Pictured Puzzles and Word Play A Companion to the Twentieth Century Standard Puzzle Book
Part 11
My first the rainbow shows When in rich hues it glows. My next has vowels three; My third was once a tree. My fourth begins the year, My whole the past makes clear.
is solved by _Archæology_.
42
If you ask a schoolboy to estimate the value of the grass in a triangular field, of which the longest side measures 100 rods, and each of the other sides 50 rods, at £1 per acre, it may take him some little time to see that he is being sold, since the condition is not fulfilled that any two sides of a triangle _must be greater than the third side_.
43
Less than my last, my whole has place Between my first and second: Second has body, arms and face; First is by inches reckoned.
is solved by _waistcoat_.
44
The historical charade--
My first at early morn the camp alarms, And at its sound the soldier springs to arms; My second nowadays fair ladies scorn, Though in less dainty days it oft was worn. My whole, a battle fought on Scottish ground, With victory the rebel forces crowned.
is solved by the battle of _Drumclog_.
45
I love strolling _troupes_ that go wandering round, Each _spouter_ a _Proteus_ in versatile skill; Each _posture_ so quaint, each idea so profound, My barn’s at their service, whenever they will. A company played there last night, but to-day Ducks, _pouters_, and poultry have vanished away!
The five words in italics are spelt with the same seven letters.
46
The Arithmorem “150 hat robe or tent” forms the name Charlotte Bronte.
47
The Shedding Letters enigma--
I’m a worker most active, most useful, most known, Of all that are busy in country and town. Take from me one letter, and yet my good name In spite of this loss will continue the same. Take from me two letters, and still you will see That precisely the same in effect I shall be. Take from me three letters, or even take more, Yet still I continue as sound as before.
is solved by _The Postman_!
48
When Tom Larkins challenged his sisters to prove on a blackboard that if 50 is subtracted from the sum of the nine digits the result equals the number obtained by dividing their sum by 3, he showed them that the sum of the digits may be written thus: XLV, and that if the L, which represents 50, is removed, XV, or 15, the third of 45, remains.
49
In the “Geese to Market” problem--
B drove a goodly flock of geese, And met with Farmer A; Said Farmer A, “How much apiece For this lot did you pay?” Said B, “I paid for all I drive Just six pounds and a crown, And I am selling all but five At the next market town. If fifteen pence a head I charge Beyond the price I paid, I shall secure a sum as large As he who sold all made.”
B bought 25 geese at 5s. each, and proposed to sell 20 of them at 6s. 3d.
50
The charade--
When second held first For best or for worst, I thought myself happy to win her. But what could I say When the very next day She gave me the whole for my dinner?
is solved by _Herring_.
51
In the lines--
The bees’ blithe vernal love-songs softly hum, Blending so sweetly with the restful air; The noiseless, deep-laced twilight shadows come, And well I ken the lass who meets me there--
the familiar adage, “Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home” is buried.
52
The mutilations in--
A little beast without its head Becomes a mighty beast instead: But then the subject of my riddle Is cut asunder in the middle; And nothing this division gains, Though unknown quantity remains.
are _Fox_, _ox_, _o_, _x_.
53
Mary sat with _slate_ in hand, Writing _tales_ dramatic. Did she _steal_ the plots she planned? Negative emphatic! _Stale_ to us the _tales_ may be, But at _least_ they’re new to she!
54
The old Sanscrit problem, quoted by Longfellow in his “Kavanagh,”
Ten times the square root of a flock of geese, seeing the clouds collect, flew to the Manus lake. One-eighth of the whole flew from the edge of the water among a tangle of water lilies, and three couple were seen playing in the water. Tell me, my young girl with beautiful locks, what was the whole number of geese?
is solved by 144.
55
The enigma--
Six hundred and sixty so ordered may be That if you divide the whole number by three You find the result will exactly express The half of six hundred and sixty, no less--
is solved by turning the sixes of 660 upside down, when it becomes 990, and satisfies the conditions.
56
The press parody ran thus--
There was a young turkey, oh, bless her! It cost very little to dress her; Some breadcrumbs and thyme About Thanksgiving time, And they ate every bit from the dresser!
57
She loses her head when she joins the brides, He joins them after tea; But both are swept by ruthless tides Away on the western sea.
is solved by _Hebrides_.
