Brain Teasers
Pedantic Time
Group
These brain teasers rely on your ability to recognize groups of common attributes. For each of these puzzles you'll need to figure out why the words or letters are grouped as they are. Sometimes you will be asked to pick the odd-one-out or to place a new word into the correct group.Group
What do these five movie titles have in common?
1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
3. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
4. Eight Legged Freaks
5. The Ladies Man
1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
3. Honey, I Shrunk the Kids
4. Eight Legged Freaks
5. The Ladies Man
Hint
Don't think too much about the movies just the titles (or this sentence!)Answer
Bad grammar or punctuation - yes, very pedantic!1. Commas: My Big, Fat, Greek ...
2. Question mark: Who Framed ... ?
3. Past participle: Honey, I've ...
4. Hyphen: Eight-Legged ...
5. Apostrophe: - Ladies'
In 2013, Time Magazine identified ten of these (hence the teaser title!) The other five were:
* Star Trek Into Darkness (colon missing)
* Law Abiding Citizen (hyphen missing)
* Two Weeks Notice (apostrophe missing - weeks')
* Burn Hollywood Burn (commas in this subtitle)
* The 40 Year-Old Virgin (40-year-old)
Hide Hint Show Hint 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
Reminds me of the joke about the fellow who insisted sentences should not end with prepositions. Drove his friends crazy until someone told him, "That's the kind of pedantic nonsense up with which I will not put!"
Not a very profound teaser, sure, but hopefully a little amusement for you!
Great parallel, Gizzer ....
GOOD SHEW !!!!!!!!!!
BB02
GOOD SHEW !!!!!!!!!!
BB02
Gizzer .... I think the quoter was Churchill ... was it not??
BB02
BB02
I loved it! I should have figured it out. I am a stickler for these kind of things. Good teaser!
Dumbest one ever. Movie titles are never "properly" punctuated at all, hell they aren't usually even punctuated. This isn't a puzzle, it's an anal-retentive grammar nazi attempt to bring his OCD under control.
hey ... drache ....
"Dumbest one ever. Movie titles are never "properly" punctuated at all, hell they aren't usually even punctuated. This isn't a puzzle, it's an anal-retentive grammar nazi attempt to bring his OCD under control."
(This is your OCD anal-retentive grammar teacher talkin' to ya !!)
01. "Dumbest one ever" is not a complete sentence, so don't punctuate it like one.
02. If you intend "hell they aren't usually even punctuated" to be a subordinate clause to the preceding one then use a semicolon (;) after "at all".
03. the word "hell" should have a following comma (,) as it is an interjected expletive.
04. Apply the same rule as 02. (above) to the remainder of the sentence, using a semicolon (;) after the word "puzzle".
05. The word "nazi" should be capitalized; (in deference to all us Nazis, if for no other reason).
Thanks for the comment, however.
"Dumbest one ever. Movie titles are never "properly" punctuated at all, hell they aren't usually even punctuated. This isn't a puzzle, it's an anal-retentive grammar nazi attempt to bring his OCD under control."
(This is your OCD anal-retentive grammar teacher talkin' to ya !!)
01. "Dumbest one ever" is not a complete sentence, so don't punctuate it like one.
02. If you intend "hell they aren't usually even punctuated" to be a subordinate clause to the preceding one then use a semicolon (;) after "at all".
03. the word "hell" should have a following comma (,) as it is an interjected expletive.
04. Apply the same rule as 02. (above) to the remainder of the sentence, using a semicolon (;) after the word "puzzle".
05. The word "nazi" should be capitalized; (in deference to all us Nazis, if for no other reason).
Thanks for the comment, however.
Now, back to the puzzle.
Thank you, dalfamnest, for contributing such an entertaining and fun puzzle.
We do, however, have a bit of a quarrel with a couple of points:
01. We think it is a VERY profound teaser.
02. Could not the last of your added examples also be ...
"The 40 Year-Old Virgins" ?
US (still laughing)
(BadBunnee, LittleBrownElf, BadBunnee02, LittleGreenMan)
Thank you, dalfamnest, for contributing such an entertaining and fun puzzle.
