Brain Teasers
Game Show
"Welcome back to the show. Before the break, Mr Ixolite here made it to our grand finale! How do you feel Mr.Ix?"
"Nervous."
"Okay, now to win the star prize of one million pounds all you have to do is answer the following question in 90 seconds."
"Okay, I'm ready."
"Right. In 90 seconds name 100 words that do NOT contain the letter 'A'. Start the clock!"
Can you help?
"Nervous."
"Okay, now to win the star prize of one million pounds all you have to do is answer the following question in 90 seconds."
"Okay, I'm ready."
"Right. In 90 seconds name 100 words that do NOT contain the letter 'A'. Start the clock!"
Can you help?
Hint
I'm counting on your help.Answer
One, Two, Three, Four, Five......One Hundred!I just counted from 1 to 100 in ninety seconds (it is possible).
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Comments
Is "Twenty-Five" really considered a separate word from "Twenty" and "Five"? I tried to look it up but didn't come up with anything. Other than that potential problem, I thought the answer was pretty cool.
I never noticed that these words don't contain the letter "A." That was fun and brilliant.
Very cool puzzle and a smart answer. What is the first number that contains the letter A?
I think many of the words are repeated. My answer was the first 100 words in an Arabic dictionary.
Brilliant and enjoyable. oh, and missiu, the first whole number is one thousand.
Great Teaser. For those thinking that the words are repeated. If the catagory was pets/pet items would you consider cat and catnip the same word. Compound words are seperate words.
Once again a unique teaser.
Once again a unique teaser.
May 30, 2003
The first number that contains the letter A is 1,000 Dang, I knew that and I STILL couldn't figure this out *sigh*
Good teaser.
Good teaser.
This was good. I only figured it out after I read the hint.
Brilliant!
May 30, 2003
this one was almost too easy
I think the objection regarding "twenty" and "five" is valid. Catnip is a compound word and has a separate entry in the dictionary. "Twenty-five" is two words.
May 30, 2003
very clever
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=twentyfive
Its a word....sorry
Its a word....sorry
Hm, I never realised those words never had an A.
I love puzzles like this that you can spring on friends while sitting around a table and no paper or pencil is needed.
Surely the first number than contains an 'A' is One Hundred and One??
Surely the first number than contains an 'A' is One Hundred and One??
that was a great teaser. the answer was very unexpected
I agree with Bobbrt twentyfive doesn't exist on www.m-w.com (or in Webster's itself) nor does twenty-five. Also grammar rules state when written as words, fractions and cardinal numbers consisting of two words are hyphenated. Examples: twenty-three, twenty-fifth, one-fourth, two-thirds. It is still considered two words.
There are a few exceptions where the hyphenated number has become part of the language, twenty-two (The bullet) is an example of a hyphenated two word combination bacoming one word in language.
I tend to trust Webster more than dictionary.com and the rules of grammar still apply. Technically wrong teaser but a great and fun teaser.
There are a few exceptions where the hyphenated number has become part of the language, twenty-two (The bullet) is an example of a hyphenated two word combination bacoming one word in language.
I tend to trust Webster more than dictionary.com and the rules of grammar still apply. Technically wrong teaser but a great and fun teaser.
Surely the first number containing an A is 'one hundred and one'
Great teaser. But unfortunately the hint gave it away!
To ousgg:
Actually the first number that contains an "a" is "thousand" the "and" in 101 is actually a decimal. Math Class does teach you something!
Actually the first number that contains an "a" is "thousand" the "and" in 101 is actually a decimal. Math Class does teach you something!
good teaser! one to try on my friends!
The first number with an "A" is 1000, because in math I learned that the correct way to pronounce it is just One hundred one, it is not meant to have the word and.
i didn't know all these numbers didn't contain A. gd job!
read through all the comments agreed it is a good teaser, but I am too of the opinion that twenty five is two words and you do not therefore say 100 different words.