58
If I have 91 bananas on my barrow, and find, when I have sold one quality at four a penny, and the other at three a penny, that in mixed lots at seven for twopence I should have made a penny more, I had 64 of inferior and 27 of better sort.
59
The words in italics have the same letters--
How does the sluggard’s garden grow? When _rates_ are high, results are low. His borders _tares_ and bindweed spoil, No careful culture _tears_ the soil; What weeds that _stare_ are all alive Where _aster_, pink, or rose should thrive.
60
Correctly drawn results I yield, Varied, but welcome everywhere; But met with in the open field I’m banned if frequent, blest if rare. To this peculiar difference the clue Is called with much significance the cue.
is solved by _Cheque_, _check_ (the letter Q).
61
The three towns buried in the lines--
Wait while I think the matter over, On holiday intent; The best I’ve seen is surely Dover, That pretty port of Kent.
are _Leith_, _Thebes_, _St Ives_.
62
An Arab came to the river side, With a donkey bearing an obelisk; But he did not venture to ford the tide, For he had to good an ass to risk (_asterisk_).
So he camped all night by that river side, Secure till the tide had ceased to swell, For he knew that whenever the donkey died, No other could be its _parallel_ (‖).
63
The charade--
What ho, my jolly _second!_ never say my _first_ While my final you can find in Amsterdam. Think how a sound _whole_ stays your hunger and your thirst, Deftly readjusting bread and meat and jam.
is solved by _Dietary_ (Amsterdam is on the River Y).
64
The schoolboy who calculated that if he had made as many more runs at a cricket match, and half as many more, and two runs and a half, he would have made a score, scored seven runs.
65
The enigma--
Six letters spell the happy state Of two in love made one. The same six letters tell the fate Of marriage ties undone.
is solved by _United_, _untied_.
66
The riddle--
My first’s a bond, my second’s weigh; These own the rest of all my lay; Busy my third; fourth like the pole, Whose opposite my fifth makes goal.
is solved by _Shackle_, _Tons_, _Ant_, _Arctic Expedition_.
[Lieutenant Ernest H. Shackleton, R.N., leader of his South Polar Expedition.]
67
For two months at the _nets_ we played, Ere we were _sent_ to Lord’s; Alas! the score our champion made Was what a _nest_ affords. The crowd in _tens_ of thousands came, But took scant notice of the game.
The words in italics have the same letters.
68
When Edwin and Angelina received these mutual Marconigrams--
“No fickle girl is bonnie to my mind.” “In love inconstant I no pleasure find,”
he was at Lisbon and she was at Constantinople, as is indicated by the fact that the names of these places are “buried” in the messages.
69
The Mental Arithmetic--
Set down three figures in a line, Then multiply by four; This, if you use the proper sign, Makes five, and nothing more.
is solved by 1.25. In 1¹⁄₄ the figures are not _in a line_.
70
The doublet by missing words, in which a grilse is turned into a salmon, is solved thus--
To silver Tweed, or broader Spey, The _grilse_ of _silver_, _sailer_ gay, Guides on; the _sailor morals_ draws When _salmon_ follows Nature’s laws.
One letter is changed in each link.
71
The enigma--
I never move, and yet I run From place to place all day; Some loving swain, hot foot for fun, Sees Dora in my way--
is solved by _Road_, which spells also _Dora_.
72
The Letters--
~HAATTCEUMSSSS~
form the name of the State _Massachusetts_.
73
The enigma--
Seven words in one of letters five we fix, Six English, and one Latin; No need to twist them, or afresh to mix, If puzzles you are pat in.
is solved by _There_: the words are--_there_, _here_, _her_, _the_, _ere_, _he_, _re_.
74
The full solution of the answer by anagram to the question, “Why is every angler ipso facto an Ananias?” is--
A liar, he spins gay fancies to a woven yarn.
Question and answer are spelt with _the same letters_.
75
The quaint riddle--
Peter White Will never go right; Shall I tell you the reason why? Wherever he goes, He follows his nose, And that stands all awry! If this appendage had slanted more. Why would it serve a hole to bore?
is solved thus--It would be _Askewer_ (a skewer!)
76
“S” is the missing letter which occurs 55 times, and these are the four lines:--
This season’s sunshine smiles, such storms as pass Assist us to assess success or loss. Spring’s sweetness still possesses mossy grass, As summer’s tresses mass soft shades across.
