Unnecessary words

[Tyler]

Is there any rhyme or reason to the answer?

[Staley]

It's 3 words, plus articles modifying them--but the 3 words are also articles: a the, an a, or an an.

[Tyler]

Thanks for the explanation. I must have been absent that day

[Justme]

Tyler I was absent that day too

[Charlene]

Me, three

[Paucle]

yeah, it was a bit clumsy, sorry about that. Made more sense if commas were properly placed and quote marks allowed.

What unnecessary word(s) has/have been cropping up on many TI answers of late?
Answer: a "the," an "a," or an "an."

(The self-referential irony was intentional.)

[Staley]

It turned out to be fairly easy for me, because I started by plugging "little words" into each blank, to give me a start. I put "the" in every position, and that gave me word 2. Then I put "a" in the other positions, and that gave me 2 more. Since it was working so well, I tried "an" and it was easy to figure out.

[Paucle]

that's why I was hoping it wouldn't be too hard to suss out. I assume everyone does that on long answers, especially on titles. Find where any "the"s might be, and the going can get much easier. Follow the with "a," etc etc.

Similarly, on any Presidential answer of two words, I always try "John Johnson" first, then "William Adams." If still no hits, I finish with "James Roosevelt." If I don't fill any blanks yet, I've eliminated almost half of them anyway. From there I cherry pick first/ last, like "Richard Obama." I don't think I've actually researched a POTUS answer in years.

[Charlene]

After reading these posts, I find we are quite alike

[Sonja]

After reading these posts, I find we are quite alike

Great minds! Charlene