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Challenge: Come up with a set of three nouns for which all six possible permutations of "A is the B of C" make sense.
Spice is the life of variety.
- Thread starter gotchan
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Certainly. And after playing for a bit, I've realized we need a strong form and a weak form.
Begin with the aphorism "Variety is the spice of life." The three nouns—variety, spice, life—can be arranged six different ways.
(1) Variety is the spice of life.
(2) Variety is the life of spice.
(3) Spice is the variety of life.
(4) Spice is the life of variety.
(5) Life is the variety of spice.
(6) Life is the spice of variety.
(1) makes sense. (2) and (3) kind of sort of make sense. All one spice all the time is pretty bland. Spice is enlivened by variety. Variety in life comes from spice. You need some mental gymnastics for (4) to make sense. (5) and (6) are gibberish.
The strong version of the challenge is to find three nouns—A, B, and C—so that every arrangement of ABC in "A is the B of C" makes sense.
A is the B of C.
A is the C of B.
B is the A of C.
B is the C of A.
C is the A of B.
C is the B of A.
For example: Comedy-Tragedy-Heart.
(1) Comedy is the heart of tragedy. (Makes sense. Not necessarily true.)
(2) Comedy is the tragedy of heart. (Huh?)
(3) Tragedy is the comedy of heart. (Doesn't sound right.)
(4) Tragedy is the heart of comedy. (Makes sense. Not necessarily true.)
(5) Heart is the comedy of tragedy. (Doesn't sound right.)
(6) Heart is the tragedy of comedy. (Doesn't sound right.)
In the weak form of the challenge, any noun in any position may take the definite article, an indefinite article, or no article at all. Thus:
(1) Comedy is the heart of tragedy. (Makes sense.)
(2) Comedy is a tragedy of the heart. (Makes sense.)
(3) Tragedy is a comedy of the heart. (Makes sense.)
(4) Tragedy is the heart of comedy. (Makes sense.)
(5) The heart is a comedy of tragedy. (Better, but still odd.)
(6) The heart is a tragedy of comedy. (Better, but still odd.)
Good strategies seem to be to select words with multiple common meanings and sets of words that do not have clear hierarchies.
Begin with the aphorism "Variety is the spice of life." The three nouns—variety, spice, life—can be arranged six different ways.
(1) Variety is the spice of life.
(2) Variety is the life of spice.
(3) Spice is the variety of life.
(4) Spice is the life of variety.
(5) Life is the variety of spice.
(6) Life is the spice of variety.
(1) makes sense. (2) and (3) kind of sort of make sense. All one spice all the time is pretty bland. Spice is enlivened by variety. Variety in life comes from spice. You need some mental gymnastics for (4) to make sense. (5) and (6) are gibberish.
The strong version of the challenge is to find three nouns—A, B, and C—so that every arrangement of ABC in "A is the B of C" makes sense.
A is the B of C.
A is the C of B.
B is the A of C.
B is the C of A.
C is the A of B.
C is the B of A.
For example: Comedy-Tragedy-Heart.
(1) Comedy is the heart of tragedy. (Makes sense. Not necessarily true.)
(2) Comedy is the tragedy of heart. (Huh?)
(3) Tragedy is the comedy of heart. (Doesn't sound right.)
(4) Tragedy is the heart of comedy. (Makes sense. Not necessarily true.)
(5) Heart is the comedy of tragedy. (Doesn't sound right.)
(6) Heart is the tragedy of comedy. (Doesn't sound right.)
In the weak form of the challenge, any noun in any position may take the definite article, an indefinite article, or no article at all. Thus:
(1) Comedy is the heart of tragedy. (Makes sense.)
(2) Comedy is a tragedy of the heart. (Makes sense.)
(3) Tragedy is a comedy of the heart. (Makes sense.)
(4) Tragedy is the heart of comedy. (Makes sense.)
(5) The heart is a comedy of tragedy. (Better, but still odd.)
(6) The heart is a tragedy of comedy. (Better, but still odd.)
Good strategies seem to be to select words with multiple common meanings and sets of words that do not have clear hierarchies.