As for your response regarding dictionary . com and their explanation, it is a hyphenated entry in their website, hence 2 words. Also your argument falls down, as 99 ( or ninetynine ) does not exist in the very website you advise people to look in, to prove your argument
As for your response regarding dictionary . com and their explanation, it is a hyphenated entry in their website, hence 2 words. Also your argument falls down, as 99 ( or ninetynine ) does not exist in the very website you advise people to look in, to prove your argument
I still feel that the answer to the puzzle fits in that in various math texts that I have worked through in my education, hyphenated numbers are considered as a single word and still follow in that respect that twenty-five would be one word and not two. A similar puzzle was written in to a short murder mystery by Isaac Asimov and he used the similar "No A" answer to come up with the correct suspect in the murder. I believe the answer does fit, actually up to 999.
not bad of a riddle
Very clever. Good job.
wow surprising or not the answer popped into my head right away. Sometimes you dont know y but it just happens. Good tea§er tho
To set the argument straight about the hyphenated twenty-five
.................................................
I saw that game show, and-whether twenty-five is a number or not-Mr. Ix did win the One Million Pounds so I guess it really doesn't matter now -----> he's rich.
.................................................
I saw that game show, and-whether twenty-five is a number or not-Mr. Ix did win the One Million Pounds so I guess it really doesn't matter now -----> he's rich.
I think this is a really great riddle -well done! Why is everyone getting so worked up about number 25? Remember this is supposed to be FUN!!!!!
Very cute teaser!! I guess I never realised that the numbers from 1 - 100 didn't have an "A" in them!! That was really good! It stumped me.
I'm an English teacher. Hyphenated words ARE unique words, not just groupings of their parts. "Mother-in-law" is a separate word from "mother," "in," and "law," for example. Granted, "mother-in-law" is also found in most dictionaries as a separate entry, but you won't find "cousin-in-law" - also a separate word with its own unique meaning. Sometimes the dictionary defines the most common occurrences of a certain type, and then leaves the rest to be understood from its definitions of prefixes, roots, and suffixes.
Our English language permits "temporary" compounds to fit the situation. They are real words, but they will probably never find their way into a dictionary, with few exceptions. "Know-it-all" was a temporary compound that made the cut and now most dictionaries include it.
The grammartips website says this: "There is a wide range of variation in the use of hyphens to join compound words. No rules govern all combinations, and the possible combinations are virtually limitless, so many of them will not be found in the dictionary. Furthermore, even dictionaries vary in their treatment of some compound words."
(see http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/hyphens1.html)
I say this teaser is valid.
(By the way, I would have thought people would have objected to "one hundred" before they'd object to "twenty-five" - but "one hundred" is also a compound word, two words serving the function of one word - like "high school" and "vacation home" - both of which mean something different than the sum of their parts)
Our English language permits "temporary" compounds to fit the situation. They are real words, but they will probably never find their way into a dictionary, with few exceptions. "Know-it-all" was a temporary compound that made the cut and now most dictionaries include it.
The grammartips website says this: "There is a wide range of variation in the use of hyphens to join compound words. No rules govern all combinations, and the possible combinations are virtually limitless, so many of them will not be found in the dictionary. Furthermore, even dictionaries vary in their treatment of some compound words."
(see http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/hyphens1.html)
I say this teaser is valid.
(By the way, I would have thought people would have objected to "one hundred" before they'd object to "twenty-five" - but "one hundred" is also a compound word, two words serving the function of one word - like "high school" and "vacation home" - both of which mean something different than the sum of their parts)
Personally, I really dont think 25 matters because it does not say 100 DIFFERENT words! Also why get so frustrated about a teaser? It's not like they stole the million dollars from you or anthing!
Very good. I got it once I read the hint. Regaring previous arguments about the number 25: Why is it any different from the number 26 or 55? "And' isn't a number, therefore it shouldn't count against Mr. Ix. Great teaser!
Hey! I never noticed none of those numbers had an A. That's cool!
brilliant, no clue about the answer until i read the hint, that may have made it a lil too easy.
I like that one...I think I'll add it to my favorites list, since I thought it so clever, I told my friends!
Coulda done it without it... just use three letter words ..you know, bet bit but bot pet put pit pot... etc.
