Author Topic: Elusive common words  (Read 4554 times)

Alan W

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Elusive common words
« on: April 06, 2016, 04:11:24 PM »
Somebody suggested recently that the statistics on the number of players who find each word might be a guide to "common" words that are not so common.

I've put together some lists of common words that few players found over the past year. There are separate lists for the three types of daily puzzle: Standard, Challenge and Chinchilla (ten-letters). In each case the 25 words played by the fewest players are shown, but we could go some way beyond 25 words and still find a lot of dubious common words. All the words listed are classed as common now - words that were common at the time but have since been made rare are excluded. (Some words are repeated because they were in more than one puzzle.)

I'll present the data here and throw it open to comment. The data shown are date, number of people who played the word and the word itself.

Standard puzzles:

2015-10-10   42   LOGOTYPE
2015-08-14   50   PEONAGE
2015-11-06   51   REGNANT
2015-11-03   52   ROSTRA
2015-08-22   53   HAGGISES
2015-12-02   54   AIRGUN
2015-08-14   54   HEMPEN
2015-09-22   55   TOGAED
2015-10-17   56   NUNCIO
2015-11-13   56   PELLAGRA
2015-09-17   56   SUNHAT
2015-11-21   57   MONISM
2015-11-03   57   SOLARIA
2015-09-01   57   HOGTIE
2015-10-24   57   ESCUDO
2016-02-26   58   BIRETTA
2015-12-14   58   IMPUGNER
2016-01-24   58   LORISES
2015-10-14   58   NUTCASE
2015-10-31   60   IRENIC
2015-09-14   60   MINATORY
2015-12-26   60   IONISER
2015-12-04   62   NUNCIO
2016-02-22   62   IRENIC
2015-09-03   63   PIGPEN


Challenge puzzles:

2015-11-29   19   MAESTRI
2015-11-29   21   TSARISM
2015-11-28   22   OLDSTER
2015-12-06   22   MATRICES
2015-12-23   24   TRICEPS
2015-12-06   25   CERAMIST
2015-09-02   25   PICADOR
2016-02-07   26   IONISER
2015-09-16   26   CEDILLA
2015-10-14   27   ABETTOR
2016-03-27   27   YUAN
2015-12-06   27   MAESTRI
2015-11-28   29   RESTUDY
2016-02-26   29   OTIOSE
2015-08-14   29   NEURITIS
2016-02-10   29   URETER
2015-10-29   30   IRENIC
2015-12-15   30   TOECAP
2015-12-12   30   OROTUND
2016-02-13   31   AIRGUN
2015-09-02   32   RAPIDS
2016-03-12   33   DEMOTIC
2015-12-26   33   ROADBED
2016-01-19   33   SHOETREE
2015-08-30   34   NAIVETE

Ten-letter puzzles:

2016-03-22   10   SEGUING
2016-01-18   12   IREFUL
2015-08-12   14   THESAURI
2015-08-12   14   MAESTRI
2016-01-10   14   NOTARIAL
2016-01-18   15   LORISES
2016-02-12   15   GAMETIC
2015-12-21   16   GRANITIC
2015-10-15   17   RINGLIKE
2015-09-12   17   NEWSGIRL
2015-12-05   18   SONATINA
2015-11-01   18   RADIOMEN
2015-08-15   19   CENTAVO
2016-03-16   19   OSMOTIC
2015-11-24   19   NEURITIS
2015-08-12   19   HUMERI
2016-02-11   19   OTIOSE
2016-03-02   20   ICEBOAT
2015-08-24   20   SAPIENCE
2016-01-10   21   OCARINA
2015-08-30   21   PROTEAN
2015-10-26   21   ROADBED
2015-11-28   21   OROTUND
2015-09-09   21   TRIMARAN
2016-01-17   21   ANGSTROM
Alan Walker
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mkenuk

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #1 on: April 07, 2016, 11:00:29 PM »
It's difficult to know where to start commenting on the words in this list, other than to say that, in my opinion, the vast majority of them should be downgraded to rare.
I've a strange feeling that many other regular players will agree with me.

One or two examples -
Why should 'angstrom' be common when 'curie' is rare?

