pyramid category syntax

[Jeremy Nelson]

question-- in the winners circle.  If your clue has a word that isnt in the dictionary. but doesnt give the essenCe of the Catergory.,  do you get buzzed

Of course you get buzzed. That shouldn't be a question.

THINGS ON A THANKSGIVING TABLE

Turducken.

(BUZZ)

Really? If the turducken was the craze taking over the nation during Thanksgiving '86, the producers would have buzzed the word?

Seriously- I'm only asking because it feels like there are more made-up words now than there were 25 years ago- the dictionary rule may have passed as canon 25 years ago, but I would assume that generally accepted non dictionary terms would be acceptable along with the standard dictionary in a 2011 version of Pyramid.

[PYLdude]

question-- in the winners circle.  If your clue has a word that isnt in the dictionary. but doesnt give the essenCe of the Catergory.,  do you get buzzed

Of course you get buzzed. That shouldn't be a question.

THINGS ON A THANKSGIVING TABLE

Turducken.

(BUZZ)

Really? If the turducken was the craze taking over the nation during Thanksgiving '86, the producers would have buzzed the word?

Seriously- I'm only asking because it feels like there are more made-up words now than there were 25 years ago- the dictionary rule may have passed as canon 25 years ago, but I would assume that generally accepted non dictionary terms would be acceptable along with the standard dictionary in a 2011 version of Pyramid.

You assume a lot of things.

Considering not many, if any, knew what a turducken was (considering it hadn't really existed until around 1986), I don't think you'd use it as a clue anyway.

And I'm willing to bet you could find "turducken" in a dictionary, so your argument's rendered even more senseless and invalid.

[Robert Hutchinson]

Bearing in mind that, as Chris C. would remind us, we're all only guessing at what (if any) guidelines the judge was following, I'm pretty sure the general rule of thumb was "did you just coin a word nobody really uses to try to get around the challenge of giving a good clue?"

So it then becomes the judge's call as to whether you just "made up a word". "Uncopyable" would strike me as acceptable, while something like "unguilty" wouldn't. But they sadly have never asked me to judge Pyramid.

[Jeremy Nelson]

And I'm willing to bet you could find "turducken" in a dictionary, so your argument's rendered even more senseless and invalid.

Not there.

I should have said it differently- what I was trying to say is that if turducken was a widely used term back during Pyramid's run, but not a dictionary term, would it be acceptable or not?

I'm pretty sure the general rule of thumb was "did you just coin a word nobody really uses to try to get around the challenge of giving a good clue?"

I'd hope that this would be the case.

[Otm Shank]

question-- in the winners circle.  If your clue has a word that isnt in the dictionary. but doesnt give the essenCe of the Catergory.,  do you get buzzed

Coined words were judged illegal on Password, but not on Pyramid. In the case above, no derivative of "copy" is synonymous with "protect." If I were judging, I might not accept "uncopyable" in a description for "Things that are original," because the clue giver has made two antonyms synonymous with the addition of "un-", even though it is not truly a word. That, however, I concede would be a borderline call.

[pacdude]

And I'm willing to bet you could find "turducken" in a dictionary, so your argument's rendered even more senseless and invalid.

Not there.

Not only does the New Oxford American Dictionary have the term "turducken" in it, but the origin is the 1980s.

[Otm Shank]

THINGS ON A THANKSGIVING TABLE

Turducken.

(BUZZ)

Really? If the turducken was the craze taking over the nation during Thanksgiving '86, the producers would have buzzed the word?

I seem to remember a time when LeVar Burton gave the clue "smoothie" and Dick Clark was puzzled by what that was. Similarly, I am sure that was not in the judge's dictionary. If I remember correctly, Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary was mentioned as the official source, and that is not updated annually for new vernacular. Again, words from the contestant were not judged for their presence in the dictionary, but only if the clues were synonymous with the subject.

[Bill Neuweiler]

question-- in the winners circle.  If your clue has a word that isnt in the dictionary. but doesnt give the essenCe of the Catergory.,  do you get buzzed

Of course you get buzzed. That shouldn't be a question.

THINGS ON A THANKSGIVING TABLE

Turducken.

(BUZZ)

Really? If the turducken was the craze taking over the nation during Thanksgiving '86, the producers would have buzzed the word?

Seriously- I'm only asking because it feels like there are more made-up words now than there were 25 years ago- the dictionary rule may have passed as canon 25 years ago, but I would assume that generally accepted non dictionary terms would be acceptable along with the standard dictionary in a 2011 version of Pyramid.

You assume a lot of things.

Considering not many, if any, knew what a turducken was (considering it hadn't really existed until around 1986), I don't think you'd use it as a clue anyway.

And I'm willing to bet you could find "turducken" in a dictionary, so your argument's rendered even more senseless and invalid.

Actually his argument is valid, regardless of the year in which the game is being played.  I suggest you reconsider your position as you haven't addressed this poster's point, nor have you accurately addresed the original poster's question. Show me something that proves the clue giver is restricted to dictionary certified words only, and tell me if the same applies to the following instances in Proper Nouns and Slang.