We do, however, have a bit of a quarrel with a couple of points:
01. We think it is a VERY profound teaser.
02. Could not the last of your added examples also be ...
"The 40 Year-Old Virgins" ?
US (still laughing)
(BadBunnee, LittleBrownElf, BadBunnee02, LittleGreenMan)
nice puzzle
4 comments and a bunch of garbage from useless.
hey, doodlie ....
at least we've got you counting comments !!!!!!!!!!!
at least we've got you counting comments !!!!!!!!!!!
NEVER would have guessed the similarity of these movie titles. And, I love punctuation and grammar!
And, Babe and Raisin, thanks for your comments! Arguments and insults are so tiresome!
And, Babe and Raisin, thanks for your comments! Arguments and insults are so tiresome!
AND ... gw ......
Thanks for adding TWO more.
The twenty-eighth of February is beginning to look quite respectable ...
comment-wise ..
US
Thanks for adding TWO more.
The twenty-eighth of February is beginning to look quite respectable ...
comment-wise ..
US
Didn't catch this one.
For some reason I thought it had to do with syllables...
I can't believe I didn't get this one. I am a fanatic about grammar and punctuation.
auntiesis makes a good point, here, and so does drachehexe.
They are, I feel, hinting toward some differences between informal and formal grammar rules.
The best instructor I ever had in language and grammar was in Jr. College, not public schools.
She stressed the differences between "allowing" relaxed grammar rules in some situations and not in others.
I am now a language consultant and often deal with such problems in terms of folks coping with English as a "second" language.
They often have difficulties with our idioms and other - sometimes regional - relaxed and informal usages.
Ease up (all of us) ... and have the fun that Braingle is famous for.
US
They are, I feel, hinting toward some differences between informal and formal grammar rules.
The best instructor I ever had in language and grammar was in Jr. College, not public schools.
She stressed the differences between "allowing" relaxed grammar rules in some situations and not in others.
I am now a language consultant and often deal with such problems in terms of folks coping with English as a "second" language.
They often have difficulties with our idioms and other - sometimes regional - relaxed and informal usages.
Ease up (all of us) ... and have the fun that Braingle is famous for.
US
LGM. I can't say your full of it, because you spill it out all over this comment page.
Oh dear, "drachehexe", you certainly have issues (mostly verbal diarrhoea issues, it would seem!) The pedantic nature of this was intended, and inherent in the puzzle. To criticise it for pedantry is rather unenlightened, methinks, and it doesn't alter the fact that these are a collection of titles that do not follow the usual rules of grammar and punctuation.
Now, having made the criticism, how about backing it up with 5 (no, maybe two ... or can you even think of one) other movie titles that do not follow the usual rules? Most DO! They are capitalised, have correct spelling, and use dashes or hyphens where necessary to indicate meaning. Each of my departs in one way or another!
At least we have generated some discussion; something lacking from many Braingle teasers!
Now, having made the criticism, how about backing it up with 5 (no, maybe two ... or can you even think of one) other movie titles that do not follow the usual rules? Most DO! They are capitalised, have correct spelling, and use dashes or hyphens where necessary to indicate meaning. Each of my departs in one way or another!
At least we have generated some discussion; something lacking from many Braingle teasers!
Oh dear, "drachehexe", you certainly have issues (mostly verbal diarrhoea issues, it would seem!) The pedantic nature of this was intended, and inherent in the puzzle. To criticise it for pedantry is rather unenlightened, methinks, and it doesn't alter the fact that these are a collection of titles that do not follow the usual rules of grammar and punctuation.
Now, having made the criticism, how about backing it up with 5 (no, maybe two ... or can you even think of one) other movie titles that do not follow the usual rules? Most DO! They are capitalised, have correct spelling, and use dashes or hyphens where necessary to indicate meaning. Each of my departs in one way or another!
At least we have generated some discussion; something lacking from many Braingle teasers!
Now, having made the criticism, how about backing it up with 5 (no, maybe two ... or can you even think of one) other movie titles that do not follow the usual rules? Most DO! They are capitalised, have correct spelling, and use dashes or hyphens where necessary to indicate meaning. Each of my departs in one way or another!
At least we have generated some discussion; something lacking from many Braingle teasers!
To post a comment, please create an account and sign in.
Follow Braingle!