156

VOWEL STRUCTURE

DANA RICHARDS Charlottesvi lIe, Virginia

The vowel structure of a word is defined as its sequence of vow­els, such as OIOU in obvious and conscious, or AE in pattern and amend. The only previous Word Ways studies of vowel structure focused upon finding as many of the 120 permutations of AEIOU as possible (see "Unsociable Housemaid Discourages Facetious Be­haviour" in November 1968, and "An AEIOU Examination" in May 1979). In contrast, this article tackles the problems of (l) finding examp les of a 11 216 types of vowel structure for words having three vowels among AEIOUY, and (2) finding examples of all 625 types of vowel structure for words having four vowels among AE IOU. (One ideally should look for all 1296 types with Y included as a vowel, but there are many holes in such a list even when Webster's Sec­ond and Webster's Third are both used.) As a lagna ippe, I a Iso incl ude lists of the 6 types of one-vowel and 36 two-vowel words, supplied measured

by by

the editor; Kucera and

here, the Francis's

commonest word of each mill ion-word corpus) is

type (as given.

and the in of but by

data are said also caught may

each were their second result they

final time within into input city

program one nothing too would only

human under during upon upturn study

yards yet trying York syrup shyly

1t would Francis for

be the

an exceedingly tedious job to commonest words of each type

search Kof vowel

ucera and structure

in the 216-word and 625-word lists. To be enjoyed, long word lists should strive to include relatively common but "interesting" words. The concept of interestingness is hard to define. 1 claim words are less interesting if they contain a common prefix or suffix. In the April 1983 issue of The Enigma (of the National Puzzlers I

League), Alan Frank suggested that an interesting word is one which is unique in its class, such as ucalegon or naumkeag, in­stead of one which has many members in its class, such as the name of a New Zealand tree or a genus of spiders. The reader must be the judge of the success with which I have reached my goa 1. For certain vowel structures such as YYU, IUUU, or UUUU, only one Websterian example could be found. Note that no Webster­ian examples were located for EUUU, ruuo, UUAU or UUUO.

almanac abase again matador abacus away agenda adhere majestic cameo careful alley admiral abide alibi airport stadium airy aroma above avoid aloof aloud ahoy annual accuse acquit author autumn gaUdy kayak aye anything crayon asylum grayly deadpan beaten derail beacon beau beady cheetah beetle benefit develop cheerful beefy chemical bedtime deficit editor premium deify

~nce of vow-pattern and

21 structure IS of AEIOU lcetious Be-on" in May

(1) finding aving three 1 625 types .EIOU. (One as a vowel, bster's Sec­.ppe, 1 also 'owel words, .ch type (as is given.

yards yet trying York syrup shyly

Kucera and el structure 5 word lists ing" words. daim words

or suffix. il Puzzlers' 'ord is one lmkeag, in-ouch as the The reader reached my

or UUUU, no Webster-

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'1 accuse acquit author autumn

I gaudy kayak aye anything crayon

II asylum grayly deadpan beaten derail beacon beau beady cheetah

J beetle .~ benefit

develop . cheerful beefy chemical bedtime deficit editor premium deify

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157

coastal coarse contain potato soapsud botany coleslaw coerce forfeit concerto powerful donkey cordial boiler optimism domino omnibus codify cocoa booze hoodwink boxwood coconut bloody communal blouse outfit bourbon doughnut bounty loyal foyer boyish pollywog joyful coyly substandard butane curtain bungalow quantum gunplay lukewarm murderer duelist dungeon museum chutney burial bruise uprising curio fruitful guilty

quota gumshoe humorist buffoon furlough buoy cultural brusque pursuit unbutton cumulus luxury pussycat buyer undying busywork subphylum unshyly yardarm gyrate dynamic dynamo syllabus byway hyena flywheel hysteric yellow lyceum mystery cynical yield lyricist lyrichord yttrium typify yoga cyclone psychotic plywood you synonym yucca yule dysuric yupon yuzluk syrupy symphylan syntype pygmyism gypsydom Symphytum syzygy

alligator carburetor deception sensomotor disaccustom violator capitatum chauffeur emeritus enormous midautumn ignoramus romancefu1

