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Articles 4861 - 4890 of 4911
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
Super Titles, Temple G. Porter
Super Titles, Temple G. Porter
Word Ways
If someone were to tell you that he was in the REUSED METAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRY, it would probably take you a while to figure out that he was a junk dealer. "Super titles" are becoming increasingly prevalent as the lust for a burnished image dominates any interest in the substance it obscures.
Front Cover, Publication Information
Front Cover, Publication Information
Word Ways
Front Cover, Publication Information, Table of Contents
The National Philosophy Test - Ii, Temple G. Porter
The National Philosophy Test - Ii, Temple G. Porter
Word Ways
The response to our first National Philosophy Test was almost unbelievable. Not one letter of protest! This avalanche of implied acceptance deserves a reward, and here it is.
An Easy (?) Crossword Puzzle, Edward L. Lee
An Easy (?) Crossword Puzzle, Edward L. Lee
Word Ways
Some of you may have felt that the crossword puzzle offered in the first issue of WORD WAYS was unreasonably difficult. Accordingly, we are presenting a substantially easier puzzle in this issue, both for the benefit of "novices" and as a breather, giving you a chance to rest up for the deviltry you are going to encounter in future issues of the Journal.
Problematic Proverbs, Edward L. Lee
Problematic Proverbs, Edward L. Lee
Word Ways
The English language teems with many thousands of proverbs, proverbial phrases, and other maxims. Some of them are widely known and used, others less so. How good are you at proverbs?
The South Cape Mystery, Dmitri A. Borgmann
The South Cape Mystery, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
Assume that you have entered a contest of skill based on American geography. Assume further that one of the problems posed in the competition reads as follows:
"Identify that city or town in the United States or in one of its territories which is named SOUTH CAPE and which is most nearly due west of another such city or town by the name SAN ANTONIO, determining the relative east-west relationship precisely in terms of degrees and minutes of latitude."
Super-Quiz No. 2, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Super-Quiz No. 2, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
This is our second spelling quiz. Like its predecessor, it is so difficult that even a university professor of English couldn't possibly get a perfect score on it. For the benefit of new readers, we are repeating the instructions for working on it.
The Cryptic Crossword, Walter G. Leight
The Cryptic Crossword, Walter G. Leight
Word Ways
The easy (?) crossword puzzle with which we started this issue of WORD WAYS was a typical American puzzle, with straightforward definitions. For the benefit of our British friends, we are presenting an English-style crossword puzzle here, with cryptic or enigmatic clues.
Country Carnival, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Country Carnival, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
Word watchers have been astute enough to discover that the names of many countries of the world may be transposed to form English words, or other names. For instance, they have noted that YEMEN, a small nation in Arabia, upon being rearranged, turns into an ENEMY; that the Norwegian name for Norway - NORGE - may be converted into a NEGRO; and that ancient MEDIA, properly disguised, becomes the mark AIMED at.
How To Solve A Crypt
Word Ways
In recent years, there has risen a seemingly insurmountable wall about cyrptogram solving. It would appear that some few look upon crypts as a labyrinthine jumble of pie-eyed inanities. Such a thought, my sweets, is about to be dispelled.
A Letter Home
Word Ways
Dear Mom and Dad:
It has now been three months since I left for college. I have been remiss in writing this and I am very sorry for my thoughtlessness in not having written before. I am going to bring you up to date now, but before you read on, please sit down. You are not to read any further unless you are sitting down. Okay?
How To Name A Product, Dmitri A. Borgmann
How To Name A Product, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
The story that follows is true. Only the names have been changed, or omitted, to protect the innocent (especially your diaskeaust, or editor).
Simplicissimi
Word Ways
Generally, the problems posed in other sections of our Journal are for the seasoned veteran of word wars. In this section, we are offering considerably easier puzzles and quizzes, as an encouragement to neophytes, those intrepid souls just beginning their study of the ways of the word.
Book Reviews, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Book Reviews, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
The purpose of this section is to acquaint readers with books of recent vintage, currently in print, and holding special interest for word lovers. All books will be reviewed from the special standpoint of recreational linguistics.
A Short Bibliography
Word Ways
Some of our readers have inquired about books dealing with subjects similar to the content of WORD WAYS. For the benefit of such readers, we have prepared a selected list of books published in recent years, containing related material and puzzles.
