Wednesday 14 September 2022

Initial Reactions

I do the Guardian cryptic crossword online everyday and people post their thoughts beneath the puzzle. One of the comments said "Almost a pangram" 
A word puzzle, or piece of text, which contains every letter of the alphabet is called a pangram. 

The most well-known is perhaps  the sentence about the quick brown fox. 
Change the initial letter of pangram and you get tangram which is a Chinese shapes puzzle.
I thought about other pairs of words where changing the initial seriously alters the meaning.
Is your yellow sauce sweet or spicy? custard/mustard
Is the animal swinging happily in the trees eating bananas, or miserably talking to Pooh Bear? monkey/donkey
That one letter change completely alters the meaning. Then instead of nouns I thought about verbs. By changing the initial, you can produce a very different reaction. Here are a few examples... 

Are you feeling utterly pessimistic or do you believe that things will work out eventually? moping/hoping
Are you focused simply on improving your own existence, or on helping others around you? living/giving
Are you depleting the planet's resources, or working towards sustainability? taking/making
Are you irritating people or nurturing them? bothering/mothering. 
We often need to choose how to respond to a situation - and that can make all the difference to how things work out. 
Not always easy. My Mum used to quote "Proverbs 3v5&6“ and Dad said “refer continually to James 1;5“ Wise words when making big decisions. 

Last week Rosie asked her Mum about a possible family activity, and was told that her parents had not made a decision yet. She put on her concerned face and said solemnly
"When I have to make a decision, I often find it helps to go eeny, meeny, miny, mo" 
This sage piece of advice will definitely be noted in the family annals!





22 comments:

  1. Such a clever post! There is a wonderful book about the famous pangram called Ella Minnow Pea, the story of letters. Well worth ordering from the library!

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    Replies
    1. A fabulous title (which must be read aloud for best effect) I shall check it out. Thank you

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    2. It's fictional, FYI! But a gorgeously clever book which I MUST read! Kezzie by the way x

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    3. It's in the Millennium Library in Norwich, so I shall borrow it

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  2. Good advice from Rosie. Words are fascinating, aren't they?

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  3. Rosie has real insight. I find that sometimes if I can't make a decision, I toss a coin. When it lands, or even while it's spinning, I usually realise what I actually want and I'm hoping for.

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  4. I love words. It just goes to show how important reading back over what you type on a blog post or a comment on someone else's is ... one wrong letter and things can be completely different.

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    1. Oh yes - a simple typo can have significant effects on the sense of the sentence

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  5. Wonderful post! You know I often end my emails with 'Hugs' but that has often turned to huts, hags, mugs, and a host of similar typos!
    Smart Rosie!

    Hugs!

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  6. I love words and anything to do with them especially how words have different meanings in different parts of the country. I’m with Rosie on how to make a choice. Catriona

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  7. You obviously have a love of language and words. Very interesting post. I love Rosie's old fashioned wisdom for making decisions. Great for deciding things like which flavour of ice cream to have!

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  8. Just a bit worried about how the eeny meeny rhyme continues….
    Nicky K

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    Replies
    1. Catch a TIGER by his TOE...

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    2. Ah, that's brilliant. Thank you.

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    3. After "Catch a tiger by his toe," we went "If he hollars, let him go
      Eeeny meeny miney moe

      Hugs!

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    4. Yes, it ends that way here too

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