Brain Teasers
Technobabble I
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The following are colloquialisms/idioms written in their literal form. Try to find all four.
Example: A Panthera Pardus is incapable of altering its texture. (A leopard can't change its spots)
1. Revert to the first quadrilateral of equal sides and angles.
2. One suffering from Macular Degeneration guiding one with less than 1/10 of normal vision.
3. Restrain your multiple Equus caballus.
4. The writing utensil containing small amounts of ink is more puissant than the iron hand-held weapon.
Example: A Panthera Pardus is incapable of altering its texture. (A leopard can't change its spots)
1. Revert to the first quadrilateral of equal sides and angles.
2. One suffering from Macular Degeneration guiding one with less than 1/10 of normal vision.
3. Restrain your multiple Equus caballus.
4. The writing utensil containing small amounts of ink is more puissant than the iron hand-held weapon.
Answer
1. Back to Square One--A term meaning to go back to the beginning, or the original idea.2. Blind leading the blind--Term which means the person in charge knows no more than the person or people he is leading.
3. Hold your Horses--Meaning be patient and to wait.
4. The pen is mightier than the sword--A phrase that means you can get more accomplished by solving your problems in a calm way, than resorting to violence.
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Comments
Lots of fun, not difficult. These teasers are great, bring 'em on!
Easy, but fun!
Awesome! I got them all
Easy and entertaining
Nice one! A great way to start the day! I actually know people who speak like that, so I got them!!!
I'm so smart.. I couldn't get any of 'em, except #4. That's odd.. (not really...) Anyway, make more! That was fun! Thinking.. that...#1 was a triangle... for pool... gah...
that was hard! at least i think it was! it was fun though you should make more!
great teaser! easy and fun!
That was great. Thanks!!
Jun 14, 2005
Those were really good !!!! Thanks
I would of liked a few hard ones in there, but they were fun all in all
i missed the 2nd one but after i saw the answer it made sense and i thought the 4th was too easy as soon as i saw writing utensil i knew the answer..overall a good teaser
call me stupid, but tha only one i got was tha horse one..
Easy, but fun and the simple maxims were beautifully rewritten by you! More, please and Thanks!
i didn't get #3, but after reading the answer equ-whatever was blatantly horses. *slaps head*
Hard one, but good!
apex of the pile!
too simple. btw, my answer to yesterdays "sinking row boat"...FIX THE LEAK!!!
simple but fun!
Great teaser!!!! That was alot of fun and there should be more like it! Thanks!!!!
I guess I need to brush up on my language skills a little bit. I got 1 and 4, and I kinda got 2, but not quite. I was thinking something along the lines of "hindsight is 20/20." I was off, but it was a good teaser, I liked it a lot. You should really do some more.
That was great! I got stuck on #3. Over all very cute
not really challenging enough to be fun, but a good idea. More latin might have made it more difficult.
I thought I'd get them all but I missed one. Dang. Guess you shouldn't "ennumerate one's incipient chickens prior to their self-liberation by pecking with their beaks from the inside"
I got all of them but hold your horses...Those were fun!
these r really fun teasers it was a good way 4 me to test the stupid names i no 4 stuff great teezer
I got them all but #1, but I was on the right track thinking "back to the drawing board".
This was a fun one, and like everyone else, I say MORE PLEASE!
This was a fun one, and like everyone else, I say MORE PLEASE!
It's hard enough to stump the world genuis!
Very clever, intelligent and FUN! I thought they were pretty easy and got cocky and snap guessed that #3 was "hold your tongue" Got the rest.
More of these please
More of these please
This was a great teaser!! I even knew some of them!!
wow im not good at thoughs at all.lol. oh well its the summer. if i new thoughs thing s i might have ben better at them.
I got all 4,but not because they were easy. Well done,good job,do more.
ya im kinda stupid so... these are really cool the make me want to learn more so im not so clueless then they get me sad cause im not as smart as all of you guys BUT PLEASE MAKE MORE..I LIKE TO LEARN AND LAUGH AT MYSELF
Very well done, I would like to see more.
I have made more! http://www.braingle.com/brainteasers/teaser.php?id=23058 and http://www.braingle.com/brainteasers/teaser.php?id=23527
By the way, does HTML work on these comments?
By the way, does HTML work on these comments?
Cute and fun, got all but #4 (don't know the expression). I got "a pen is more powerful than....?" Anyway, thanks for that!
I got the one...Very funny!
Enjoyable exercise.
Got 'em all. But technically, they're not colloquialisms or idioms, they're aphorisms -- classic sayings. But no quibbling, they were enjoyable. Thanks.
nys... very clever... i only got, lyk, haf of m cuz it's l8 n i want 2 sleep... well, th@'s my xcuse... haha... good job!
