What 3 words in English end with gry?

There is no other common word ending in "-gry", so how did the riddle come about? It first appeared in print in 1975 [unverified]. Perhaps the answer to the original version of the riddle was "meagry" or "aggry" (as in "aggry bead"). There are over 100 obsolete words that end in "-gry", and these two were in use until fairly recently.

However, to answer this question correctly, one must bear in mind the precise wording of the question, whether spoken or written. The wording has been corrupted over the years to the point that each posed form may have a variety of answers.

One variation poses the riddle as follows:

"Angry" and "hungry" are two common English words that end with "-gry". What is the third word?

Note that the first sentence never claims that there are, in fact, three words that end with "-gry". Nor does the second sentence limit "the third word" to be a word that ends with "-gry"; it simply says "the third word". It could mean "the third word in Webster's Dictionary", or "the third word in the Bible", or "the third word in the Declaration of Independence". For that reason, the question could be answered arbitrarily as the listener/reader desires.

However, with no other frame of reference, a logical conclusion is that the question refers to the third word in this sentence, in which case the answer would be clear: "What is the third word?" The answer would be "the". At the very least, this could be considered a "trick" question. However, the trick is on the person posing the riddle, as almost any such answer must be considered correct due to the questioner's lack of confining parameters.

This variation of the question invites corruption. It intentionally misleads the reader to believe that there are three common words that end with "-gry" without ever actually stating as much. So, naturally, someone may apply that interpretation to the question when repeating it to others, and ask it in a form similar to how it appears above. Of course, as the question appears above, with the additional (unwritten) criterium that all three words have to be common, there is no answer, because there simply is not a third common English word that ends with "-gry". If one drops the "common" criterium, there are, in fact, several answers.

Another creative solution is to take the written question literally, interpreting "-gry" as individual letters: g, r, and y. Thus, a word such as "orgy", which ends in those letters (although in a different order), would complete the riddle.

Another creative solution is to take the spoken riddle literally, hearing "-gry" as "-gree", to which a word such as "agree" would be correct (so long as the riddler does not spell out "g-r-y" when asking the question).

Another variation of the riddle: Think of words ending in "-gry". "Angry" and "hungry" are two of them. There are only three words in "the English language." What is the third word? The word is something that everyone uses every day. If you have listened carefully, I have already told you what it is.

The answer to this variation of the riddle is "language". The first sentence is irrelevant, used solely to throw the "riddled" person off course. The second sentence presents the phrase to be scrutinized ("the English language"), although the listener cannot hear the quotation marks, which would be a dead giveaway. The third sentence poses the question relating to that phrase. The fourth sentence is a pun, because although the word "language" may not be used every day, the word does represent something we use: vocal communication. The fifth sentence employs a common technique in riddles whereby the riddler adds a tauntingly true statement (because the word "language" was, indeed, used in the riddle) intended to make the riddled person begin second-guessing him-/herself.

For similar reasons, a variation that lacks a question mark on the third sentence can be the statement of an answer: "What is the word." What is the answer to the riddle.

First answer by Zanbabe. Last edit by TEPutnam. Contributor trust: 2 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 44 [recommend question]