Category: Film Directors
Clue: Francis Ford Coppola

Category:  Kinds of Puzzles
Clue:  The Rubik's Cube

Category:  Fast Food
Clue: Zas

More words get added to the dictionary with each new edition, but if a parcitular word is not listed in the dictionary, it doesn't mean the word does not exist or be used in the vernacular.   'Za' was not a legal scrabble play until two years ago, but pizza makers have been using it for much longer.  So please, bestow upon us your great wisdom on this matter, I promise I won't refer to your response as either 'invalid' or 'senseless'.

[PYLdude]

Actually his argument is valid, regardless of the year in which the game is being played.  I suggest you reconsider your position as you haven't addressed this poster's point, nor have you accurately addresed the original poster's question.

I did address the point and the question. I'm sorry if it didn't pass your "standards".

Show me something that proves the clue giver is restricted to dictionary certified words only

...which I did not say...

and tell me if the same applies to the following instances in Proper Nouns and Slang.

Category: Film Directors
Clue: Francis Ford Coppola

Category:  Kinds of Puzzles
Clue:  The Rubik's Cube

Category:  Fast Food
Clue: Zas

Category: Old Sayings
Clue: Apples and Oranges

More words get added to the dictionary with each new edition, but if a parcitular word is not listed in the dictionary, it doesn't mean the word does not exist or be used in the vernacular.

Okay...and your point is what, exactly?

'Za' was not a legal scrabble play until two years ago, but pizza makers have been using it for much longer.  So please, bestow upon us your great wisdom on this matter, I promise I won't refer to your response as either 'invalid' or 'senseless'.

Rappers have been using "dag", "bling", and various derivatives of a certain racial slur for much longer. What's your point, again?

Hint: here's where you retract what you said, say "I'm sorry", and move on.

[chad1m]

So, Palmer, if your statement of "of course you get buzzed" if you use a  word that is not in the dictionary is not a point derivative of "the  clue giver is restricted to dictionary certified only," then what  exactly is your point? I fail to see one underneath the babble and snark.

And because I've still got the bible, this is what Million Dollar Password says in the case of "non-real" words. I think it's logical:

Word Acceptability
2.  Commonly known words that do not appear in either of the dictionaries of record are acceptable if they are not illegal for any other reason.  For example, a commonly known word such as “bootylicious” is acceptable.  Other examples include, but are not limited to, titles of books, movies, etc.  However, players may not create a nonexistent word (for example, "smelephone" to clue "telephone").

[PYLdude]

So, Palmer, if your statement of "of course you get buzzed" if you use a  word that is not in the dictionary is not a point derivitive of "the  clue giver is restricted to dictionary certified only," then what  exactly is your point? I fail to see one underneath the babble and snark.

If you could've been bothered to read my point- no surprise you weren't- AGAIN, I did not say every non dictionary word gets buzzed. And why? Because there are certain exceptions to the rule. HOWEVER, those exceptions are limited and in most cases, the obvious answer is that you get buzzed.

Are we done now?

[Otm Shank]

So, Palmer, if your statement of "of course you get buzzed" if you use a  word that is not in the dictionary is not a point derivitive of "the  clue giver is restricted to dictionary certified only," then what  exactly is your point? I fail to see one underneath the babble and snark.

If you could've been bothered to read my point- no surprise you weren't- AGAIN, I did not say every non dictionary word gets buzzed. And why? Because there are certain exceptions to the rule. HOWEVER, those exceptions are limited and in most cases, the obvious answer is that you get buzzed.

Are we done now?

Can someone tell me how this applies to Pyramid? Did I miss a post where we switched programs? I know Chad jumped in with some perspective from when he was on Password regarding non-dictionary clues, but Pyramid only buzzed on synonyms in the Winner's Circle (as far as when the dictionary became involved).

[clemon79]

If you could've been bothered to read my point- no surprise you weren't- AGAIN,

Yeah, I can't imagine why he wouldn't, either.

Are we done now?

Christ, I wish.

[Don Howard]

Are we done now?

Christ, I wish.

In Lemon Veritas. aka ILV

[Jeremy Nelson]

Actually his argument is valid, regardless of the year in which the game is being played.  I suggest you reconsider your position as you haven't addressed this poster's point, nor have you accurately addresed the original poster's question.

I did address the point and the question. I'm sorry if it didn't pass your "standards".

Actually, you never did say whether or not Turducken was a legal play, which, was in fact, my question.

Show me something that proves the clue giver is restricted to dictionary certified words only

...which I did not say...

But....

question-- in the winners circle. If your clue has a word that isnt in the dictionary. but doesnt give the essenCe of the Catergory., do you get buzzed

Of course you get buzzed. That shouldn't be a question.

Your answer basically says that the clue giver is restricted to the dictionary. So yeah, you did say that.