might find. Very very few answers are illogical. I still like the game (and will keep playing it because I need a zillion or so points to get the WordWhatever mega badge) and I quite honestly don't know why people still continue to complain about it.

Just came across this in WW...

"Prudence
Your answer: the quality of being prudent and sensible
the quality of being prudent and sensible is the definition for "wisdom"

The correct answer was discretion in practical affairs"

Six of one and half a dozen of the other....

I'm trying to turn in the word "adulthood". The word is rejected because of a "missing" letter "d".
The "d" is not missing, it's there!
The word is accepted by FT dictionary. What's my solution!

It's OK, problem solved. Thanks for being patient!

5. Technical terms for pregnancy

Your answer: replication

replication means "the persistence of a sound after its source has stopped"

The correct answer was gravidity

Sure, I missed the word gravidity when I chose replication (which would be a correct answer), but the given definition for replication doesn't make sense. According to the New Oxford American Dictionary:

replication |ˌrepliˈkāSHən|
noun
1 the action of copying or reproducing something.
• a copy: a twentieth-century building would be cheaper than a replication of what was there before.
• the repetition of a scientific experiment or trial to obtain a consistent result.
• the process by which genetic material or a living organism gives rise to a copy of itself: HIV replication | a crucial step in cold virus replications.
2 Law, dated a plaintiff's reply to the defendant's plea.

I believe your definition is for reverberation.

"8. Toner
Your answer: the purple or black-and-blue area resulting from a bruise

the purple or black-and-blue area resulting from a bruise is the definition for "ecchymosis"

The correct answer was a lotion for cleansing the skin and contracting the pores"

I only thought of ink toner, which is clearly not appropriate for cleansing the skin - quite au contraire, I dare say.

Hi wonderputz,

I thought exactly the same as you but, looking at online dictionaries, it turns out that WW is correct.

From "The Free Dictionary by Farlex":

rep·li·ca·tion (rpl-kshn)
n.
1. A fold or a folding back.
2. A reply to an answer; a rejoinder.
3. Law The plaintiff's response to the defendant's answer or plea.
4. An echo or reverberation.
5. A copy or reproduction.
6. The act or process of duplicating or reproducing something.
7. Biology The process by which genetic material, a single-celled organism, or a virus reproduces or makes a copy of itself: replication of DNA.
8. In scientific research, the repetition of an experiment to confirm findings or to ensure accuracy.

Also wonderputz, be aware that the dictionary source for this game and other word games on the site is outside the control of Fun Trivia. We cannot make corrections to any errors found. I think the only game using individual records that we can influence is the database maintained by jmelston for the Who Am I? Game.
Back to the other games, Terry can and does I think block some content (for vulgarity?) from those other sources but cannot control their content once accepted. The other entities have copyrights on the material, meaning our use precludes changing anything even if we wanted to on our side of the virtual curtain.

Note also that you will encounter many archaic definitions to words in widespread use under different definitions (example not included since thinking of those things hurts the brain and brings back memories of a puppy I once had who...sob! Now see what you've done?)

This might only interest me but I am sticking it up in case anyone else is interested.

"And when you saw his chariot but appear,
Have you not made an universal shout,
That Tiber trembled underneath her banks
To hear the replication of your sounds
Made in her concave shores?"

~ from Shakespeare (Julius Caesar)




But so far I can find nothing reliable for "Banch":






A couple of online dictionaries list it like this but I suspect (as Terry says upthread) they are using the same database and have copied a typo.

A court can sit "en banc" or "in banc" and a judge's seat is a "bench". But no banch.

This is just for interest because I find it interesting that accidentally repeated typos on the internet may be responsible for future changes in our language.

French for `worst going' - typo
The first quotation mark is an accent.

3. Aberration
Your answer: something abnormal or anomalous
something abnormal or anomalous is the definition for "miscreation"
The correct answer was a disorder in one's mental state

ab•er•ra•tion ( b -r sh n)
n.
1. A deviation from the proper or expected course. See Synonyms at deviation.
2. A departure from the normal or typical: events that were aberrations from the norm.
3. Psychology A disorder or abnormal alteration in one's mental state.
4.
a. A defect of focus, such as blurring in an image.
b. An imperfect image caused by a physical defect in an optical element, as in a lens.
5. The apparent displacement of the position of a celestial body in the direction of motion of an observer on Earth, caused by the motion of Earth and the finite velocity of light.
6. Genetics A deviation in the normal structure or number of chromosomes in an organism.