158

maharajah maidservant avalanche ambience pangrammatist taxidermist aggravator latticework asparagus adieu azalea familial manatee facsimile parametric pacificism pantaleon ambition amateur amphibium barbarian gladio1a handmaiden adipose parasitic palindromic lactation stainproof palladium gracious canalboat habitual catastrophe fatigue paranoid manicurist kangaroo agricultor hazardous articulus barracuda panorama marauder accolade ragamuffin acrobatic marabuto avocado abaculus astronaut malfeasant amoeba acetate apogee algebraic pathogenic malefactor napoleon tableaux arboretum transcendental abdominal agreement favorite strategetic calorific chameleon palomino challengeful harmonium anemia bazooka aerie caboose manner istic apostolic arpeggiO arrowroot magnesium amorous pasteboard carousal anemone arouse trapezoid carousing aerosol abcoulomb gaseous carborundum asexual ambulacral barbecue amputate grapefruit acquaint parvenudom adulator wander1ustfu1 auslaut maniacal nausea machinate marquee airmail lacquering

saturnian jaundice languishing audio nasturtium aurora accustomed adultoid sauropod fatuous avuncular fraudulent augurship manuductor saururus extravagant cleavage seamanship separator metacarpus headgear escapee metathesis eavesdrop peaceful mechanical easier realistic behavior geranium steamboat reasoned seasoning deadwood breakout vernacular creature thesauri reaccustom thesaurus rehearsal repeated sleepwalking elevator keelhaul beefsteak referee edelweiss needlework cerebellum electrical beehive geneticism

teetotal envelope electronic tenderfoot tremendous effectual revenue persecuting hereunto selensu1phur leviathan dedicate enigmatic mediator designatum epidermal besiege epidemic preinspector messieurs empirical definite penicillin petition delphinium regional episode semisolid heirloom devious centrifugal epicure relinquish restitutor residuum melodrama desolate debonair detonator esophagus phenomena devotee theoretics phenomenon remorseful begonia responsive neolithic devotion sensorium mesozoan decompose geologist

espousal exposure devouring reconstructor reoutput perquadrat debutante equaling regulator decumanus bequeath resurgence euphemism resurrector rebukeful enthusiasm destructive heuristic delusion tellurium neuropath neuroses neurosis pseudopod credulous precultural crepuscule repursuit **euuu** pedunculus intratarsal imbalance disparaging thingamabob timarau dialectal fiancee philatelism intradermo distasteful financial disclaimer inartistic dilation disdainful disapproval vibraphone misanthropic picaroon bigamous triangular immature highfa1uting

hierarchal disease chieftain triceratops literatus gingerbread difference dietetic piecework disrespectful criteria likewise scientific discretion millennium sideboard mistletoe viewpoint fireproof righteous irregular infrequent sinecurism ichneumon lienculus millifarad brilliance titillating vindicator imprimatur disinfectant insistence infidelism vivisector milieu militia incisive nihilistic inscription iridium fictional pinioned idiotic millionfold impious bilingual critique intriguing distributor principulus diorama biographer diplomatic

pistonhead diocese tiptoeing rhinoceros linoleum historical idolize violinist incognito scriptorium isoglossal microphone microscopic nincompoop riotous bivouac misfortune viscountship withoutforth microfungus iguana circulate stimulating simulator simulacrum misunderstand misjudgement diuresis innuendo liqueur minutia disguise linguistic illusion diluvium circumpolar misquote sinusoid virtuoso virtuous bimuscular minuscule disulfuric **iuuo** Diduncu1us propaganda propagate coattail proc1amator nonassault collateral coalesce nonpareil octahedron

159

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disease ~ I

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historical idolize

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businessman subsistence

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subdirector guileful judicial

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goddaughter bookmarker somnambulism monorail

squanderer mutagenic

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discretion nincompoop coauthor convocator quaestor tuition sulphurproof millennium riotous botaurus footfault ungrateful umbilicus scrupulous sideboard bivouac northeastward proofread substantial functional unusual

mistletoe misfortune operate condolence lucrative cushioned subculture viewpoint fireproof righteous irregular infrequent sinecurism

viscountship withoutforth microfungus iguana circulate stimulating

dovetail moderator overhaul homestead conferee sovereign

monotheism hoosegow colosseum colonial bookie compromising

pluralistic duration unfaithful ultraformal juxtapose ultrasonic

quixotic multicolor furious curricular furniture substituting

unpursuing **uuuo** curucucu

ichneumon simulator cholesterol compositor guardroom unillusory

lienculus simulacrum coffeebush doohickus turnaround curriculum

millifarad misunderstand poetical footboard unfactual subcoastal

brilliance misjudgement obedient bookstore subclause quotable

titillating vindicator

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chronologie footstool

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cookout monocular

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illusion diluvium

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unreason bureau

unforetold purposeful

militia circumpolar molecular conjugata thunderhead utopia incisive misquote conjecture computable puppeteer quotient nihilistic sinusoid overruling mountain squeezing unforgiving inscription iridium

virtuoso virtuous

overtutor overtrustful

formulator postulatum

superhero suspenseful

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fictional bimuscular oligarchal boulevard numerical unconsonant pinioned idiotic

minuscule disulfuric

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biographer diplomatic violator

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fluctuate undulating subsquadron

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