You could donate the money you won to braingle
Wow!!! I never realized that!!! Awesome!!!!
yes yes yes
sorry but i was right
yes yes yes
sorry but i was right
yes yes yes
cute one .. i never realized there were no As in the lower numbers before!! ya learn something new everyday!
Thanks Mrlx!! I love a teaser that makes you think, and provides a new view of common things. Even if it does bring out the "Detailers".
May 30, 2005
I liked this one because it will at least teach people that "and" is not a number.
Along this same vein, "Misiu" will be happy to know that you do not hit an "a" number until 1,000 (one thousAnd).
For those who did not get this, simply put, it is one hundred one not one hundred AND one. "And" does not enter into number until you add a decimal, as in $10.01 (ten dollars AND one cent).
Along this same vein, "Misiu" will be happy to know that you do not hit an "a" number until 1,000 (one thousAnd).
For those who did not get this, simply put, it is one hundred one not one hundred AND one. "And" does not enter into number until you add a decimal, as in $10.01 (ten dollars AND one cent).
STOP ARGUING OVER 25! It IS a number. Just like the rest! Oh by the way, good teaser MrIx
Hi:
I did not guess the answer, but I very much enjoyed the teaser, simply because other teasers I read was difficult for me to understand.
Thanks a lot for helping me enjoy something new and increase my data!
I did not guess the answer, but I very much enjoyed the teaser, simply because other teasers I read was difficult for me to understand.
Thanks a lot for helping me enjoy something new and increase my data!
that was easy. liked it!
neat
i never new that any number between one and one hundred didnt hav the lettr a in it!!! dats kewl!!!
Great teaser! I was stumped until I read the hint & then I remembered that there was no "A" until one thousand. Keep up the fun!
I love it. it was very clever.
i never realised dat all da numbers up 2 a thousand does not include da letter A. a clever and fun teaser.
Clever, I got it though with the clue.
I got it right!!! even before i read the hint.
Very nicely done. Never had thought about this until now
I didn't even bother trying this one. Haha! Excellent teaser!
I didn't even try. I just read the answer and I thought about it. That was a ver good one. Keep it up!
Good one, It's an awesome trick too. Very good.
i got it after the hint... otherwise I doubt I would have...good one!
Nice puzzle. I knew the answer, as I'd heard this question before. Possibly in an email joke. Good job.
Nice puzzle. I knew the answer, as I'd heard this question before. Possibly in an email joke. Good job.
that was cool- i never noticed that
I loved that one. Very cool!!!
that was very good 1 now thats what im talking about that was fun
Great teaser!!
I really didn't know that 1, until I saw the hint. I liked that 1 a lot!
I never noticed that and would not have thought of it in a million years!
i didnt get it
I would just like to say that Twenty-five is a word whether it's in Webster's or not, because pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovalcanoconiosis isn't in Webster's but it IS on dictionary.com and in the Oxford English Dictionary. And if it wasn't a word, then I would'nt have gotten it wrong on my spelling test last year when I didn't add in the hyphen...
THat WAS AWESOME!!! its like the first daily teaser i got right!!! AwEsOmE!!
I love it! And i actually figured it out! Great riddle! Lotsa' fun!
Wow! That's so cool! I had NO idea what the answer was!
it was kool!!
You know what, ignore all these comments on word technicalities.... I got the answer right and it was fun! Good job!
what about foar? (4)
My goodness you are right. I also forgot Juan, Sevan and Ate. Boy is my face red
great, one of my favorites
LOVE THIS
WOW!
Hmm.. never thought of this.. a good teaser.
BTW, isn't the first one with an A one-hundred-And-one..?
BTW, isn't the first one with an A one-hundred-And-one..?
Yo, Pal that was great
This was really a fun teaser. Well done.
A new game show question: "In 90 seconds give me your best excuse for how this teaser got you, not. Start the clock!"
A new game show question: "In 90 seconds give me your best excuse for how this teaser got you, not. Start the clock!"
I had to look at the hint, but then I got it.Good, fun teaser.
