Brain Teasers
Oxymorons
Oxymorons are not thick bovines, but two words, with opposite meanings, linked together to form a descriptive phrase. As an example, golfers play with metal woods.
Take a word from the top list, pair it with a word from the second, and find all 7 oxymorons.
LIST ONE: fine, dry, awfully, slipped, sweet, good, standing
LIST TWO: jump, good, sorrow, sherry, drizzle, up, grief
Take a word from the top list, pair it with a word from the second, and find all 7 oxymorons.
LIST ONE: fine, dry, awfully, slipped, sweet, good, standing
LIST TWO: jump, good, sorrow, sherry, drizzle, up, grief
Answer
Fine drizzle.Dry sherry.
Awfully good.
Slipped up.
Sweet sorrow.
Good grief.
Standing jump.
Hide Answer Show Answer
What Next?
View a Similar Brain Teaser...
If you become a registered user you can vote on this brain teaser, keep track of which ones you have seen, and even make your own.
Solve a Puzzle
Comments
i got them all, although i don't get "fine drizzle". also, "dry sherry" is one because sherry is wet? if you're referring to the "dry" character of the drink, it could also work with wine.
Mar 10, 2004
Fine can also mean sunny.
Fine, as word on its own, can indicate good. i.e. 'how did I do in my test?' answer.. 'fine'.
Hmmm. I liked those. A bit easy but the concept was fun!
i understand "fine", it's the "drizzle" i didn't get as a part of the oxymoron. imo, a better pair would have been "fine mess."
Mar 11, 2004
Drizzle relates to rain. It's an oxymoron to say that the sun is shining at the same time that it's raining. Seems that dumbell confused herself with her own teaser.
No anonymous, I explained fine as meaning good because that is what fine means. We get days that are fine, but overcast, i.e. not raining, but no sun either.
Fine drizzle does not mean the sun is shining and it is raining, it would, if taken literally, mean without rain, with light rain.
Sun and rain together, as per your incorrect explanation, would not be an oxymoron. Have you never seen a rainbow?
Seems that rather than ‘Bell confusing herself with her own teaser, anonymous made a twit of himself by trying to make someone else look silly
Fine drizzle does not mean the sun is shining and it is raining, it would, if taken literally, mean without rain, with light rain.
Sun and rain together, as per your incorrect explanation, would not be an oxymoron. Have you never seen a rainbow?
Seems that rather than ‘Bell confusing herself with her own teaser, anonymous made a twit of himself by trying to make someone else look silly
Mar 12, 2004
dumbell, if you had intended fine to indicate "not raining", then why, when bluetwo asked for an explanation, did you not state that in comment 3? Why did you say it means "good" as in how someone might do on a test. You seem more confused than before.
Fine with me
Anon .... because I assumed that the intelegence level was high enough to work the rest out. I did not think that once I had explained that fine =good I needed to go any further. I overlooked the fact that some people (like yourself) might not be able to work from fine = good (ie you did fine in that test) indicating not the best (you did excellently in that test) so therefore although fine means without rain it does not, as you stated, mean sunny.
Maybe people should look up some of your teasers and see if they are confusing ... Ooops, there aren't any.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, become critics.
Maybe people should look up some of your teasers and see if they are confusing ... Ooops, there aren't any.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, become critics.
Mar 14, 2004
dumbell, you assume too much if you expect people to make a logical leap from "good" to "not raining". I looked up "fine" in my online dictionary - "9: (of weather) pleasant; not raining, perhaps with the sun shining; "a fine summer evening"." Do you see the part that mentions the sun shining? Maybe you should write to Princetown University and tell them they got it wrong. At the same time you could ask them to correct the spelling of intelligence. They obviously got that wrong too, not to mention mixing up i.e. and e.g. What were they thinking? Wait, don't tell me exactly what they were thinking... give me an obscure hint and then let me work it out. Henry Mencken must be turning in his grave at your latest mangling of the English language.