Much too easy -- even I got them all!
i didnt get the blind one... but it was really fun!!!
way to tired to think about one like that! gnite y'all
Fun stuff!! Thanks ---
it was half hard fo0r the first three
but he 4th one was easy that is an old one.
but he 4th one was easy that is an old one.
Easy, but fun. I think cplusplusman must be an attorney!
Well written, thanks.
Well written, thanks.
hehe, i finally got all of them, which i never do, well, i partly got the first one, and i didn't get the one about the horses... i just really stink at figurin things out.
I liked this one, fun teaser.Made ya think, but not too hard.
Easy and fun... maybedo the same with proverbs from other countries... they would not be so familiar, but still possible to figure out
Very good, although I really blew it on the horse thing
I liked that one - the horse one completely threw me!!!
Good one- i got 3 out of 4. Missed the horse one
Very nice! Fun! Keep up the good work!
WoW!!!! That was awesome pal.
I knew equus referred to horse, the rest I figured out. Good teaser.
Does anyone know from where the first expression, 'square one' originated?
Does anyone know from where the first expression, 'square one' originated?
Got them all instantly but still great fun. I must admit I would not have known that term for horses had I not come across it elsewhere this very day. Nice job!
Missed the back to square one - guess geometry wasn't my best suit. I was thinking along the line of the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, so I was at least in the right area, do I get half sorce for that? This was a great teaser Enjoyed it very much. More please?
I loved those. I got all of them and wish there were more. Good job!
thanks for a great puzzle. more medical terms!
Lots of fun, but easy.
I love this. It was a great way to start the day. Please add more like this
Great morning and great puzzle Eazy, but since I got all of them I am pleased. They were well thought out . and fun too solve. I looked up words I didn' understand instead of just giving in.
Gets you to use that thinking machine of yours..very entertaining Way to go!
Simple, but cute.
Good job, nice writing on these.
LTSA FUN!!!
why not write in plain english ? wouldn't be any more obvious.
^whuh?
I got em all, I got em all, lalala, la lala la la, ha haha ha haaa haaaa!!!!! obviously this doesn't happen every day!
This was good, very fun, there coulda been more, twice as many and it would not be boring. I didn't exactly agree with your def. of "pen mightier than...". I always thought it to mean: you can reach more people, and be more influential, by communication of ideas, especially writing in books, newspapers, etc., than by trying to overpower people with brute force and strength. Not that yours is wrong, just seemed like it was missing part of it. (OK, yes, I am a big smarty pants and I always think I know everything!) Good job, thanks!
btw, I always thought "Back to square one." means either back to the bottom left-most square on a graph, the lower left corner, or back to the first square on a crossword puzzle, but it could be something else entirely!
I got em all, I got em all, lalala, la lala la la, ha haha ha haaa haaaa!!!!! obviously this doesn't happen every day!
This was good, very fun, there coulda been more, twice as many and it would not be boring. I didn't exactly agree with your def. of "pen mightier than...". I always thought it to mean: you can reach more people, and be more influential, by communication of ideas, especially writing in books, newspapers, etc., than by trying to overpower people with brute force and strength. Not that yours is wrong, just seemed like it was missing part of it. (OK, yes, I am a big smarty pants and I always think I know everything!) Good job, thanks!
btw, I always thought "Back to square one." means either back to the bottom left-most square on a graph, the lower left corner, or back to the first square on a crossword puzzle, but it could be something else entirely!
I only just joined a few days ago and this is my first comment, but I just had to. This one was great fun. I'd love more with medical terms in them, as that is my specialty. I'm going to check out the link to the others that you put up as well. This is my kinda puzzle. Thanks, and keep 'em comin'!
Very nice! Can't wait to read the rest!
Very nice! Can't wait to read the rest!
Very good teaser!!
And (to rhmaustin - several lines above);
Although most of these could be classified as aphorisms ("old sayings"), they are also distinctly idiomatic; the meaning cannot necessarily be discerned just from a literal and direct translation. Do a quick run through most any list of idioms on the web and you'll find them listed as such. The writer was correct, therefore, in the designation. They could also be considered "colloquial" in that they are still used by certain sub-groups of a language-family, but not necessarily by all.
Well done!! Hope to see more.
And (to rhmaustin - several lines above);
Although most of these could be classified as aphorisms ("old sayings"), they are also distinctly idiomatic; the meaning cannot necessarily be discerned just from a literal and direct translation. Do a quick run through most any list of idioms on the web and you'll find them listed as such. The writer was correct, therefore, in the designation. They could also be considered "colloquial" in that they are still used by certain sub-groups of a language-family, but not necessarily by all.