77
The enigma--
Protected, open, plain, Without my tail I’m flat; I’m round, curtailed again; Again, you have me pat!
is solved by _Patent_, _paten_, _pate_, _pat_.
78
The logogriph--
When all are gay this holds the sway, But take a letter out, That change of fare is ruling there, You see, without a doubt. Behead me twice; it is not nice To have this in your skin; Lop head and tail, and find a nail Or tack to drive it in. Behead this right, and in your sight A little word you find; But you will never make it out, Though it is in your mind.
is solved by _feasting_, _fasting_, _sting_, _tin_, _in_.
79
He _prides_ himself much on his skill, In many a burglary tried; But when he _prised_ open the till There was only a _spider_ inside.
The words in italics are spelt with the same letters.
80
The enigma--
Three-fourths of me an act display, Three-fourths a bed for man; Three-fourths have legs that cannot stray, Three-fourths have legs that can. I have a back without a spine, An arm without a bone is mine.
is solved by _Coat_.
81
The charade--
My first is the French for my second, My whole a narcotic is reckoned
is solved by _Lethe_.
82
The two palindrome words which can be formed from the letters of the sentence “Arrive to vote at it,” are _Rotator_ and _Evitative_.
83
The enigma--
Sweet till I lose my head, Sweet-hearted then I show; Decapitate again, I spread, And cannot be below. Served so once more, I am not dead, But with fresh beauty glow.
is solved by _Clover_, _lover_, _over_, _ver_ (Latin for Spring).
84
When Tommy undertook to put a shilling in his money-box if his father would give him as much as he had in his purse, and after repeating the process for three more days found himself penniless, he had elevenpence farthing in his purse at first.
85
Two articles of English make, And three from foreign source. All these together you must take Where dramas run their course.
is solved by _Theatres_ (_tres_, Latin for _three_).
86
When young Hopeful said, “If it were possible I should choose a life double as long,” and old Sobersides answered, “Yes, and you might turn it to better account if it was also begun old,” and the fact that their actual words “double as long,” and “also begun old,” were spelt with _exactly the same letters_, gave emphasis to the reply.
87
The charade--
Lop head and tail, and you will find I have both tail and head. Or if for spirits you’ve a mind Set my tail first instead.
Life, as “a vapour full of woes,” With many a darker page, My whole in picture will disclose, For “all the world’s a stage!”
is solved by _Drama_, _ram_, _a dram_.
88
A glowing _transept_ window, graced With _patterns_ that true art has traced.
The words in italics have the same letters.
89
The proof by anagram that the words of commendation “blessed in pain,” are properly applied to anæsthetics, is that exactly the same letters spell _indispensable_.
90
The quotation buried in the sentence--
“What sin was it, sonny?” said an American negress to her lover, when she sat on his best hat, which was flattened. Wearily he heard her musical laugh, and arose to go. His hobby was botany, but not hers, for she was then a merry girl. “Bother the flowers! I would prefer this mellow pineapple, Leonidas,” she said; “I guess we Ethiopians just love fruit!”
is “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
91
They _grab_ the dress with grip so keen That half the _garb_ gives way: And home return with purses lean To _brag_ of “bargain-day”!
The words in italics are spelt with the same four letters.
92
Three _ladies_ went sailing out into the West, Out into the West as the sun sank low; Each thought as she _sailed_ of the lad she loved best For they all had _ideals_, and each had a beau.
· · · · · · ·
But seas will rise, and spirits will sink, And they all were too ill of _ideals_ to think, So these _ladies sailed_ back moaning!
The words in italics have the same six letters.
93
The charade--
Lurking in riddles oft my first is found; My second should in ample stores abound, Or help to make the sweetest songster heard. Peculiar, and quite proper, is my third. My whole has found with England’s monarch grace, The verdant home of many a goodly race,
is solved by _Punchestown_.
94
The enigma--
Accent my head, An opening I appear; In other fashion said I charm all far and near--
is solved by _Entrance_.
95
The two sentences--
A lamp shines out for thee, Win me best by tears,
are anagrams of _The Houses of Parliament_ and _Westminster Abbey_.
96
When on the Brighton beach an excited collie in pursuit of stones thrown into the sea, suggested the riddle, “What is the difference between that dog and a hungry man?” The appropriate answer was, “The one stops and shakes himself; the other chops and steaks himself!”