Whoopee do, I made a spelling mistake, how shocking. As that post was made during the early hours after Scout Camp I am more shocked that it was the only one. I see you use an American dictionary to check the English language. I would correct their spelling on many words.
From PM's I know that others managed to connect fine, through my explanation, to it intended meaning. Failure to do so is your problem and not mine. I see you do not address the statement of 'those who can do'
I can see that the dictionary you have used lists sunny as a possible, not as a definite, or did you miss that part?
Now, if you have nothing better to do with your time than find fault with others, rather than contributing something positive, I will leave you to get on with it.
Do feel free to be as critical and picky as you wish, you do not expect any further response to your stupidity.
From PM's I know that others managed to connect fine, through my explanation, to it intended meaning. Failure to do so is your problem and not mine. I see you do not address the statement of 'those who can do'
I can see that the dictionary you have used lists sunny as a possible, not as a definite, or did you miss that part?
Now, if you have nothing better to do with your time than find fault with others, rather than contributing something positive, I will leave you to get on with it.
Do feel free to be as critical and picky as you wish, you do not expect any further response to your stupidity.
Mar 14, 2004
Why would I not use an American dictionary to check the English language? I am constantly surprised by toffee-nosed Brits that think they have some sort of ownership of a language. People speak English in Africa, in Australia, in Asia and horrors - even in America. Have you forgotten your history or should I remind you of the importance of the year 1776? No, I did not miss the word "perhaps" in the dictionary, but by you jumping on that point certainly shows that you misunderstood (either on purpose on by mistake) comment 2. Let me quote it here for your convenience: "Fine can also mean sunny." Also, I did not forget to address your "Those who can..." statement - I just incorrectly assumed that you would make a connection by my mention of Henry Mencken. How does your own medicine taste?
Annoy a louse, don’t be a prat all you life, take today off.
Mixing up i.e & e.g.
ie = (id est) that is
eg = (exempli gratia) for example.
It would seem that it is just as acceptable to use either in this instance.
What the heck has 1776 got to do with annihilation of a language?
Living in America of course you would use an American dictionary, just don’t try to quote it as the font of all knowledge on a language that has been altered and adapted. Brits owning the language?? It is called ENGLISH, not British. Strange, most of the Americans I have come across on Braingle acknowledge that the language started here. English is spoke the world over but only the US has changed it (coloUr, flavoUr, etc.).
A Baltimore hack by the name of Henry Mencken is not going to be know the world over. He was not JUST a critic, as you appear to be (I did as Dumbbell said and tried to look up some of your teasers). Your statement of ‘Seems that dumbell confused herself with her own teaser.‘ was not needed and showed that you failed to understand the logical and simple explanation given. Even if the explanation had been flawed (as you seem to think) was there any need for a cheap jibe unless given by a cheap person?
Your statement that comment 2 had been overlooked? Your further comment that ‘It's an oxymoron to say that the sun is shining at the same time that it's raining. ‘ shows that you took the word fine to mean sunny, otherwise why would you say ‘sun is shining at the same time that it's raining’. Seems like a lot of back peddling going on to try and convince yourself that you understood that fine does not always mean sunny.
Now, pick up you teddy and get back in your pram
Mixing up i.e & e.g.
ie = (id est) that is
eg = (exempli gratia) for example.
It would seem that it is just as acceptable to use either in this instance.
What the heck has 1776 got to do with annihilation of a language?
Living in America of course you would use an American dictionary, just don’t try to quote it as the font of all knowledge on a language that has been altered and adapted. Brits owning the language?? It is called ENGLISH, not British. Strange, most of the Americans I have come across on Braingle acknowledge that the language started here. English is spoke the world over but only the US has changed it (coloUr, flavoUr, etc.).
A Baltimore hack by the name of Henry Mencken is not going to be know the world over. He was not JUST a critic, as you appear to be (I did as Dumbbell said and tried to look up some of your teasers). Your statement of ‘Seems that dumbell confused herself with her own teaser.‘ was not needed and showed that you failed to understand the logical and simple explanation given. Even if the explanation had been flawed (as you seem to think) was there any need for a cheap jibe unless given by a cheap person?
