ANAGRAMS.
1. Cover no sin.
2. Tim N. may gain.
3. Go nurse.
4. Train on time.
5. Claim a part, G.
6. A mad girl.
7. ’Tis veteran Mylo, D.
8. A rude song.
9. Any one can.
10. Thomas rap again.
CROSS-WORD ENIGMAS.
1. My first is in saddle, but not in pony;
My second is in spaghetti, but not macaroni;
My third is in water, but not in sand;
My fourth is in Indian, but not in command;
My fifth is in plank, but not in board;
My sixth is in saving, but not in hoard;
My seventh is in make, but not in lose;
My eighth is in gaiters, but not in shoes;
My ninth is in candle, but not in light;
My tenth is in horses, but not in bite;
My eleventh is in inch, but not in measure;
My twelfth is in satin, but not in treasure;
My thirteenth is in coke, but not in ton.
My whole is a useful invention.
2. My first is in silent, but not in loud;
My second is in alone, but not in crowd;
My third is in example, but not in talk;
My fourth is in buying, but not in bought;
My fifth is in fancy, but not in reality;
My sixth is in brains, but not in vanity;
My seventh is in angels, but not in ghosts;
My eighth is in goodness, but not in hoax;
My ninth is in religion, but not in cant.
My whole is the name of a useful plant.
3. My first is in lamb, but not in beef;
My second is in mouth, but not in teeth;
My third is in Neptune, but not in sea;
My fourth is in steward, but not in me;
My fifth is in slow, but not in fast;
My sixth is in never, but not in last.
My whole is a great city.
4. In house not in lawn,
In take not in form,
In lark not in sky,
In borrow not in lend,
In tatters not in mend,
In draught not in buy,
In loaf not in pie,
In page not in book,
In novel not in took.
My whole is a flower.
NUMERICAL ENIGMAS.
1. I am composed of five letters.
My 3, 2, 5, shows hindrance.
My 4, 1, a part of speech.
My whole is a Spartan title.
2. I am composed of twenty-seven letters.
My 20, 16, 17, is a condition of atmosphere.
My 14, 13, 26, 18, was a rich woman.
My 1, 9, 25, 11, 10, is indicative of knowledge.
My 6, 23, 24, 22, relative to curvature.
My 8, 3, 4, 12, shows docility.
My 19, 15, 7, 21, is a girl’s name.
My 2, 27,—5, Insert a letter in the blank space and you’ll have the end.
3. I am composed of nine letters.
My 4, 2, 6, 5, is a space.
My 3, 8, 1, is a quick inclination.
My 7, 9, with one of the letters doubled indicates comfort.
My whole is a flower.
4. I am composed of eight letters.
My 7, 4, 5, 3, is a kind of skin.
My 6, 2, 8, represents a number.
My 1 is a part of speech.
My whole is an animal.
DECAPITATIONS.
1. Behead a stream of water, and leave a
bird like a crow, behead a carpenter’s tool
and leave a passage, behead a section of a
carriage and leave the hind part of a section
of the body, behead an edible fish and leave
a multitude.
2. Behead a supplication and leave light,
behead a short time and leave a hide, behead
a covering and leave relations, behead a
relative and leave something different.
3. Behead a wading bird and leave a
wooer, behead to charge and leave one that
is unsound, behead a dance and leave a fish,
behead an officer and leave a verb.
4. Behead a weapon of war and leave a
fruit, behead an ensign and leave a unit,
behead a low, flat-built vessel, and leave a
narrow passage, behead a ruminating animal
and leave a plant and its seed.
DROP-LETTER RIDDLES.
1. -h- w-s -u-h -u-e -o -o-z?
2. -h- w-l-e- o- e-r-h,
-h- t-l-e- o- e-r-h,
-h- r-b-k-d - m-n -o- s-n;
-h-’s -o- o- e-r-h,
-h-’s -o- i- h-a-e-,
-o- l-k-l- t- g-t -n.