Why should 'impugner' (= 'one who impugns') be common when 'heister' (one who heists) 'hider' (one who hides) and 'snitcher' (one who snitches) are rare? (examples from yesterday's 10-letter game)

Why allow 'restudy' when, as policy, Chi rejects most other words which start with 're-'? ('reshine / reshined' from the christened game)

Of the words on this list, I'd be inclined to keep
'nutcase', 'rapids', 'matrices', 'picador', 'toecap', 'yuan' and 'escudo'  as common and downgrade most of the others.

'Haggises' and 'lorises' as regular plurals of common words should also stay.

A suggestion. Why not invite all forumites to suggest up to ten words from the list that they feel should remain as common and see if there is any consensus?

MK


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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #2 on: April 08, 2016, 03:52:09 AM »
Oh dear, confession time. I'm useless on currencies so had to check escudo and had never heard of yuan. But that's perhaps because I don't travel much or read The Financial Times. Chi must be extending my vocabulary.

Long-established players may think it presumptuous of me to give an opinion, so my apologies. However, I can give a list of 10, 12 and 7 words* (some duplicated) that jump out as common for me, but there are lots of others that surely most people would immediately know even if they don't use them (e.g., for me, hogtied might be common, hogtie not, but it's obvious what hogtie means). The fact that I might miss words in a game doesn't mean either that they're  uncommon or that I don't know them. Also, e.g. osmotic and trimaran might be unlikely to occur to me this side of desperation, but I'd instantly recognise them.

I'm sure Alan doesn't want hundreds of lists to compare, but the only other way might be a sort of word recognition via a table ... Big job.

*
2015-11-06   51   REGNANT
2015-11-03   52   ROSTRA
2015-08-22   53   HAGGISES
2015-12-02   54   AIRGUN
2015-08-14   54   HEMPEN
2015-09-17   56   SUNHAT
2016-02-26   58   BIRETTA
2015-10-14   58   NUTCASE
2015-09-14   60   MINATORY
2015-12-26   60   IONISER

Challenge puzzles:

2015-12-06   22   MATRICES
2015-12-23   24   TRICEPS
2015-09-02   25   PICADOR
2016-02-07   26   IONISER
2015-09-16   26   CEDILLA
2016-02-26   29   OTIOSE
2015-08-14   29   NEURITIS
2016-02-10   29   URETER
2015-12-15   30   TOECAP
2016-02-13   31   AIRGUN
2015-09-02   32   RAPIDS
2015-08-30   34   NAIVETE

Ten-letter puzzles:

2016-03-22   10   SEGUING
2015-12-05   18   SONATINA
2015-11-24   19   NEURITIS
2016-02-11   19   OTIOSE
2015-08-24   20   SAPIENCE
2016-01-10   21   OCARINA
2015-08-30   21   PROTEAN


anona

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #3 on: April 08, 2016, 03:52:28 AM »
Oh dear, confession time. I'm useless on currencies so had to check escudo and had never heard of yuan. But that's perhaps because I don't travel much or read The Financial Times. Chi must be extending my vocabulary.

Long-established players may think it presumptuous of me to give an opinion, so my apologies. However, I can give a list of 10, 12 and 7 words* (some duplicated) that jump out as common for me, but there are lots of others that surely most people would immediately know even if they don't use them (e.g., for me, hogtied might be common, hogtie not, but it's obvious what hogtie means). The fact that I might miss words in a game doesn't mean either that they're  uncommon or that I don't know them. Also, e.g. osmotic and trimaran might be unlikely to occur to me this side of desperation, but I'd instantly recognise them.

I'm sure Alan doesn't want hundreds of lists to compare, but the only other way might be a sort of word recognition via a table ... Big job.

