169: Words that End in GRY
| Words that End in GRY |
 Title text: The fifth panel also applies to postmodernists. |
[edit] Explanation
This is a reference to a famous mistelling of a (fairly stupid) joke. The correct original telling of the joke should be:
- Think of words ending in 'g' 'r' 'y'). "Angry" and "Hungry" are two of them. There are only three words in "the English language." What is the third word? Hint: The word is something that everyone uses everyday. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is.
Phrased this way, the reason the answer is "Language" is because "There are only three words in 'the English language.'"
However, this joke is often mistold by misphrasing the original riddle as it is in the comic. By instead saying "There are three words in the English language that end in 'gry'", the teller of the joke has actually removed ANY chance of determining the correct answer. Many people who were stumped by the original joke and would ask their friends for help, but when they did so, they would tell the joke incorrectly as they were unaware of what the answer was.
As such, when Cueball attempts to say the answer is "language" and act smug about it, Black Hat decides that "Communicating badly then acting smug when you're misunderstood is not cleverness" and cuts the Cueball's arm off.
Wikipedia has an entire page devoted to the -GRY joke (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/-gry)
[edit] Transcript
- [Black Hat and Cueball are standing next to each other.]
- Cueball: There are three words in the English language that end in "gry". "Angry" and "Hungry" are two. What's the third?
- Black Hat: I don't think there is one, unless you count really obscure words.
- Cueball: Ha! It's "language"! I said there are three words in "the English--"
- [Black Hat grabs Cueball's hand with a GRAB.]
- Cueball: What th-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
- [Black Hat slices off Cueball's hand with a knife.]
- Black Hat: Ok, listen carefully.
- Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
- [Cueball is bleeding profusely.]
- Black Hat: Communicating badly then acting smug when you're misunderstood is not cleverness.
- Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
- Black Hat: I hope we've learned something today.
- Cueball: AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
add a comment!Discussion
"The English language that end in gry", he's wrong because there are more than three words.
"The English language", he's wrong because none of them end in gry.
"There are three words in the English language ...", wrong again because language isn't the third word.
So...? -- Zergling_man 58.96.88.83 15:24, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
- The second paragraph in the explanation is what you are looking for. But as a brief overview: The reason it's easy to miss is that the words are written as a dialog would happen. If it had been properly punctuated it would have read "There are three words in 'the English language' that end with gry: 'Angry' and 'Hungry' are two. What's the third?" Cueball is saying there are three words in the phrase 'the English language' but to distract his intended victim he continues the sentence so the phrase is hidden among other words that, when taken as a whole, have a seeming continuity. This is why Black Hat cuts off Cueball's hand. Because the "joke" is not funny and being intentionally ambiguous and then being smug when the ambiguity has its intended effect is not humor. lcarsos_a (talk) 16:01, 20 November 2012 (UTC)
- But this doesn't actually answer my question. Take it without the distraction. "There are three words in the English language that end in gry. What's the third?" Even then, it still doesn't make any sense. If you take it as "there are three words in the English language. What's the third?", then you're left with "that end in gry: Angry and hungry are two", and that doesn't make any sense at all. I'm not seeing how there's any way both meanings can be valid, whatever you do to this, it seems at least one is completely nonsensical. -- Zergling_man 58.96.88.83 13:00, 5 December 2012 (UTC)
- The trouble is that Randall told the joke incorrectly... it should be (with proper punctuation) "There are three words in 'The English Language'. Ending in 'gry' there are 'angry' and 'hungry' What is the third word?" 190.214.5.29 04:59, 6 December 2012 (UTC)
- I think a better way to say it is:
- There are at least 3 words in "the English language that end with 'gry'. 'Angry' and 'hungry' are two". What is the third word? 81.23.24.39 08:33, 25 February 2013 (UTC)
- They have to end with "GRY", an answer can be "unangry", but "gryphon" does not end with GRY (source:http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=words+that+end+in+GRY) 79.40.128.128 (talk) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
