brain ticklers.

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This is good...pinched from another forum....



Read to the end . . . a new twist to an oldie..


Can you read these right the first time?

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce.

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present.

A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?


Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France. Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend?
If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't "Buick" rhyme with "quick"

You lovers of the English language might enjoy this.

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is "UP."

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver, we warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred or more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP. When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP.

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so............ it is time to shut UP ....!

Oh . . . one more thing:

What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P
 
SharksFinSoup said:
Can you read these right the first time?

Yeah, all of them.

If you understand the context as you read them then they're not really a problem at all. It does highlight some strange similarities between words that you wouldn't normally think of though.
 
p4radox said:
Yeah, all of them.

That isn't actually possible seeing as you pretty much have to know the words coming after them. I can do it if I read the sentence as a whole (Looking forward to see the words coming up) but if you take it word at a time it's basically impossible.
 
Zefan said:
That isn't actually possible seeing as you pretty much have to know the words coming after them. I can do it if I read the sentence as a whole (Looking forward to see the words coming up) but if you take it word at a time it's basically impossible.


...when do you ever not read sentences as a whole though?

I've never read anything word by word :/
 
Zefan said:
That isn't actually possible seeing as you pretty much have to know the words coming after them. I can do it if I read the sentence as a whole (Looking forward to see the words coming up) but if you take it word at a time it's basically impossible.

No I think it is possible. I dunno if I read in a different way, but it's almost instinctive to know what's going to come next.

In most cases, the words preceding the confusing word indicate whether it's a noun, verb or adjective. Once you've established that then the pronounciation is obvioius.



edit: an interesting fact is that SET has the most definitions in the English language IIRC:

Definitions of set on the Web:

put: put into a certain place or abstract location; "Put your things here"; "Set the tray down"; "Set the dogs on the scent of the missing children"; "Place emphasis on a certain point"
determine: fix conclusively or authoritatively; "set the rules"
specify: decide upon or fix definitely; "fix the variables"; "specify the parameters"
establish as the highest level or best performance; "set a record"
put into a certain state; cause to be in a certain state; "set the house afire"
fix in a border; "The goldsmith set the diamond"
fix: make ready or suitable or equip in advance for a particular purpose or for some use, event, etc; "Get the children ready for school!"; "prepare for war"; "I was fixing to leave town after I paid the hotel bill"
set to a certain position or cause to operate correctly; "set clocks or instruments"
locate; "The film is set in Africa"
disappear beyond the horizon; "the sun sets early these days"
arrange: adapt for performance in a different way; "set this poem to music"
plant: put or set (seeds, seedlings, or plants) into the ground; "Let's plant flowers in the garden"
apply or start; "set fire to a building"
a group of things of the same kind that belong together and are so used; "a set of books"; "a set of golf clubs"; "a set of teeth"
jell: become gelatinous; "the liquid jelled after we added the enzyme"
(mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols; "the set of prime numbers is infinite"
typeset: set in type; "My book will be typeset nicely"; "set these words in italics"
several exercises intended to be done in series; "he did four sets of the incline bench press"
stage set: representation consisting of the scenery and other properties used to identify the location of a dramatic production; "the sets were meticulously authentic"
put into a position that will restore a normal state; "set a broken bone"
an unofficial association of people or groups; "the smart set goes there"; "they were an angry lot"
insert (a nail or screw below the surface, as into a countersink)
give a fine, sharp edge to a knife or razor
bent: a relatively permanent inclination to react in a particular way; "the set of his mind was obvious"
the act of putting something in position; "he gave a final set to his hat"
fit(p): (usually followed by `to' or `for') on the point of or strongly disposed; "in no fit state to continue"; "fit to drop"; "laughing fit to burst"; "she was fit to scream"; "primed for a fight"; "we are set to go at any time"
sic: urge a dog to attack someone
a unit of play in tennis or squash; "they played two sets of tennis after dinner"
fixed: fixed and unmoving; "with eyes set in a fixed glassy stare"; "his bearded face already has a set hollow look"- Connor Cruise O'Brien; "a face rigid with pain"
place: estimate; "We put the time of arrival at 8 P.M."
rig: equip with sails or masts; "rig a ship"
hardening: the process of becoming hard or solid by cooling or drying or crystallization; "the hardening of concrete"; "he tested the set of the glue"
located: situated in a particular spot or position; "valuable centrally located urban land"; "strategically placed artillery"; "a house set on a hilltop"; "nicely situated on a quiet riverbank"
set up: get ready for a particular purpose or event; "set up an experiment"; "set the table"; "lay out the tools for the surgery"
evil Egyptian god with the head of a beast that has high square ears and a long snout; brother and murderer of Osiris
laid: set down according to a plan:"a carefully laid table with places set for four people"; "stones laid in a pattern"
the descent of a heavenly body below the horizon; "before the set of sun"
adjust: alter or regulate so as to achieve accuracy or conform to a standard; "Adjust the clock, please"; "correct the alignment of the front wheels"
set(p): being below the horizon; "the moon is set"
determined: determined or decided upon as by an authority; "date and place are already determined"; "the dictated terms of surrender"; "the time set for the launching"
(psychology) being temporarily ready to respond in a particular way; "the subjects' set led them to solve problems the familiar way and to overlook the simpler solution"; "his instructions deliberately gave them the wrong set"
fructify: bear fruit; "the apple trees fructify"
any electronic equipment that receives or transmits radio or tv signals; "the early sets ran on storage batteries"
hardened: converted to solid form (as concrete)
dress: arrange attractively; "dress my hair for the wedding"


http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=define:+set&meta=
 
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divine_madness said:
...when do you ever not read sentences as a whole though?

I've never read anything word by word :/

What I'm saying is when you read something "as a whole" you sort of have to read it a couple of times when there's words like that in it to fully understand the meaning (verb, noun, adj) of the words. I suppose it isn't actually reading it *again though*. Hmmm interesting that "set" is the most common, would never have thought that :\
 
Zefan said:
What I'm saying is when you read something "as a whole" you sort of have to read it a couple of times when there's words like that in it to fully understand the meaning (verb, noun, adj) of the words. I suppose it isn't actually reading it *again though*. Hmmm interesting that "set" is the most common, would never have thought that :\


I never find I have to read things multiple times for them to make sense... :/
 
man. last time i looke this had no replys went andr read that skittles vodka thread came back and it has 10 woot.

some of them do make you think though dont they. or is it just me??
 
Probably written by some stupid American. English isn't a crazy language, it's evolved through hundreds of years and it's not surprising that it has odd parts to it. Every language does.
 
bakes0310 said:
who laid the egg

Beta Chicken. I'm presuming that the question asker is referring to the latest version of the creature that we call a chicken, according to the rules of evolution. Therefore the layer of the egg is an outdated version, therefore cannot be called a chicken anymore as it is evolutionarily different from the new one that is inside the egg. Therefore the egg comes before the new version - release chicken, a chicken v1.0 if you will.
 
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