Your statement that comment 2 had been overlooked? Your further comment that ‘It's an oxymoron to say that the sun is shining at the same time that it's raining. ‘ shows that you took the word fine to mean sunny, otherwise why would you say ‘sun is shining at the same time that it's raining’. Seems like a lot of back peddling going on to try and convince yourself that you understood that fine does not always mean sunny.
Now, pick up you teddy and get back in your pram
Mar 15, 2004
Oh dear, a bought minion enters the fray, and a Latin expert, at that. Pardon me, while I consult my American dictionary: i.e. = in other words. e.g. = as an example. When dumbell mentioned "Fine, as word on its own, can indicate good. i.e. 'how did I do in my test?'" do you think she meant "in other words it's not raining on my test" or "as an example, it's not raining on my test"? I won't hold my breath waiting for your expert opinion. You are wrong about only the US changing the English language - the Australians have changed it, the Africans have changed it, the... wait - just about everyone outside England has changed it. You dumb wannabe.
anon is a good example of how smart Americans are, we invent it all baby! However, he's not helping out any with other countries liking Americans too much. Anyways, I do stand true to bells quote, "Maybe people should look up some of your teasers and see if they are confusing ... Ooops, there aren't any. Those who can, do. Those who can't, become critics." People who don't submit teasers always try to tear apart the littliest detail of every teaser.
Fine Drizzle? This is impossible..
I got all but fine drizzle. Good teaser!
I got them all including fine drizzle. I hear and use this supposed oxymoron all the time as I am a meteorologist. In context with drizzle, my colleagues and I use fine is in the sense of "consisting of minute particles", so it really isn't an oxymoron at all because it refers to the size of the rain droplets, not other weather conditions.
Anyway, a great teaser. I love it!
Anyway, a great teaser. I love it!
NICE!!
Wow, this quiz is really good!!! It's going in my favorites for sure!!! But btw, reading this page (as I always do before I post a comment), I am shocked!!! Dumbell worked hard (or maybe not so hard) to produce a quiz that is very entertaining for people of all ages (you can tell by looking at people's icons), and they are
1) Not saying thank you for posting but even
2) Going ALL OUT to critiscize when they haven't created any of their own!!
I personally don't object to critiscizm (HOWEVER ITS SPELLED!), as long as it's constructive! But to argue about a word that makes ABSOLUTELY no difference in your life...that astounds me. Maybe I'm very naive, because I'm young, but what I see here disturbs me a lot.
Thank you, Dumbell, for posting! This is going in my favorites, I want to follow the conversation here.
Btw, it annoyes me when it says "user deleted" because then I can't tell who it was that posted it!!
1) Not saying thank you for posting but even
2) Going ALL OUT to critiscize when they haven't created any of their own!!
I personally don't object to critiscizm (HOWEVER ITS SPELLED!), as long as it's constructive! But to argue about a word that makes ABSOLUTELY no difference in your life...that astounds me. Maybe I'm very naive, because I'm young, but what I see here disturbs me a lot.
Thank you, Dumbell, for posting! This is going in my favorites, I want to follow the conversation here.
Btw, it annoyes me when it says "user deleted" because then I can't tell who it was that posted it!!
Fun!
By th time I read all the comments I forgot what I wanted to say. But after checking it again I remembered that I was going to ask what is a standing jump ? I got all the rest of them with no trouble. Standing and jump were the only 2 left so I figured they went together, but I never heard that expression.
dumbell, if nothing else you certainly stimulated conversation. Fun quiz.
BTW you failed to include a classic oxymoron: military intelligence.
Here's one just 4 U:
You're a ballsy girl!
Keep 'em coming!
BTW you failed to include a classic oxymoron: military intelligence.
Here's one just 4 U:
You're a ballsy girl!
Keep 'em coming!
Fun teaser. Thanks for posting.
I had had something to say when I first did the teaser, but after that G-d awful fight between anon. and dumbbell, I'm exhausted and unable to retrieve my original thoughts.
