jupiterblue
Age: 124
8080 days old here
Total Posts: 2965
Points: 0
Location:
Indonesia, Indonesia
The Riddle Solved!
Years ago, a little riddle was developed which has caused many people to ponder endlessly for its solution. The origin of this riddle is unknown to us (at "Just Riddles and More...!) but it is probably the most frequently submitted riddle with no solution and because of this, we offer here what we think is the best solution. If you have a better one or different one, see below. To understand the "GRY" riddle, it is essential that you accept that riddles are simply brain teasers using word tricks. To be a riddle, there must be a trick in the wording or usage of words in the riddle. A riddle is not generally answered by a fact or information found in a reference book. Also, a riddle often uses a trick from magic - that is, misdirection - some of the words are there to mislead you to thinking about something else.
Now, the problem with the "GRY" riddle being circulated currently is this: the riddle has been mutilated and re-worded (presented here below - read it and see if it is the version you have been pondering) to something that absolutely cannot be answered. There is no answer to this version of the "GRY" Riddle - and rightly so, seeing as how it is not the correct version! This is the most commonly (though incorrect!) version of the "GRY" Riddle:
"There are three words in the English language that end in -GRY. Two are HUNGRY and ANGRY. The third one everyone uses every day and knows what it stands for. If you listened carefully, I already told you what the word is. What is the third word?"
So, what is the riddle here? What is the puzzle? If the above is NOT the correct version, what is?? The following is what we believe to be the correct version of the "GRY" riddle:
"Think of words ending in -GRY. Angry and hungry are two of them. There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is."
OK, now let's take this riddle apart and solve it as a riddle. Remember, that a riddle has a trick with the words or usage of the words. The trick in this puzzle is misdirection. There are words here that are meant to mislead you and they do just that. The first two sentences in the puzzle have nothing to do with the question being asked: "Think of words ending in -GRY. Angry and hungry are two of them." Ignore these two sentences. They are there to mislead and distract you. Works doesn't it??? Now, what is left is the "meat" of the riddle: "There are only three words in the English language. What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is." In the phrase, the English language, the third word is simply the word 'language'. There you have it!! Get it? 'Language' is definitely something everyone uses every day and in the phrase "the English language" is the third word! OK, now you're saying,"That can't be it; too easy!!" But remember what a riddle is and that the "GRY" riddle is a riddle - NOT a trivia question. "Ok", you're saying, "But that is really stupid!" Hey, we didn't write this riddle - but we do believe that we have the solution, stupid or not! We don't have actual statistics, but we can say that the "GRY" riddle has really gotten around over the last twenty years or so and we get MANY requests for the solution. As is the case with riddles, you need to listen or read them carefully before solving and before passing them along. Somehow, the "GRY" riddle got really distorted - hopefully this explanation will help and satisfy all of you who have been racking your brains for the answer!
By the way, there really are words in the English language that end in -GRY. However, they are definitely obscure and to most of us unknown and rarely used. When have you used bowgry, hogry, hangry or aggry in everyday circumstances? (Remember the riddle clearly states that the answer is something used every day by everyone.) So forget about using any of those obscure words! Instead, start repeating the riddle in its correct version and be happy that you now know the solution!
...
