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I've posted this question on another site and it seems to be going over well so maybe you'll enjoy it.
There are not many words in the English language, 4 letters or longer, where one letter makes up more than 50% of the word. Examples include mummy, fluff, muu-muu, puppy, and the like. The question: What is the L-O-N-G-E-S-T word you can think of that fits this bill?
Rules:
1. No proper names ("Alabama" doesn't make it)
2. No interjections ("Oooof!" and "Ahaaa!" are likewise out) and
3. Most importantly, while it is probably possible to key in a dozen or so keystrokes and have a list of applicable words spit out in five seconds, the final rule is "Grey matter only, please!"
I've got a 7-letter and a 9-letter example and someone on the other site came up with another 9-letter word (with, in this case, one letter repeated 5 times) though I'm sure there must be more.
Happy pondering!
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Joined: Oct 2002
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One who murders by surprise attack.... sniper?
How about ASSASSINS?
Interesting word derivation for assassin...
Word History: At first glance, one would be hard-pressed to find a link between pleasure and the acts of assassins. Such was not the case, however, with those who gave us the word assassin. They were members of a secret Islamic order originating in the 11th century who believed it was a religious duty to harass and murder their enemies. The most important members of the order were those who actually did the killing. Having been promised paradise in return for dying in action, the killers, it is said, were made to yearn for paradise by being given a life of pleasure that included the use of hashish. From this came the name for the secret order as a whole, an, “hashish users.” After passing through French or Italian, the word came into English and is recorded in 1603 with reference to the Muslim Assassins.
Definition courtesy of Dictionary.com
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Joined: Oct 2002
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How about a whole sentence with more than 50% one letter?
Assassins possess assets. (12 esses, 10 other)
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OP
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Ver-r-r-ry impressive, B.B.! I came up with an 11-letter word but it's a bit on the bogus side:
Over time, many of my friends have grown a bit in the buttocks department but I have remained ASSLESS for the most part. Some of my friends are openly envious of my relative ASSLESSNESS but what can I say?
(told you it was bogus...)
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Joined: Oct 2002
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Plus, now that I think of it, you could expand your excellent sentence to:
Sissy assassins possess sassy assets
although you could easily argue that this would be a prime example of the paradox of making less of something by adding to it.
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Swiss assassins possess assets. 15/12 ratio
TEd
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Joined: Jul 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Argh.
You posted while I was composing:
Sassy, sissy swiss assassins possess suss assets.
24/17
TEd
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Try saying that 5 times quickly... True tongue twister material to rival:
she sells sea shells by the seashore
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Carpal Tunnel
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Carpal Tunnel
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Are you sure it's as bogus as all that? I seem to recall the Old Lady, in the Bernstein musical Candide, singing about being "...and repeatedly stripped, and I'm missing the half of my backside." Shouldn't that qualify?
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Pooh-Bah
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Pooh-Bah
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No, wofa - she was only half-arsed.
edit: Great minds, shona!
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