I will say that the entire exchange between those two blow- hards was totally offensive, and if I were new to Braingle and did not know this was not the usual behavior on this site, I would not come back any time soon.
I will say that the entire exchange between those two blow- hards was totally offensive, and if I were new to Braingle and did not know this was not the usual behavior on this site, I would not come back any time soon.
& btw, what the heck is a bought minion? (yes, I know the two words separately, but together????)
At the risk of opening up this whole can of worms again...
I liked this puzzle. I got all the correct matches and agreed with most of them.
But fine in the context of fine drizzle, does not indicate an oxymoron. Drizzle means light rain, fine in this context means light. It is reinforcing the fact that there isn't much water falling.
Fine can also mean sunny or at least not raining, which does oppose drizzle, but that is not the context it is used in here.
But very good teaser. Well done
Oh and regarding my puzzle submissions (none), I did make a puzzle up some time ago, but when I went to submit it I found I wasn't eligible because I didn't have 250 points or some rubbish. After several years of having the puzzles emailed to me and solving them from my inbox, because I hadn't logged on and commented or rated them, I hadn't accrued enough points. I have since amassed enough points, but also lost a little momentum from when I created the puzzle, and haven't gotten around yet to submitting it. One day
And hopefully, more to follow that one ;)
I liked this puzzle. I got all the correct matches and agreed with most of them.
But fine in the context of fine drizzle, does not indicate an oxymoron. Drizzle means light rain, fine in this context means light. It is reinforcing the fact that there isn't much water falling.
Fine can also mean sunny or at least not raining, which does oppose drizzle, but that is not the context it is used in here.
But very good teaser. Well done
Oh and regarding my puzzle submissions (none), I did make a puzzle up some time ago, but when I went to submit it I found I wasn't eligible because I didn't have 250 points or some rubbish. After several years of having the puzzles emailed to me and solving them from my inbox, because I hadn't logged on and commented or rated them, I hadn't accrued enough points. I have since amassed enough points, but also lost a little momentum from when I created the puzzle, and haven't gotten around yet to submitting it. One day
And hopefully, more to follow that one ;)
*sighs* This is a brain teaser, not a quiz.
I certainly enjoyed that whole argument about nothing, especially that part when they were arguing about the English language, and both were making huge grammatical errors. I love irony. Thank you.
Good teaser, though you could've avoided that entire petty argument by using a better oxymoron. There are dozens of them.
I certainly enjoyed that whole argument about nothing, especially that part when they were arguing about the English language, and both were making huge grammatical errors. I love irony. Thank you.
Good teaser, though you could've avoided that entire petty argument by using a better oxymoron. There are dozens of them.
I can live with the explanation about 'Fine Drizzle', even if I wouldn't have identified it personally as an oxymoron.
Attacking others for not submitting quizzes while criticizing those who have, is simply a red herring argument. It doesn't really matter if someone has or has not submitted other quizzes as to whether yours is correct or not.
BTW - To save you time, I have not submitted any teasers or quizzes either. It doesn't make my argument any more or less valid.
Attacking others for not submitting quizzes while criticizing those who have, is simply a red herring argument. It doesn't really matter if someone has or has not submitted other quizzes as to whether yours is correct or not.
BTW - To save you time, I have not submitted any teasers or quizzes either. It doesn't make my argument any more or less valid.
I very much agree with elentir re: criticism. When you submit something for public consumption you make yourself vulnerable to criticism. Be and adult and take it. If it's valid then you win by learning; if it's BS then you can let it sink into the mire with the rest of the muck. It isn't necessary to respond or sink. One can simply nod graciously and let other's actions be theirs.
Good grief! Just work it out or don't, but quit quibbling. It is not nice to quarrell. This is supposed to be fun!
Well what can I tell you. Some folks live to quarrel and quibble over semantics and language usage, and I can't say that I myself am entirely devoid of such tendencies.
Couldn't agree more with the other two posts before me. Why quibble over a fun teaser, come on just admit you didn't understand or didn't get it.