97
The hidden animal in--
A part of me in rain, A part in hail must be, A part belongs to pain, A part in bones we see, A part in gleaming gold, A part in common copper. A part in peace behold, A part in any topper, Two parts are heard in sound, And in our finals found.
is _Rhinoceros_.
98
The smart enigma--
Men commonly say I am clever, Book-learning I never could boast; Yet I turn the leaves inside the cover, And when I am found I am lost.
is solved by _A Fox_.
99
_A sot_ is like a _toast_, or what is most Comparative, a _toast_ is like _a sot_; For when their substances in liquor sink Both properly are said to be in drink.
The words in italics are spelt with the same letters, the _t_ being repeated in _toast_.
100
The pied proverb is “Fine words butter no parsnips.”
101
The puzzle verse--
A wordy warfare waged with wit, In youth its joys none need descry; But where our elders take to it Its name points loss of dignity,
is solved by _Badinage_ (bad in age).
102
The hero’s name, hidden in--
My first’s in garb, but not in dress; My next’s in praise, but not in bliss; My third’s in man, but not in miss; My fourth’s in we.
My fifth’s in boar, but not in hog; My sixth’s in cat, but not in dog; My next’s in calm, but not in fog; My eighth’s in we.
My ninth’s in rope, but not in twine; My tenth’s in light, but not in shine; My next’s in four, but not in nine; My twelfth’s in we.
is _General Wolfe_.
103
Here is the sentence given with its appropriate and perfect anagram--
A defeat whose test is very sure. _Sweet are the uses of adversity._
104
The phonetic missing words are given in italics:--
’Tis _plain_ that no one takes a _plane_ To _pare_ a _pair_ of _pears_; A _rake_ may often take a _rake_ To _tear_ away the _tares_.
105
The queer obstacle--
I’m in everyone’s way, Yet no one I stop. My four horns each day Horizontally play, And my head is nailed on at the top.
is _A turnstile_.
106
The old enigma--
Take five from five, and then Put fifty in the middle; Twice ten times five times ten Will finish off my riddle, And bring it to your ken As fit as any fiddle!
is solved thus--
When Jacky Barrett, learned Don, Composed his famous riddle, His thoughts, perhaps, were resting on The strings of his old FIDDLE.
107
The phonetic gaps are filled thus--
No _quail_ will _quail_ before the wind, A _bough_ will _bow_ before it; We cannot _rein_ the _rain_, or find That earthly powers _reign_ o’er it.
108
We seem to sound a note of lavish bounty; Reverse us, and we indicate a county--
is solved by X S--S X.
109
The cryptogram--
~FTHNMLKBRNGSLLCTTN LLSKMTMXTTLLTSTHN!~
is solved by inserting the letter “I” throughout, when this rhyming couplet is formed--
If thin milk brings illicit tin, I’ll skim it, mix it, till it’s thin!
110
The buried proverb in--
Yet I see them all! on golden wings that fly Old memories steal anew; With a tear, with a sigh, with an old, old cry They return in ghostly hue!
is _’Tis a long lane that has no turning_.
111
Lewis Carroll’s doublet, which changes ELM into OAK by seven links, introducing the name of another tree as one of them, is solved thus by him--
ELM, ELL, ALL, AIL, AIR, FIR, FAR, OAR, OAK.
A shorter solution is by these six links--_Ely_, _sly_, _say_, _bay_, _bat_, _oat_; and one of these (_bay_) is also a tree, as was _fir_, so that the conditions given are fulfilled.
112
My dear Mr Bird, We are giving a ball; First second we third, Pray give us your all.
is solved by _attendance_.
Second, I did my first and last, Till I became my whole, And told the tale of my repast, A sad and greedy soul.
is solved by _satiate_.
113
The charade--
My whole, industrious, wends his way His daily task to meet; Behead, transpose a, lo! a sound Of music soft and sweet; Behead again, I make my way With swiftness past belief; Again, and where the fields are gay My bounty brings relief.
is solved by _Artisan_, _strain_, _train_, _rain_.
114
The lines by an old Oxbridge don--
“’Tis an absurdity to say Women should try for a B.A. To College honours forward looking; They’d best confine themselves to cooking!”
can be happily met by this retort in the same words, recast by a Girton girl--
“Women should try for a B.A., To College honours forward looking; ’Tis an absurdity to say They’d best confine themselves to cooking!”
