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Anagrams Plus One

Anna of movie Frozen with words Princess of Arendelle   grandma   grandma   grandma

No. of Players: 2+
Type of Game: written or spoken
What you need: pen & paper or nothing

Goal

To make a word from the letters of another word with one extra letter.

How to play

One player gives a word and a letter to another player. This second player must then make a new word using all these letters. If the player gets stuck, the first player can give a clue to the new word.

Example

Adam: Can you form a word from CART and the letter H?
Betty: CHART. Can you add a K to LAST to form a new word?
Adam: STALK. The word is GRIEF and the letter is U.
Betty: Hmmm. Can you give me a hint?
Adam: A number... or a woman’s physique, frame or body proportions.
Betty: FIGURE!

Did you know?

Your family may call her grandma, granny, or gram. But these nicknames are relatively recent, historically speaking. The full word 'grandmother' actually dates back to 1375–1425. It derives from the Old English ealde mōdor, literally meaning 'old mother.'

boy sitting at table with open book   woman sitting at table with cup of coffee   grandmother in rocking chair knitting

The origin of 'great-grandmother' (þridde mōdor, or 'third mother') is slightly more recent. It was first recorded around 1520–30. Incidently, the prefix grand- is used to refer to a person who is one generation removed, and the prefix great- indicates yet another generation.

boy sitting at table with open book   woman sitting at table with cup of coffee   grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting

Following this convention, 'great-great-grandmother' would be fēowerþe mōdor (fourth mother) and great-great-great-grandmother would be fīfte mōdor (fifth mother). Given that the average person lived just 35 years in the Early Middle Ages when Old English was spoken, few people back then would have had use for these terms. Other than speaking of mothers who were long since gone, of course.

boy sitting at table with open book   woman sitting at table with cup of coffee   grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting

However, that is not true today. There have been a few cases of single families with six generations alive at the same time. And even one family with seven. This occurred with the birth of Christopher John Bollig on January 21, 1989, which made Augusta Bunge Pagel a very-much-alive sixte mōdor – that is, a great-great-great-great-grandmother!

boy sitting at table with open book   woman sitting at table with cup of coffee   grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-great-great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting

According to Guinness World Records, Augusta was born on October 13, 1879 in Tonawanda, New York. This made her 109 years, 3 months, and 8 days old at the time. Followed by her daughter Ella Sabin (aged 89), her granddaughter Anna Wendlandt (70), her great-granddaughter Betty Wolter (52), her great-great-granddaughter Debra Bollig (33), her great-great-great-granddaughter Lori Bollig (15), and her great-great-great-great-grandson Christopher.

boy sitting at table with open book   woman sitting at table with cup of coffee   grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-great-great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting   great-great-great-great-grandmother in rocking chair knitting

Augusta died on May 18, 1989 in Medford, Wisconsin – no doubt quite proud of her amazing family!

In case you're wondering, the images under the title of this word game form a rebus puzzle:

ANA + GRAMS + PLUS + ONE = ANAGRAMS PLUS ONE

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