this is driving me nuts...I used to know the answer to this, but...old age :(

language

/me calculates the odds that probably Jafo will have that answer...

gry in itself is a word... albeit a medevil term refering to a unit of messurment.

languagegry?

Spoiler Warning! Don't click the links below if you don't want to know the answer. Check out these sites that out found with a quick Google search...

http://dictionary.reference.com/help/faq/language/g/gry.html

http://pw1.netcom.com/~rlederer/gry.htm

Gry \Gry\, n. [Gr ? syllable, bit.] 1. A measure equal to one tenth of a line. [Obs.] --Locke.

2. Anything very small, or of little value. [R.]

ONEgry ?

The question was answered at #1

MadIce is correct. The real question the riddle asks is what is the 3rd word in "the english language", which is "language"

Oops...

There are three words in the English language that end in "gry".
There are three words in "the English language" that end in "gry".

Language is the third. The rest is just to distract you from the question. There is no third word that ends in "gry". No need to look for it because is not important.

[Message Edited]

right, but when the quotes are left off of the original riddle, it doesn't make sense. When you put the quotes in there, *then* it makes sense. But thanks to all who answered and skoalman for those links. They were interesting. Had no idea this was so pervasive

*sigh* That's one thing about riddles, sometimes they make no sense.
If the starting phrase really is There are three words in the English language that end in "gry",then what the heck does that sentence mean?  Theare no NO word in the English language that ends with "gry".

buggery......

buggery......

The server is being peculiar today...

I was just recently involved in solving this very brainteaser! The problem with this brainteaser is that it is not always presented in the original form. This causes a great deal of confusion as the puzzle is not meant to send you searching for obscure words, the original puzzle is in fact a play on words. Watch the punctuation! Here is the original brainteaser:

"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 everybody uses everyday. If you have listened carefully, I've already told you what it is."

First you are lead astray by being asked to think of words that end in "gry" and given only two examples. Read the next sentence carefully, it asks nothing about words that end in "gry".

The answer to this teaser is, of course, ..... language. the third word in "the english language"

So as not to disappoint those people that have been searching for other words ending in GRY I have compiled the following list:

a.. aggry: meaning a word of unknown origin
b.. puggry: a light turban or head covering
c.. meagry: meaning to have meager appearance
d.. mawgry: maning in spite of
e.. gry: a measure equal to 1/10th of a line

The riddle is a nonsense since its grammar and punctuation is flawed, requiring you to interpolate and/or exclude phrases to deduce meaning.

Common English usage would NOT have 'language' as the answer at all....

Aggry: "Applied to a kind of variegated glass beads of ancient manufacture; as, aggry beads are found in Ashantee and Fantee in Africa."

Ph00ey, your riddle makes much more sense. Nevertheless, it's a riddle that's probably designed to be asked out loud. In the written form, grammar would require that the phrase "the English language" be put in quotation or in italics.

But neverthelss a good riddle, if asked orally.

I agree with you, Jafo..but that's the way riddles go sometimes. It may very well have been originally intended to be asked orally as the "proper way", if written, would require the phrase to be in quotes or in italics as paxx points out, thus "giving it away". Even so, the answer seemed more plausable than the ones published.


Where's that werewolf at? he started this!