3. -h- d-d -d-m -i-e -h- a-p-e -v- g-v- h-m?
4. -h-t -i- a-a- f-r-t -e- i- t-e -a-d-n -f -d-n?
5. -h- a-e -d-m -n- e-e -n -n-m-l- i- g-a-m-r?
6. -o- d-d -o-h -r-s- h-s -a-r -n -h- a-k?
DROP-LETTER PUZZLES.
1. M-K- H-Y -H-L- T-E -U- S-I-E-.
2. -a-l- -o -e- -n- -a-l- -o -i-e,
-a-e- -e- -e-l-h-, -e-l-h-, -n- -i-e.
3. -o -o -h- -n- -ho- -luggar-, -onside- -e- -ay- -n- -e -is-.
4. -i-t-e -l-n- i- h-p-i-e-s -e-o-.
OPENING LINES OF FAMILIAR SONG.
1. Ho odtn’ uyo eeerrmmb twese eclai ebblton,
Etswe claei ihwt iahr os rnbwo;
Esh pwte tiwh gdtheil hwne uoy aevg ehr a eimls
Dan lteredmb hiwt aefr ta uyro wrfno.
2. Hte peehtnla own esog urdon,
Eht dnba gsiben ot aypl,
Teh ybso aer daunor hte ykmeno gcea,
U’oyd treebt ekpe ywaa.
3. I aeddr eht yad u’yllo gftore em grreeiamtu
Nda lilst i okwn ti oosn lwli ecmo,
Het iteesvf aecdn, eht ihcr teh yga,
Os fetfrdnei rmof rou emho umeegairrt.
ANSWERS TO CHARADES, ANAGRAMS, ETC.
Charades.
- 1. Eyelash.
- 2. Independent.
- 3. Teapot.
- 4. Level.
Anagrams.
- 1. Conversion.
- 2. Magnanimity.
- 3. Surgeon.
- 4. Termination.
- 5. Pragmatical.
- 6. Madrigal.
- 7. Demonstratively.
- 8. Dangerous.
- 9. Annoyance.
- 10. Phantasmagoria.
Cross-word Enigmas.
- 1. Sewing-machine.
- 2. Saxifrage.
- 3. London.
- 4. Heliotrope.
Numerical Enigmas.
- 1. Helot.
- 2. A soft answer turneth away wrath.
- 3. Dandelion.
- 4. Antelope.
Decapitations.
- 1. Brook, rook; 2, plane, lane; 3, wheel, heel, trout, rout.
- 2. Pray, ray; 2, spell, pell; 3, skin, kin; 4, mother, other.
- 3. 1, plover, lover; 2, blame, lame; 3, reel, eel; 4, mate, ate.
- 4. 1. Spear, pear. 2. Mace, ace. 3. Galley, alley. 4. Goats, oats.
Drop Letter Riddles.
1. Why was Ruth rude to Boaz?
Because she trod on his corns, and pulled his ears.
2. She walked on earth,
She talked on earth,
She rebuked a man for sin;
She’s not on earth,
She’s not in heaven,
Nor likely to get in.
Balaam’s Ass.
3. Why did Adam bite the apple Eve gave him?
Because he had no knife.
4. What did Adam first set in the Garden of Eden?
His foot.
5. Why are Adam and Eve an anomaly in grammar?
Because they are two relatives without an antecedent.
6. How did Noah dress his hair in the Ark?
With the fox’s brush and the cock’s comb.
Drop Letter Puzzles.
- 1. Make hay while the sun shines.
- 2. Early to bed and early to rise, makes men healthy, wealthy, and wise.
- 3. Go to the ant, thou sluggard, consider her ways and be wise.
- 4. Virtue alone is happiness below.
The Opening Lines of Familiar Songs.
1. “Oh! don’t you remember sweet Alice, Ben Bolt,
Sweet Alice, with hair so brown;
She wept with delight when you gave her a smile,
And trembled with fear at your frown.”