*
2015-11-06   51   REGNANT
2015-11-03   52   ROSTRA
2015-08-22   53   HAGGISES
2015-12-02   54   AIRGUN
2015-08-14   54   HEMPEN
2015-09-17   56   SUNHAT
2016-02-26   58   BIRETTA
2015-10-14   58   NUTCASE
2015-09-14   60   MINATORY
2015-12-26   60   IONISER

Challenge puzzles:

2015-12-06   22   MATRICES
2015-12-23   24   TRICEPS
2015-09-02   25   PICADOR
2016-02-07   26   IONISER
2015-09-16   26   CEDILLA
2016-02-26   29   OTIOSE
2015-08-14   29   NEURITIS
2016-02-10   29   URETER
2015-12-15   30   TOECAP
2016-02-13   31   AIRGUN
2015-09-02   32   RAPIDS
2015-08-30   34   NAIVETE

Ten-letter puzzles:

2016-03-22   10   SEGUING
2015-12-05   18   SONATINA
2015-11-24   19   NEURITIS
2016-02-11   19   OTIOSE
2015-08-24   20   SAPIENCE
2016-01-10   21   OCARINA
2015-08-30   21   PROTEAN


Maudland

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #4 on: April 08, 2016, 04:49:35 AM »
Well, these are the words on the list that fit my understanding of what is common in Chi:

ROSTRA
AIRGUN
SUNHAT
ESCUDO
NUTCASE
IONISER
PIGPEN
TRICEPS
PICADOR
CEDILLA
YUAN
URETER
TOECAP
RAPIDS

Although I don't know whether they meet the international standards...

And these because of the plural formation:

HAGGISES
MATRICES
LORISES

This isn't to say they're the words from the lists I'm more likely to spot, by the way - it's not the World According to Maud ...

The lists were very interesting anyway. Thanks Alan, you seem to be doing a huge amount of work at the moment and I will continue to enjoy Chi whatever you see fit to do.

birdy

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #5 on: April 08, 2016, 06:21:39 AM »
Amazing!  I knew all these words, though I had to think for a moment what a cedilla was.  And though I'd heard the word sonatina (isn't it used in a song?), I had to look it up.

But as to whether I would find them when I played, that's another story.

Alan W

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #6 on: May 14, 2016, 10:54:09 PM »
After considering the comments offered I've made the following words rare:

ABETTOR
ANGSTROM
CENTAVO
CERAMIST
DEMOTIC
GAMETIC
GRANITIC
HUMERI
ICEBOAT
IMPUGNER
IREFUL
IRENIC
LOGOTYPE
MAESTRI
MONISM
NEWSGIRL
NOTARIAL
NUNCIO
OLDSTER
OROTUND
OSMOTIC
PELLAGRA
PEONAGE
RADIOMEN
RESTUDY
RINGLIKE
ROADBED
SHOETREE
SOLARIA
TOGAED

Anona suggested seguing might remain common, but it seems like the spelling segueing is mostly used, so I think the version without an E qualifies as rare. On the other hand, thesauri seems to be more often used than thesauruses, and since the singular thesaurus is certainly a common word, I decided to leave thesauri as common. I also decided to leave hogtie as common, since hogtied is a common word.

Another two words I have left as common, just because they seem to me to be fairly common, are trimaran and tsarism.
Alan Walker
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pat

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #7 on: May 15, 2016, 12:57:00 AM »
I must say I've never heard of a trimaran. Just had to look it up to see what it was.

TRex

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #8 on: May 15, 2016, 03:21:31 AM »
I must say I've never heard of a trimaran. Just had to look it up to see what it was.

Ditto.

I'm glad to see irenic changed: although I don't think of it as especially rare, it was one of my bugbear words. A few of these words I had little problem recalling when playable, but I'm not one to complain about a common word being made rare.  ;D

birdy

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #9 on: May 16, 2016, 08:26:48 AM »
Once again, I knew all the words, but agree that they are not common.  And even if I did know them, I am sure that I would have missed some of them when I play, along with more common words (acme and acre are among my frequently missed words).

Les303

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2016, 01:56:03 PM »
Hi birdy ,

Glad that i am not the only one who often misses very easy four letter common words particularly in those games that have a large number of common words to be found.

Rather than "cant see the forest for the trees " maybe we just "can't see the trees for the forest ".
« Last Edit: May 16, 2016, 02:11:24 PM by Les303 »

Tom44

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Re: Elusive common words
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2016, 12:14:28 PM »
Everyone has their own background and thus, their own concept of rare versus common words.  Sorry to see angstrom moved to rare; I would think most people picked at random would know that word.  But then, again, that's because its common to me.  Just one of those things I guess.
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