i am what i am

[titaniferous]

If allowed to get more specific
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Bichon Frise

Sharpei
Briard
Maltese
(St.) Bernard

[Sequin]

(St.) Bernard

Your last one doesn't work in the UK - here it is pronounced Burr nud not Burr nard

[grodney]

Shall I open with:

Bison
Giraffe
Monkey
Orang
Tiger

How do you pronounce Bison, Monkey, and Tiger?

[skullturfq]

I can't believe it took me quite so long to figure out the title of this thread.

It's funny what the human mind can miss when focused on the writing, not the sounds.

[Sequin]

Shall I open with:

Bison
Giraffe
Monkey
Orang
Tiger

How do you pronounce Bison, Monkey, and Tiger?

Incorrectly I guess

[ArtVark]

Shall I open with:

Bison
Giraffe
Monkey
Orang
Tiger

How do you pronounce Bison, Monkey, and Tiger?

Incorrectly I guess

Just like I pronounce Rossum.

(I actually was totally off-track with my first guess and went fishing for an answer).

[ArtVark]

Gaboon Viper -- at least the first half.

[Whatsahoe]

At some point folks will come in and divulge the answer for those of us that haven't gotten it yet...

[skullturfq]

TheConfessor stated the answer in white text on page 1 of the thread.

Or should I say, "Confessor wrote the answer down in white."

[Bill]

At some point folks will come in and divulge the answer for those of us that haven't gotten it yet...

A more detailed answer follows in white text.


An iamb is a concept used in poetry. It is two syllables long, with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed. Shakespeare wrote most of his verse using iambs.

A word can be an iamb in itself, like "balloon" or "indeed." To hear the difference, think of two ways to pronounce the word "refuse." If you're talking about garbage, it's not an iamb. If you're talking about turning down an offer, it's an iamb.

All of the people on the list have a last name that is an iamb. The "b" in "iamb" is silent, so the thread title is a hint as well.

[A Wray]

While pondering this puzzle, I realized something else Johnny Spillane and Bill Demong have in common.

Presidents who also meet this criterion:
Andrew Jackson
Andrew Johnson
Ulysses S. Grant
Grover Cleveland
Lyndon Johnson

NBA MVPs who qualify:
Wilt Chamberlain
Moses Malone
Magic Johnson
David Robinson
Karl Malone
Allen Iverson

Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks who qualify:
Ken Stabler
Jim Plunkett
Steve Young
Brad Johnson

Super Bowl-winning coaches who qualify:
Bill Parcells
Jimmy Johnson
Bill Belichick
Tom Coughlin

[skullturfq]

Question 1: Does everyone named Johnson qualify?

[A Wray]

Yes.

[porpoise spit]

Macaque also works for the animal question.

[titaniferous]

@Bill: Did we get all six or seven animals you originally intended or are there some remaining? I found two Colbert-esque fish that can apparently go either way:
.
.
.
.
.
Moray
Wahoo

[Whatsahoe]

I don't know the exact % of the population that shares this feature. I would guess it is fairly small in the U.S.

Well if everyone named "Johnson" is included, I would say it's a heck of a lot!

[grodney]

I don't know the exact % of the population that shares this feature. I would guess it is fairly small in the U.S.

Well if everyone named "Johnson" is included, I would say it's a heck of a lot!

Two different puzzles. Johnson doesn't qualify for the first puzzle -- only the 2nd.

[skullturfq]

Is the answer for the second puzzle, by any chance:

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they all have a five-letter word in their last name? (spill, demon, johns,...)

[Bill]

@Bill: Did we get all six or seven animals you originally intended or are there some remaining?

You got almost all of them. I try to stick with "common everyday names of animals" but I appreciated some of the more obscure offerings. Also, I usually draw the line at a species, so the different breeds of dogs are out. Even "dog" isn't a species, but a subspecies of wolf. The reason there is so much diversity among dogs is because humans have domesticated and bred them.

My animals follow:

Giraffe
Macaw
Gazelle
Raccoon
Baboon

And depending on how you want to pronounce it...

Gnu

...though a little research shows I may be wrong about that one.

I did this activity for years with the same animals, but one year, one of my students came up with one I had not thought of before. I would have categorized this word as "food" but of course it would have been an animal first. It is a common everyday word, and it describes a number of closely related species.

Any ideas?

[TheConfessor]

I would have categorized this word as "food" but of course it would have been an animal first. It is a common everyday word, and it describes a number of closely related species.

Any ideas?

It must be a buffet. Probably the Golden Corral.

[Michelle]

Hey, my first name qualifies for the first puzzle! (Which pisses me off, since I spent a long time trying to figure out the answer, to no avail.) I'm sure most first and last French names qualify, actually.

[skullturfq]

Now I'm getting distracted, thinking about various foods that qualify, like souffle and raclette.

[A Wray]

skullturfq is correct.

[ArtVark]

I would have categorized this word as "food" but of course it would have been an animal first. It is a common everyday word, and it describes a number of closely related species.

Any ideas?

It must be a buffet. Probably the Golden Corral.

Panang. At least the way that Thai food is pronounced in Southern California.

[grodney]

I did this activity for years with the same animals, but one year, one of my students came up with one I had not thought of before. I would have categorized this word as "food" but of course it would have been an animal first. It is a common everyday word, and it describes a number of closely related species.

Any ideas?

Guess:
Fillet?

Or, for double points:
Filet-O-Fish
Filet Mignon



By the way:
The State Worm of North Carolina is the Holland Grubworm.

The Holland Grubworm is the North Carolina State Worm.