2. “The elephant now goes round,
The band begins to play,
The boys are around the monkey
cage, You’d better keep away.”
3. “I dread the day you’ll forget me, Marguerite,
And still I know it soon will come.
The festive dance, the rich, the gay,
So different from our home, Marguerite.”
Forfeits.
The exacting of forfeits for tardiness or
failure in the playing of games will usually
lead to as much amusement as the games
themselves.
Those who subject themselves to forfeiture
may give a trivial article just as satisfactorily
as an expensive one, or they may simply
write their names on a slip of paper, and
hand that to the person in charge. Each
player is bound to redeem his name.
At the conclusion of the game the host, or
any individual he may appoint (provided
that person has no forfeits), collects all and
puts them out of sight of the audience, and
commencing with the one at his right, he
takes the players in turn.
That party now sits down and the one in
charge holding over his head one of the
trinkets or whatever the object may be,
says: “What a jolly thing! What a smart,
pretty thing! What will the owner do?”
The party in the chair inquires, “Does it
belong to a lady, or to a gentleman?” He
is at once answered correctly and then responds
by advising a difficult or ridiculous
performance. The individual who owns the
forfeit must now perform what has been
advised. As soon as the party has redeemed
his pledge, another forfeit is redeemed after
the same method, and so on, one by one,
until all articles are returned to their owners.
Each forfeit is naturally redeemed amid
peals of laughter.
The following may prove helpful to those
who have to declare penalties.
1. Fold a piece of note-paper in the shape
of a fish.
2. Say, Quizzical Quiz, sister Smith, five
times running without drawing a breath.
3. Count twenty backwards without smiling.
4. Mention five synonyms for the word,
Jabber.
(Chatter, gabble, mumble, prate, prattle.)
5. Repeat three times without a mistake:—
David Daldron dreamed he drove a dragon,
Did David Daldron dream he drove a dragon?
If David Daldron dreamed he drove a dragon,
Where’s the dragon David Daldron dreamed he drove?
6. Repeat the following lines twice,
Oliver Ogilvie ogled an olive and oyster,
Did Oliver Ogilvie ogle an olive and oyster?
If Oliver Ogilvie ogled an olive and oyster
Where is the olive and oyster Oliver Ogilvie ogled?
7. Touch the features while you solemnly
recite,
| Here sits the Lord Mayor, |
forehead. |
| Here sit his two men, |
eyes. |
| Here sits the cock, |
right cheek. |
| Here sits the hen, |
left cheek. |
| Here sits the little chickens, |
tip of nose. |
| Here they run in, |
the mouth. |
| Chinchopper, chinchopper, chinchopper, chin! |
Chuck the chin. |
8. Repeat the alphabet similar to example.
A was an archer, and shot at a frog,
B was a butcher, and had a great dog.
C was a captain, all covered with lace,
D was a dunce with a very sad face.
E was an esquire, with pride on his brow,
F was a farmer and followed the plow.
G was a gamester who had but ill luck,
H was a hunter and hunted a buck.
I was an innkeeper, who lov’d to house,
J was a joiner, and built up a house.
K was a king, so mighty and grand,
L was a lady who had a white hand.
M was a miser who hoarded up gold,
N was a nobleman, gallant and bold.
O was an oysterman, and went about town,
P was a parson, and wore a black gown.
Q was a quack with a wonderful pill,
R was a robber, who wanted to kill.
S was a sailor, and spent all he got,
T was a tinker, and mended a pot.
U was a usurer, a miserable elf,
V was a vintner, who drank all himself.
W was a watchman and guarded the door,
X was expensive, and so became poor.
Y was a youth, that did not love school,
Z was a Zan, a poor, harmless fool.
9. Sing to the tune of “Oats, Pease, Beans
and Barley grows.”
Tom he was a piper’s son,
He learned to play when he was young;
But all the tune that he could play,
Was “Over the hills and far away.”
Now Tom with his pipe made such a noise,
That he pleased both the girls and the boys,
And they all stopped to hear him play
Over the hills and far away.