115
The enigma--
Eight letters (start with b) Three syllables contain; Take one away, and see Four syllables remain!
is solved by _Beautify_, _Beatify_.
116
The beasts buried in the lines--
Ireland’s lot heals slowly. Troubles came long ago--at times in battalions--to attack and harass her. Ambitious democrats now countermine famous enthusiasts nearly akin to heroes. Anarchy enables cowards to sow hot terror and all amazement, are--
eland, sloth, camel, goat, bat, lion, stoat, ass, ram, fat, ermine, mouse, yak, roe, hyena, cow, sow, otter and llama.
117
This is the palindrome verse that reads and rhymes from either end--
Dies slowly fading day, winds mournful sigh, Brightly stars are waking; Flies owlet hooting, holding revel high, Nightly silence breaking.
118
The anagram recast from “The Observatory at Greenwich in England” is completed thus--
_On landing here begin to watch every star._
119
The enigma--
No man at all am I, And, if you turn me round, To hear my warning cry Not any men are found.
is solved by _Nemo_, _omen_, _o men_.
120
The question--
How can our sailors fare the best When times are harder? How do they greet with merry jest An empty larder?
is solved thus--
FOWL IS FARE.
Wind that blows foul and chops about, With lighter puffs, And finds the thirsty sailor stout, Brings food enough!
121
The enigma--
I lose my head when I am here, Transpose me I am three; Look in a book, you find me there, And with me her and he--
is solved by _There_.
122
Jack did _declaim_ that he could square The circle to a _decimal_; His friends _claimed_ that a brain so rare Required attention _medical_.
The words in italics are spelt with the same letters.
123
A Mr Harwood had two daughters by his first wife, the elder of these was married to John Coshick. This Coshick had a daughter by his first wife, whom old Harwood married. Thus Harwood’s daughter could say--
My father is my son, And I’m my mother’s mother; My daughter and sister are one, I’m grandam to my brother!
124
The charade--
Catch my first with nimble wit, Add a simple word; Then my whole may help a bit Opportunely heard.
is solved by _Catchword_.
125
The paradox--
My mate and I from home did start, Some little space we were apart. When we had run a mile or more We kept our distance, as before; Shade of Colenso! could this be, When twice as fast as I ran he?
is solved by the fact that the lines apply to the large and small wheels of a bicycle.
126
The enigma from Lewis Carroll’s Papers--
A monument all men agree Am I in all sincerity, Half cat, half hindrance made. If head and tail removed should be, Then most of all you strengthen me. Replace my head, the stand you see On which my tail is laid.
is solved by _Tablet_.
127
The charade--
I’m known to the poorest and worst, And my worth by a child may be reckoned; The least thing in nature is double my first, And my whole is just half of my second.
is solved by _Halfpenny_.
128
My first without its head and tail Is one and undivided; My second shows its teeth, is frail, And as a rule one-sided. The two to hold my first avail, By busy toil provided.
is solved by _Honeycomb_.
129
The towns buried in the sentences--
His sister played the piano while we sang. I saw Nell out here last evening. The general rode a large black mare. I have ordered a cab at half-past one. Meet me in the lane at half-past nine.
are _Lewes_, _Louth_, _Deal_, _Bath_ and _Neath_.
130
The anagram on “The leaning tower of Pisa, in Tuscany, Italy,” is completed thus--
A funny spot in a sweet city; _I o’erhang it all_.
131
When they found that catacomb Near the _Capitol_ at Rome ’Twas the _topical_ discussion of the season; But the _optical_ effect Of the skeletons select Deprived the poor Professor of his reason!
The words in italics are spelt with the same letters.
132
The charade--
My first is pretence, My second a dandy; When fogs are most dense My whole will be handy.
is solved by _Flambeau_.
133
If we adopt the old spelling of the final word, we can prove by anagram that Bacon had no hand at anyrate in Shakespeare’s play “Much Ado About Nothinge,” for the same letters exactly spell “_Bacon? O, naught due to him!_”
134
Use all your wits to guess my all, Can any guess it right? Transposed, and never seen at all, It still is felt in sight. Behead, transpose, then let it be, And you at last a clue may see.