PRIOR-PRIOR
The homophony game.
A prior-prior is a repeated pair (or more) of words or phrases that sound the same.
For example: MICE EAT MY SEAT or SPITS PITS.
The winner of the game is whoever can think up the most prior-priors in a set time.
Or, it can be played by two teams:
Team Blue gives a prior-prior to a member of Team Red, either by whispering it or writing it down on a slip of paper. He or she rephrases the prior-prior, without using any words in the prior-prior (except the articles “a,” “an,” and “the”, which are allowed). The rest of Team Red try to guess what the prior-prior is.
Then Team Red devises a prior-prior for Team Blue to solve. And so on.
The winning team is the one which has solved the most prior-priors.
For example: Team Blue conveys to a Team Red member the prior-prior: DEPART DEEP ART. He or she rephrases it as: Away, meaningful aesthetic creations! If Team Red can guess the prior-prior it wins a point.
A couple of rules: The prior-prior must work grammatically and syntactically. That is, the phrase must be usable in a sentence, no matter how nonsensical the sentence.
For example, CAUTERIZE CAUGHT HER EYES sounds like a really clever prior-prior, but it cannot be used in a sentence. The verb tenses don’t match. One might say, “When I caught her eyes, I cauterized,” but then the two phrases are not homophones.
Also, the homophonic elements must not be closely related in meaning. LIGHT LIGHT (not a heavy source of illumination) is an acceptable prior-prior; FINGERS FINGERS (manipulates hand appendages) is not acceptable, because the verb “finger” and the noun “finger” are closely related in meaning and etymology.
A prior-prior can be a triple homophone or even a quadruple one. PRIOR PRIOR (previous abbot) can become a triple: PRIOR PRIOR PRIER (one who delves into the affairs of the previous abbot). Here is a quadruple prior-prior: LET HER LET HER LETTER LETTER (allow the person who identifies as female to lease out the alphabetical character associated with the epistles she writes).
Here is a list of clues. See if you can find the prior-prior for each. In the spirit of the game, I have tried to make each clue as easy as possible. I’ve noted the triple homophone. You can find the answers here.
Watercourse odor.
Leave a windproof jacket where you can find it later.
What one of the coven?
Money hideaway.
Shortens the rear appendages of disagreeable mongrels.
Put a stove top in order.
Deceives one’s aunts’ and uncles’ children.
Sixty minutes belonging to us.
Certainly, the subject is girdles.
Makes sure of appointments in the glen.
A relaxed flirt.
A quartet also is allowed not to remember.
What is the reason not a single homeless alcoholic is present?
Thoughtful strainer for ink-filled writing instruments.
Write a computer program for the final bars of a piece of music.
Hypertext connections to a golf course’s wildcat. (3)
Dad imparted the information to the quilted square she uses to take hot cookware out of the oven.
The homophony game.
A prior-prior is a repeated pair (or more) of words or phrases that sound the same.
For example: MICE EAT MY SEAT or SPITS PITS.
The winner of the game is whoever can think up the most prior-priors in a set time.
Or, it can be played by two teams:
Team Blue gives a prior-prior to a member of Team Red, either by whispering it or writing it down on a slip of paper. He or she rephrases the prior-prior, without using any words in the prior-prior (except the articles “a,” “an,” and “the”, which are allowed). The rest of Team Red try to guess what the prior-prior is.
Then Team Red devises a prior-prior for Team Blue to solve. And so on.
The winning team is the one which has solved the most prior-priors.
For example: Team Blue conveys to a Team Red member the prior-prior: DEPART DEEP ART. He or she rephrases it as: Away, meaningful aesthetic creations! If Team Red can guess the prior-prior it wins a point.
A couple of rules: The prior-prior must work grammatically and syntactically. That is, the phrase must be usable in a sentence, no matter how nonsensical the sentence.
For example, CAUTERIZE CAUGHT HER EYES sounds like a really clever prior-prior, but it cannot be used in a sentence. The verb tenses don’t match. One might say, “When I caught her eyes, I cauterized,” but then the two phrases are not homophones.
Also, the homophonic elements must not be closely related in meaning. LIGHT LIGHT (not a heavy source of illumination) is an acceptable prior-prior; FINGERS FINGERS (manipulates hand appendages) is not acceptable, because the verb “finger” and the noun “finger” are closely related in meaning and etymology.
A prior-prior can be a triple homophone or even a quadruple one. PRIOR PRIOR (previous abbot) can become a triple: PRIOR PRIOR PRIER (one who delves into the affairs of the previous abbot). Here is a quadruple prior-prior: LET HER LET HER LETTER LETTER (allow the person who identifies as female to lease out the alphabetical character associated with the epistles she writes).
Here is a list of clues. See if you can find the prior-prior for each. In the spirit of the game, I have tried to make each clue as easy as possible. I’ve noted the triple homophone. You can find the answers here.
Watercourse odor.
Leave a windproof jacket where you can find it later.
What one of the coven?
Money hideaway.
Shortens the rear appendages of disagreeable mongrels.
Put a stove top in order.
Deceives one’s aunts’ and uncles’ children.
Sixty minutes belonging to us.
Certainly, the subject is girdles.
Makes sure of appointments in the glen.
A relaxed flirt.
A quartet also is allowed not to remember.
What is the reason not a single homeless alcoholic is present?
Thoughtful strainer for ink-filled writing instruments.
Write a computer program for the final bars of a piece of music.
Hypertext connections to a golf course’s wildcat. (3)
Dad imparted the information to the quilted square she uses to take hot cookware out of the oven.