Well done!! Hope to see more.
Those were a lot of fun. I would like to see more of this kind available. Keep it up!
For this kind, I like lookin at the answers and comparing them. I don't enjoy this kind that much though Good job anyway
Got two right That was fun
Jun 15, 2006
The pen is mightier than the sword does not mean to solve your problems calmly, it means: Words can affect people more broadly than an act of violence....
Great teaser! I struggled with #1, got the next 3 quickly which helped me then get #1. Bring on some more..
really enjoyed this teaser i got 2 and 4 right, maybe that means i still have one or two brain cells left.
more please,
more please,
ok
didn't get it.
I found these to be rather easy, surprisingly. On first glance you might suspect they'd be difficult. The 3rd one took some time and I only got it by assuming Equus was related to Equestrian or Horses. The rest came naturally.
I sure enjoyed this. Thanks so much for the time you spent to entertain us!
I sure enjoyed this. Thanks so much for the time you spent to entertain us!
Easy but great fun! Adamron is right about the meaning of #4; a seeming paradox that yields to sound reasoning. Let's have more of these.
Cute teaser. I'm not sure I agreed completely with some of the definitions, however.
I had a good time with this one. Thumbs up for your entry.
A leopards spots are as smooth as the rest of its fur, therefore it has
no "texture". The word you should
have used is pattern.
The more common way of interpreting "the pen is mightier
than the sword" is that sometimes
words cut deeper and inflict more
pain than a sharp weapon, or that
sometimes wars ( like the Cold
War ) can be won with treaties or
threats instead of bombs.
no "texture". The word you should
have used is pattern.
The more common way of interpreting "the pen is mightier
than the sword" is that sometimes
words cut deeper and inflict more
pain than a sharp weapon, or that
sometimes wars ( like the Cold
War ) can be won with treaties or
threats instead of bombs.
Excellent teaser! Got all except #3. Keep them coming.
excellent
i started laughing when i read the example
i started laughing when i read the example
I got all four VERY easily, but enjoyed it for the moment it took to do.
"Blind leading the blind?" Never heard of that one.
Good and pretty easy. I thought the first one was "back to the drawing board"
fun teaser pretty easy but real fun
I really enjoyed this one. I got them easily, but it was fun.
Nice 1!!!
The one about "equus caballus" refers to only one horse, since equus is nominative singular in Latin for "horse". The phrase should refer to "equos caballos", which is accusative plural -- "hold your horses". But this is just a small quibble. I enjoyed this teaser the second time around as much as the first. Thanks.
Yay! I Figured all of them out! (even though I had to look up a few words)
Oldie but still a goodie.
I love this as entertaining "tasks"!!! Great stuff!
Common sensei said:"The more common way of interpreting "the pen is mightier
than the sword" is that sometimes
words cut deeper and inflict more
pain than a sharp weapon, or that
sometimes wars ( like the Cold
War ) can be won with treaties or
threats instead of bombs. "
THE ORIGINAL MEANING IS OLD AND MEANS THAT YOU CAN OBTAIN MORE ABSTRACT POWER BY THE WRITTEN WORD THATN THE SWORD THROUGH AFFECTING GENERATIONS
Common sensei said:"The more common way of interpreting "the pen is mightier
than the sword" is that sometimes
words cut deeper and inflict more
pain than a sharp weapon, or that
sometimes wars ( like the Cold
War ) can be won with treaties or
threats instead of bombs. "
THE ORIGINAL MEANING IS OLD AND MEANS THAT YOU CAN OBTAIN MORE ABSTRACT POWER BY THE WRITTEN WORD THATN THE SWORD THROUGH AFFECTING GENERATIONS
Nice one! Got them all but # 1
Enjoyable to solve and good brain exercise
Enjoyable to solve and good brain exercise
This is an interesting teaser. I've never heard of the second one. Also, I only got the horses one after searching for that Latin name.
Wonderful way to start the day for me! I had just enough pondering before getting ready for work! Thank you!!!
You must be a political speech writer.
I need to brush up on my S.A.T practice vocab. words
Easy ic you are familar with the original sayings.
Lots of fun.
Lots of fun.
easy, but very nicely done!
Pretty easy - had to think a little to solve them, but not TOO much! Fun Teaser!!
These were fun! I really enjoyed figuring them out. As many people have said, more please! Will check out your other ones you posted above.
Easy teasy. Somewhat fun. A little clunky, in my opinion. Still, I enjoyed them.
Fun and entertaining teaser; the first one was a bit challenging and took a little while to get but the others I got right away.
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