That was really really good!!!
A great teaser, and looking back on it, it seems easy but you had me stumped!
A great teaser, and looking back on it, it seems easy but you had me stumped!
I thought this was one of the more brilliant teasers I've seen yet!!! I never would've thunk of just counting to a hundred!! I give this one a full five stars!! *****
This was pretty easy for me, but still a bit fun.
Okay I'm quite interested in the whole argument against saying, "one hundred and one." Can anyone tell me if this just applies to American English, or is it true of proper english too?
Really great teaser! I never noticed before that the basic numbers (before 1,000) don't use the letter "a" - AMAZING!!
"One hundred AND one" is not a number; it's a mathematical espression 100 + 1
If you mean 101, say "one hundred one."
If you mean 101, say "one hundred one."
Thought it was a great brain teaser.
HEN HAO! (VERY GOOD)
XIEXIE NI (THANK YOU)
XIEXIE NI (THANK YOU)
I've heard this one somewhere too. Good one!
Heck yes!! I totally got that one after the hint.
I, too, could not have gotten it without the hint - I LOVED IT!
... and I am ALL FOR OldChinaHand's new game show. You are one clever Braingler, OCH!
... learningchinese, I love your new self!!!
... and I am ALL FOR OldChinaHand's new game show. You are one clever Braingler, OCH!
... learningchinese, I love your new self!!!
a great puzzle, but alas, I feel it is yet another with dazzling wit, but pretty hard to solve deductively.
Good one, Mr. Ixolite! Very funny indeed.
Great teaser, MrIxolite!
*hugs* to LC.
*hugs* to LC.
I loved that one! And I actually got it! (Which is pretty unusual for a lamebrain like me ) Okay, so I did look at the hint... anyways, I liked that one!
This is a good one, although in your answer it might have been a good idea to explain that the first number to appear with the letter "A" is one thousand. I never would have figured it out if it hand been for a 'useless facts' e-mail I'd gotten.
A good one, although the hint gave it away.
I did enjoy it.
I did enjoy it.
that was soooo cute! definetley going into my favorites!!!
loved it!
awesome job...
awesome job...
very very clever
This was one of those where either you already knew the answer or you didn't.
That was my favorite teaser so far Thats definately going on my favorites list. If I hadn't have looked at the answer i would have never got it I would have been stumped for days. who ever did this, it was great. Nice Job.
Good teaser! Quit nitpickin.(how many words is that?) Whether twenty-five is one or two words.....the 100 words were covered.
This was fun. I had to look at the hint though.
Good Teaser!
Learning Chinese (aka Imurray)
XIEXIE NI (for your new attitude)
Looking forward to seeing more of it.
Learning Chinese (aka Imurray)
XIEXIE NI (for your new attitude)
Looking forward to seeing more of it.
That was EXCELLENT! And to all those Crabby Appletons who think they have to nitpick everything, get a life and enjoy it, before it passes you by.
Great teaser!
Twenty-five is a compound word, as defined: "a word composed of two or more words joined together by a hyphen." (Dictionary.com)
"One hundred" doesn't use a hyphen, so it doesn't fit this rule well.
Zero works, as do many other words without A in them.
Twenty-five is a compound word, as defined: "a word composed of two or more words joined together by a hyphen." (Dictionary.com)
"One hundred" doesn't use a hyphen, so it doesn't fit this rule well.
Zero works, as do many other words without A in them.
WOW Excellent Great and easy to remember to pass on to my friends.
Great teaser I'll put it on my favorites.
Well this ol' granny didn't look at the hint. I sat for twenty-five minutes trying to count one hundred words in the story without an A. Ha ha! This is one great teaser and goes into my favorites. Wishing everyoe a good day.
My math teacher says that when you say 'and' it means that there is a decimal there. So 12.6 would be 'twelve and six tenths.
BTW I really liked the teaser. I wouldn't have got it in a million years.
BTW I really liked the teaser. I wouldn't have got it in a million years.
Great teaser. Tough one. Although I needed the hint to figure it out I still gave it top ratings. Good job !!
