Password Rules

[chris319]

A member recently emailed me with a question about the rules of Password. I do not have the bible for the original Password and I feel the Password Plus bible lacks precision; therefore, I am posting my own version of the rules of classic Password.

An acceptable clue:

a) Is a single, non-hyphenated word (other than the password itself) which is found in the English language.

b) Does not involve the use of gestures or other body language which conveys the password.

c) Does not involve the use of gestures or other body language which gives additional meaning to a clue, such as "sounds like" or "three syllables", etc.

d) Is not a form of the password. An example of a form of the password is "explosive" or "exploding" for "explode". Clues which are contained within the password but which have a different meaning from the password are acceptable, e.g. "pen" for "pencil", "bag" for "bagel" or "win" for "window".

e) May be emphasized with the use of vocal inflection, gestures or other body language which does not convey the password.

Under these rules it would not be acceptable to use a non-English translation of the password as a clue, such as "adios" for "goodbye", despite what Bobby Sherman may have allowed in the past.

[NickintheATL]

Thanks. You know, it's hard in this day and age for a person to ask a question without being ridiculed three ways of Sunday.

If we don't ask questions, how will we ever learn?

[mbclev]

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 6 2005, 10:10 PM\']Under these rules it would not be acceptable to use a non-English translation of the password as a clue, such as "adios" for "goodbye", despite what Bobby Sherman may have allowed in the past.

[snapback]90947[/snapback]

[/quote]

On a 1964 episode shown on GSN, Allen Ludden essentially said it was okay to use "adios" for "farewell" after Carol Burnett said "au revoir" and the contestant got the word from that illegal clue, after which Carol suggested the use of "adios".

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'mbclev\' date=\'Jul 6 2005, 11:55 PM\']On a 1964 episode shown on GSN, Allen Ludden essentially said it was okay to use "adios" for "farewell" after Carol Burnett said "au revoir" and the contestant got the word from that illegal clue, after which Carol suggested the use of "adios".
[/quote]
Let's repeat what Chris said, shall we?
[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 6 2005, 08:10 PM\']therefore, I am posting my own version of the rules of classic Password.
[/quote]
Right before that, to make sure that nobody thought he was taking this verbatim from the show bibles, he said:
[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 6 2005, 08:10 PM\']I do not have the bible for the original Password and I feel the Password Plus bible lacks precision
[/quote]
Finally, just in case someone STILL thought this was official canon, after not one but TWO statements to the contrary, he said:
[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 6 2005, 08:10 PM\']despite what Bobby Sherman may have allowed in the past.
[/quote]
And yet you STILL cite this bit from the show.

[chris319]

Allowing non-English equivalents of the password as clues is dumb, IMO. Bobby Sherman's rules specifically state that clues must be in common use in the English language. You can modify the rules however you want and play it that way if you must.

[whewfan]

I always thought it was odd on one ep. of classic Password, the Password was "kiss", and Betty White giving the sound "mwaaah" was accepted. (Maybe because they bend the rules slightly for the host's wife. It was also Dinah Shore's trademark to say that sound while blowing the audience a kiss.)

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'whewfan\' date=\'Jul 7 2005, 02:35 AM\']I always thought it was odd on one ep. of classic Password, the Password was "kiss", and Betty White giving the sound "mwaaah" was accepted.
[/quote]
In many cases onomatopoeia is legal, so long as said onomatopoeia shows up in the dictionary. Surprisingly, "mwah" is listed in Webster's New Millenium.

[mystery7]

[quote name=\'chris319\' date=\'Jul 7 2005, 04:26 AM\']Allowing non-English equivalents of the password as clues is dumb, IMO. Bobby Sherman's rules specifically state that clues must be in common use in the English language. You can modify the rules however you want and play it that way if you must.

[snapback]90954[/snapback]

[/quote]
So that's three strikes for "adios". It's dumb, it's not English, and technically it's a form of the password. Carol Burnett's "au revoir" was all that, plus it was two words.

[Jimmy Owen]

There are quite a few words derived from different languages that are in common use in the English language.  I would venture to say that most every English speaker knows that "Adios" means "Go with God"  "Aloha" means "hello" or "goodbye" and "chutzpah" means what it means.  Is "Marijuana" an English or Spanish word?  And would Tony Randall get upset about it's usage?

[Kevin Prather]

Here's what I've wondered...If the word is "Echo," can you give the clue "Voice...voice...voice...voice..."? I figure it'd be just as legal as "Car-r-r-r-r-r" for "Jalopy."

[clemon79]

[quote name=\'Jimmy Owen\' date=\'Jul 7 2005, 11:16 AM\']There are quite a few words derived from different languages that are in common use in the English language.
[/quote]
Using a derived word is one thing, using an outright foreign word is quite another. "Chutzpah" would prolly float since it's essentially been accepted into English as a word unto itself, but "Adios" is still a foreign word, and used as a foreign word.

[Steve McClellan]

[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jul 7 2005, 11:21 AM\']Here's what I've wondered...If the word is "Echo," can you give the clue "Voice...voice...voice...voice..."? I figure it'd be just as legal as "Car-r-r-r-r-r" for "Jalopy."[/quote]
ISTR a P+ where "echo" came up, and a celeb was zapped for "Hello...hello". 'Twould seem there's a difference between repeating a clue for effect and using a second saying of the word to add more information. In any case, "Car-r-r-r-r-r" is still one saying of one word, hence legal.

[uncamark]

From m-w.com (Merriam-Webster's web site--"it's where the words live"):

adiˇos
Pronunciation: "ä-dE-'Os, "a-
Function: interjection
Etymology: Spanish adiós, from a (from Latin ad) + Dios God, from Latin Deus
-- used to express farewell

This would seem to indicate that "adios" is now considered a common English word.  The same definition appears in the 1980 edition of Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary on my desk without indicating that's a foreign word, so Merriam-Webster seems to have held this for at least 25 years, if not longer.

[chris319]

"adios" is now considered a common English word

It matters not. If you say "rouge" for "red", you've said the password but in a different language. Now Password becomes a game of foreign language translation.

This can be debated back and forth ad nauseam. Forget about Bobby Sherman's rules; should a player be allowed to give a direct translation as a clue?

[SRIV94]

[quote name=\'whoserman\' date=\'Jul 7 2005, 01:21 PM\']Here's what I've wondered...If the word is "Echo," can you give the clue "Voice...voice...voice...voice..."? I figure it'd be just as legal as "Car-r-r-r-r-r" for "Jalopy."

[snapback]90973[/snapback]

[/quote]
Doubtful you can do that, since that would be four words.  You *might* get away with "voiceoiceoiceoice" if you're good enough (Robert Klein prolly could get away with it, anyway).

Doug -- celebrating 1300 posts (and inching ever so close to Chris Lemon's count   )