I asked an Israeli recently if "playgroup" (משפחתון) is masculine or feminine. "Actually, it's really easy to figure out," she explained, "You just say 'big (masculine) playgroup' and 'big (feminine) playgroup' and see which one sounds right." (משפחתון גדול OR משפחתון גדולה)
So I pointed out that was the reason I was asking in the first place: I have no way to conclusively determine if I should write that Dikla's playgroup is 'warmly recommended (masculine)' or warmly recommended (feminine)'. I have a better grasp of the rules than many Israelis (feminine nouns tend to (a) end in a ה ָ (b) end in a ת, (c) name a body part that comes in multiples [e.g., eye, finger, hand], (d) be sharp [seriously, like knives and swords], or (e) belong on a list of exceptions of which I am consciously aware), but at the end of the day, I just need to ask.
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