Another one to put a smile on my tired Friday night face. Thanks Mrix...I loved it.
haha, nysss...
Once the show's lawyers got in on this one he never saw the million dollars. However, they made two million in an afternoon.
Great teaser.
Great teaser.
A bit off, on a tangent: If one doesnt expect the answer to actually enumerate the 100 numbers without A, what about 'First Century of Numbers' for an answer?
This is a fantastic teaser. Learnt something new today.
This is a fantastic teaser. Learnt something new today.
Thought this was great. Should have hadit I 'm adding it to my faves so I can show friends
I got a lot of different words, but not 100 in the allowed seconds, I did not read the hint., Great one . fooled me. One of my favorites .
easy, but really cool. i thought of the answer right away
Got the answer and rattled them off within 90 seconds. And I didn't worry about the "one hundred and one" issue, because it's not within the scope of this. I wouldn't hyphenate one hundred though, so my final word was poo.
(at the comment above)
Very Clever!
I loved this one! Excellent! Hope you collected the prize money!
Very fun!
First number with an 'a' is one thousand.
I got this right away, but I didn't think it was too easy. Great job making a teaser out of a cool fact like that.
easy. was about 2 write one the same but was a dupey owell
P.s does hate comments count as 'offensive'? cuz im tempted to clik it
P.s does hate comments count as 'offensive'? cuz im tempted to clik it
WOW, A LOT OF NIT-PICKING FOR A TEASER POINTING OUT A LESSER KNOWN FACT; NO NUMBERS WITH AN "A" UNTIL 1,000. (ALGEBRA ONE I THINK)
EVEN I DON'T NIT PICK.
EVEN I DON'T NIT PICK.
Wow. I started by counting all the words in the teaser itself, disregarding the ones containing "a"s. Then I realized it wasn't long enough, glanced at the hint, and duh-thwapped myself in the head as I got it.
Great teaser. I'm definitely using it with friends.
Great teaser. I'm definitely using it with friends.
I read the hint and started thinking: one, two, three, four... maybe.
Then I clicked the answer.
Then I clicked the answer.
Not sure how I got it but it just popped into my head. I'm gonna try it on my hubby when he wakes up.
Awesome teaser!!! Great job.
Awesome teaser!!! Great job.
Great puzzler; however the rule didnt specify "different" words, so I could have used one word without an a and repeat it the required no of times to solve the puzzle.
very nice teaser for a saturday morning..
In 3rd grade my teacher taught me that you could count thru 999 without using an a . Another tough one. Ha Ha !!!
Never noticed that.
It took me a few seconds to remember that the first 100 Numbers (and more) didn't contain an "A," so I got it, but I would have lost the show!
Interesting!!!
Very clever! I never would have thought of that! I thought there was an 'a' somewhere in there but i guess i was wrong
No one ever told me and I never thought of it on my own, that there are no letter a's in the first 999 #s. I am amazed to find this out for the first time at my age, [which doesn't have an A]. I'm impressed.
kind of a no brainer
cool quiz and pretty easy
I would never have gotten this without your clue. I started counting and realzied there are no A's up to100. Twenty-five etc are 1 word just hyphenated as explained well by the English Teacher above.
It could be confusing. People need to ask questions, as long as they are not rude.
THIS WAS FUN !!!
Fun, fun , fun, till your daddy takes you T-Bird away!
Vinyl Collector Rose
It could be confusing. People need to ask questions, as long as they are not rude.
THIS WAS FUN !!!
Fun, fun , fun, till your daddy takes you T-Bird away!
Vinyl Collector Rose
That's cool
very cool. I couldnt get it without the hint though.
The hint gave it away for me. Easy, but fun!
pretty cool.. and easy.