Arrrggg....

Though you highlighted definition 2, definition 3 paraphrases almost word for word what was given as the correct answer.
"A disorder or abnormal alteration in one's mental state."
vs
"a disorder in one's mental state".

(You should cite your source of information to allay plagiarism and copyright infringement claims. I don't think anyone would accuse you of claiming to have written these definitions yourself, but the work of others needs to be acknowleged by attribution (found those two 'A' words while looking in the A's in Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (1993), tenth edition). )

I know that. I highlighted the second definition because it was closest to the answer I submitted. 'A departure from the normal' would be something 'abnormal' or an 'aberration.'

Source: freedictionary.com

Thanks Terry for getting rid of the mostly objectionable street slang, especially illegal drug names for which I have no reference for.

Could you also please consider removing some of these obscure slang expressions that no one in a million years (i.e., me) would ever be familiar with.

Corporation....The correct answer was slang terms for a paunch.

Besides, I thought PAUNCH was slang for protruding belly...so is CORPORATION slang for a slang term? How's a girl supposed to keep up?


I know it's a big job but is it perhaps possible to eliminate everything that has the word "slang" in the definition? Just a suggestion, I know you're pretty busy right now.

Thanks!
Barbara

Umm, I'd have got that one, actually. I think eliminating all slang would make it a much duller game.

Edited to add that "paunch" is not slang, it simply means a protruding belly, or even just the belly.

I stand corrected! Although where we grew up it we viewed it as a slang term. Northern Irish English doesn't always come across as the same to others.

Both of these incomplete definitions can be confusing. The definition for "serviette" is missing, perhaps, the words "cloth used" at the beginning, and the definition for "sacramental wine" is missing the word "wine" at the beginning. Otherwise, the definition "to protect clothing" for "serviette" is just wrong, as I can't find a usage of "serviette" as a verb in English.

Serviette

Your answer: used in a communion service

used in a communion service is the definition for "sacramental_wine"

The correct answer was to protect clothing

Typo:

3 an exceptional interest in and admiration for yourself

transmutation
bench
narcism
oddness
begrudge
brawl

"narcism" should be "narcissism" -the correct answer!

narcism is listed by several sources on the web as an alternative for narcissism. It is a perfectly good answer.

Just to be difficult:

Although "narcism" is sometimes used, it is generally considered to be being used erroneously, and is not considered as valid as "narcissism". Its entry in any dictionary derives purely from the misspelling of "narcissism", it has no other history.

That may make it eligible for Word Wizard answers which include obscure words but we should bear in mind that we should all be using the correct spelling, even if we also pronounce it as "narcism", and that it's not a perfectly acceptable alternative in most circumstances, certainly not in the psychological profession where it is most used.

Unless we are staging a coup, of course.

http://wordinfo.info/unit/1368/ip:1/il:N

http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=narcissism

I've studied the origins of the word while in classics classes in school. The word "narcissism" comes from the Greek "Narcissus" who was so in love with his own reflection that he starved to death because he forgot to eat. It is definitely spelled "narcissism". I've never seen it spelled any other way, and I've only ever heard it pronounced with three syllables: like "NAR-sis-ism".

Is there a word missing?

The quality of being at a competitive disadvantage
Your answer: unfavorable position

Lower middle class (shopkeepers and clerical staff etc.)

Petty bourgeoisie.


-----------------

Unless this is a legitimate American spelling that I'm unfamiliar with, shouldn't it be *petite* bourgeoisie?

Re narcism: several sources on the web is not the same as authoritative sources.

Shall we allow "terrism" as an acceptable spelling because that's how "terrorism" is pronounced in a particular accent?

Is "terrism" listed in any dictionary? "Narcism" is. My point is that it's used enough for it to be included in some dictionaries but that the use is still wrong!