Tom with his pipe did play with such skill,
That those who heard him could never stand still;
Whenever they heard him they began to dance,
Even pigs on their hind legs would after him prance.
He met old Dame Trot with a basket of eggs,
He used his pipe and she used her legs;
She danced about till the eggs were all broke,
She began to fret, but he laughed at the joke.
He saw a cross fellow was beating an ass,
Heavy laden with pots, pans, dishes and glass;
He took out his pipe and played them a tune,
And the jackass’s load was lightened full soon.
10. Blow out a candle.
The candle is rapidly flashed before the
person to blow it out. If passed to and fro
quick enough, it will afford much laughter
before it is blown out.
11. Stand on a chair and do just as you
are bidden without laughing.
12. Put a cord on the floor where you
cannot step over it.
(Put it against the wall.)
13. Put two chairs back to back and take
off your shoes and jump over them.
This is only a trick, you take off your
shoes and jump over them, not over the
chairs.
14. Act the part of a dumb servant. If it
is a lady who is redeeming the forfeit, she
must apply to a gentleman for a place, and
if a gentleman, he applies to a lady. Whoever
is engaging the servant asks seven
questions, all of which are answered by
dumb motions. Example: How do you
dust? How do you sew? How do you
open the hall door? How do you blacken
boots? etc.
15. Ask a question that cannot be answered
in the negative.
(The question is “What does Y E S spell?”)
16. Give a conundrum unfamiliar to all.
17. Dot and carry one.
(Hold your ankle while you walk across
the room.)
18. Imitate a banjo player.
19. Dance a blind lanciers.
(Try this when a number of forfeits have
to be redeemed. Eight people are blindfolded
and led to position. Another of the
company plays the lanciers. As those who
are blindfolded will surely make ridiculous
errors, everybody will heartily laugh. This
forfeit creates much merriment.)
20. Make a three-minute address, in
which every word commences with the
same letter.
21. Tell who wrote the Star Spangled
Banner.
(Francis Scott Key.)
22. Tell who wrote Home Sweet Home.
(John Howard Payne.)
23. Tell who wrote the Battle Hymn of
the Republic.
(Julia Ward Howe.)
24. Walk out of the room with two legs
but walk back with six.
(When you return, bring a chair with
you.)
25. Give numerical poetry.
Any verse that is familiar counting as example:
Shuffle-Shoon (one) and (two) Amber-Locks (three)
Sit (four) together (five) building (six) blocks (seven)
Shuffle-Shoon (eight) is (nine) old (ten) and (eleven) gray (twelve)
Amber-Locks (thirteen) a (fourteen) little (fifteen) child (sixteen)
But (seventeen) together (eighteen) at (nineteen) their (twenty) play (twenty-one)
Age (twenty-two) and (twenty-three) youth (twenty-four) are (twenty-five) reconciled (twenty-six)
And (twenty-seven) with (twenty-eight) sympathetic (twenty-nine) glee (thirty)
Build (thirty-one) their (thirty-two) castles (thirty-three) fair (thirty-four) to (thirty-five) see (thirty-six).
26. Spread out a newspaper and stand
two persons on it, so that they cannot possibly
touch each other.
(To accomplish this put the newspaper on
the floor, half on one side of the door, and
half on the other. A person stands on each
piece, and the door is shut between them.)
27. Sing one of the topical songs.
28. Sing the scale backwards.
29. Draw a picture of a bicycle race.
30. Build a house with cards.
31. Sew a hem.
32. Repeat rapidly either of the following
tongue twisters.
Susan shineth shoes and socks; socks and shoes
shines Susan. She ceaseth shining shoes and socks,
for shoes and socks shock Susan.
Strict, strong Stephen Stringer snared six sickly
silky snakes.
Swan swam over the sea; swim, swan, swim; swan
swam back again; well swum swan.
Six thick thistle sticks.
Flesh of freshly fried flying fish.
Give Grimes Jim’s great gilt gig whip.