Why do people argue so much about minor technicalities and spoil the humor in these nice puzzles - twentyfive / twenty-five / twenty five who cares ! Either you got it when you looked at the puzzle or you went - be, bee, beg ... through your dictionary to find the first 100
Chill
Genie-Ass
Why do people argue so much about minor technicalities and spoil the humor in these nice puzzles - twentyfive / twenty-five / twenty five who cares ! Either you got it when you looked at the puzzle or you went - be, bee, beg ... through your dictionary to find the first 100
Chill
Genie-Ass
the word twenty-five no matter how you spell it means 25 not 20 or 5 so it is its own word. good teaser!!
very very clever!!
Nice one. I agree with Kauphi1976, why all the tado over the number 25. It still equals to 100 words in 90 seconds.
No worries
No worries
Great! I was stumped Congrats on making Teaser of the Day, too!
good one!
i just did that in 35 seconds.
Excellent!
Glad I didn't spend too much time actually thinking of random words without the letter A. Very cute.
Nice one. I didn't know whether hyphenated numbers can be treated as seperate words or not, but apparantly they can. And yes, PLEASE don't say "one hundred AND one", just skip the "and" altogether. I remember they taught us that in grade school! (no offense to anyone who used it)
And what's with people telling people to stop arguing over whether hyphenated numbers are seperate words or not? Isn't that what the comment section is for? Furthermore, brain teasers should be held accountable when it comes to being accurate - otherwise the answer isn't really correct, and people could dismiss the right answer when they're trying to come up with it because of this.
And what's with people telling people to stop arguing over whether hyphenated numbers are seperate words or not? Isn't that what the comment section is for? Furthermore, brain teasers should be held accountable when it comes to being accurate - otherwise the answer isn't really correct, and people could dismiss the right answer when they're trying to come up with it because of this.
Got this one right away. Fun and easy!
whoa...it was kinda boring...but cool!!!
liked this one, not sure why, but the answer just popped into my mind as soon as I read it...Pumbani, I think it is just Americans who say 101 - one hundred one, most other people who use English say 101 is One hundred and one...maybe Americans should learn how to speak 'English'....I've got Shosaloza running through my head now!
Very interesting.. I had NO idea!! Great job though!!!
Completely stumped me. Great job!
hm....I just started listing words that I thought up that didn't have an "a"...I got about 20 in 90 seconds. This would be wonderful in the trick category, but I'm not sure it fits here.
And you can say the numbers from 1-100 in 90 seconds-35 seconds for me
And you can say the numbers from 1-100 in 90 seconds-35 seconds for me
Apr 02, 2008
Smart!!!
I never thought of that!
Good Teaser
Great teaser! It stumped me for a few seconds, but I got it.
To all the people complaining about 'one hundred', you could just say "one, two...ninety-nine, hundred.
To all the people complaining about 'one hundred', you could just say "one, two...ninety-nine, hundred.
I guess the editors are cleaning out their attic again.
for everyone that is saying that twenty-five is not in the dictionary that is because you can't put every number in the world in the dictionary gecause there is no end to all numbers. It amazes me how stupid people can be.
Good teaser...I remember it from grade school. Fun!
Nice one. I may win a drink or two next time I go to the bar.
Glad to have seen the hint-tried to think first & only thought of 'pretzel' after a couple seconds It was much more fun learning what the answer is!
Did not get it until I read the hint, and then the answer was obvious.
Not sure who says "twenty AND one", "twenty AND two" in English, but as I know they say it that way in other languages (In German for example), it may be the ESL members of the site commenting on that.
Not sure who says "twenty AND one", "twenty AND two" in English, but as I know they say it that way in other languages (In German for example), it may be the ESL members of the site commenting on that.
Not too hard with the hint. Without the hint I would have been lost.
They say you never stop learning, and now at my age I have to believe it as I learned something today. I was thinking it was words in the teaser like "First one hundred" which I think might have worked. Or not!!!
Fun teaser! And, I, too, know that the first A in numbers is "thousand". I forgot that! Thanks for posting.
Interesting fact, however technically speaking, you failed to qualify that each word had to be different, so:
do,do,do,do,..x 100 ? It's easily 'Doable' in well under 90 secs.!
do,do,do,do,..x 100 ? It's easily 'Doable' in well under 90 secs.!
Fun, easy and entertaining teaser; I got this very quickly.
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