Like the Meteorologist, I understood fine in that term to be a reference to the size of the drops, as such, there is no contridiction. Or perhaps, one likes the rain, and to him, the drizzle is just fine and dandy. Who says rain is a bad thing?
This teaser is a perfect ezample of wgy comment count means noyhing.
This teaser has received 35 comments but over half of them are an argument between the submitter and someone who didn't like the teaser. Should those count?
I have gone and read several other teasers and the comment threafs are all the same. As soon as someone makes a negative comment, she goes off. So high comment counts but it is quantity over quality.
This teaser is a perfect ezample of wgy comment count means noyhing.
This teaser has received 35 comments but over half of them are an argument between the submitter and someone who didn't like the teaser. Should those count?
I have gone and read several other teasers and the comment threafs are all the same. As soon as someone makes a negative comment, she goes off. So high comment counts but it is quantity over quality.
The only way I came up with fine drizzle was the process of elimination.
Now I will go now with my life.
Now I will go now with my life.
I guessed with the with Fine-sherry & dry-drizzle camp. It came down to those four words left and I realized I had a guess on my hands. I ultimately reasoned that Sherry is alcohol and therefore had harsh qualities and drizzle is of course wet. Naturally I had heard of fine drizzle and dry sherry before, but I overrode the obvious because I didn't consider those to be oxymorons. After all sherry isn't the opposite of dry and fine isn't the opposite of drizzle. On the other hand drizzle is the opposite of dry. Oh well.
On second thought perhaps sherry I suppose Sherry could be considered wet as it is a liquid. Now if we can only reconcile fine / drizzle...
yikes!
didn't care for fine drizzle either...got it by process of elimination also
didn't care for fine drizzle either...got it by process of elimination also
read definition of oxymoron provided. the word at end are opposites JUMBO SHRIMP. NONE of the answers are oxynorons
I got them all, but none of them are oxymorons.
I had "dry drizzle" and "fine sherry." A drizzle is a fine shower of rain, and a connosieur of wine may not consider sherry to be fine.
Also, a standing jump is a jump from a standing position. It's also known as the high jump. How is an Olympic event an oxymoron?!
Easy but fun, thanks Dumbell!
I like others, also worked out: fine-drizzle, by process of elimination.
I like others, also worked out: fine-drizzle, by process of elimination.
Not a very good one. Too easy, even with the strange choices of fine drizzle and dry sherry (seems odd to call them oxymorons, but ok).
I also didn't think these were all oxymorons. I got them all correct by process of elimination.
I enjoyed this teaser. It was pretty easy to solve then it made me consider oxymorons. Again, I like the teaser and have nothing adverse to say.
Here is what it made me consider. Are dry sherry, slipped up, or fine drizzle oxymorons? Dry sherry and slipped up just seem like unexpected combinations, but not words with opposite meanings.
At first I was put off by fine drizzle because I figured fine referred to tiny drops, not a day with fine weather. However, considering the benchmark oxymoron "jumbo shrimp", the shrimp does not refer to size, but rather to the animal. So to be an oxymoron you must intentionally misinterpret the word. So isn't this okay for fine drizzle as well?
I wish it would be possible to have an in depth discussion of semantics without the personal attacks. I do find such topics fun and interesting.
Here is what it made me consider. Are dry sherry, slipped up, or fine drizzle oxymorons? Dry sherry and slipped up just seem like unexpected combinations, but not words with opposite meanings.
At first I was put off by fine drizzle because I figured fine referred to tiny drops, not a day with fine weather. However, considering the benchmark oxymoron "jumbo shrimp", the shrimp does not refer to size, but rather to the animal. So to be an oxymoron you must intentionally misinterpret the word. So isn't this okay for fine drizzle as well?
I wish it would be possible to have an in depth discussion of semantics without the personal attacks. I do find such topics fun and interesting.
Fun and entertaining teaser; I also got them all by process of elimination.
To post a comment, please create an account and sign in.
Follow Braingle!