Answers And Solutions
Word Ways
Answers and solutions to the puzzles contained in this issue as well as the previous issue.
Imitating Ho Chi Minh, Rudolph W. Castown
Imitating Ho Chi Minh, Rudolph W. Castown
Word Ways
Famous- or infamous- statesmen are not above indulging in word games. Ho Chi Minh, President of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam, while a prisoner in China, circa 1943, whiled his time away by writing poems. He wrote them in classical Chinese, not in Vietnamese, lest his jailers become suspicious. They have been translated into English in the cited work.
The Cryptogram: English In Its Glory
The Cryptogram: English In Its Glory
Word Ways
A cryptogram is a puzzle in cipher, usually a sentence of varying length, in which each letter is represented by another letter, but always by the same letter throughout.
Renaming The Numbers, Rudolph Ondrejka
Renaming The Numbers, Rudolph Ondrejka
Word Ways
In our first issue, we presented the existing names for very large numbers, pointed out the many inconsistencies and imperfections in those names, and suggested that readers attempt to devise an improved system of number names.
Front Cover, Publication Information
Front Cover, Publication Information
Word Ways
Front Cover, Publication Information, Table of Contents
Musical Nouns Of Multitude, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Musical Nouns Of Multitude, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
In the 14th and 15th centuries, a large number of so-called "nouns of multitude" made their way into the English language. Most of them were colorful designations for groups of birds and animals. Surviving to the present day are such surprising expressions as "a shrewdness of apes," "an exaltation of larks," "a skulk of foxes," and "a murmuration of starlings."
Super-Quiz No. 1, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Super-Quiz No. 1, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
This is only a spelling quiz ... but we're willing to wager that it's the toughest one you've ever seen.
We have selected 25 English words, names, or terms. For each one, we have given you the pronunciation (respelling the word or name rather grotesquely for that purpose) and the meaning. All you need to do is to write down the correct, spelling.
An Editorial, Dmitri A. Borgmann
An Editorial, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
Welcome to WORD WAYS!
The Journal of Recreational Linguistics has been created to provide a forum for all people interested in word puzzles and in other recreational aspects of language, a meeting ground for active minds comparable to the many books, magazines, and columns devoted to mathematical recreations. Addressing itself to a broad spectrum of word interests, it is the first and only periodical of the kind.
The Strangest Crossword Puzzle, Edward L. Lee
The Strangest Crossword Puzzle, Edward L. Lee
Word Ways
Since the common crossword puzzle is currently the most popular of all word games, it becomes the logical starting point for our adventures in the world of words.
Presented below is a crossword puzzle designed to test the ingenuity of even the most skillful solvers. The pattern provides for a generous number of unkeyed letters, resembling the style of British crosswords, and its freedom from the straight jacket of symmetry is a refreshing novelty.
Dudeney's Switch Puzzle, Howard W. Bergerson
Dudeney's Switch Puzzle, Howard W. Bergerson
Word Ways
This is the tale of a quasi-mechanical word puzzle propounded by Sam Loyd, a famous British puzzler, to Henry Ernest Dudeney, another famous British puzzler, around the turn of the century. Dudeney is best known for his work in the field of mathematical recreations, but he was also interested in word curiosities, and the Switch Puzzle is one of many included in his book, The World's Best Word Puzzles, published by the "Daily News" Publications Department, London, 1925.
Alice In Puzzleland
Word Ways
Reprinted by permission from the June 1925 issue of "The Enigma," official publication of The National Puzzlers' League.
The White Rabbit had come back. Evidently, the Duchess had forgiven him for his tardiness, as he was quite cheerful. ("Which is a blessing," thought Alice to herself, "for now, perhaps, he will not be so nervous.")
Puzzle Preferences
Word Ways
A poem, reprinted from the February 1926 issue of THE ENIGMA, official publication of The National Puzzlers' League.
From Sober To Drunk, Dmitri A. Borgmann
From Sober To Drunk, Dmitri A. Borgmann
Word Ways
Illustrated to the left is a word ladder, converting the word LESS into the word MORE, one letter at a time. The example happens to be a perfect one, since the conversion of a word of "n" letters has been accomplished in "n" moves, the theoretical minimum. Such an ideal word ladder is easiest to construct when the vowel-consonant patterns of the beginning and ending words are identical. Where there is a significant difference in vowel-consonant patterns, a longer ladder is almost invariably required.