Name-sake Nan-keen Nap-kin Neck-cloth Neck-lace Nest-ling News-paper Nick-name Night-cap Night-gown Night-mare Night-watch Nine-fold Noon-tide North-star North-ward Not-able Not-ice No-where Nut-gall Nut-meg

Oak-apple Oat-cake Oat-meal Off-end Oil-man O-men On-set O-pen O-pinion Our-selves Out-act Out-bid Out-brave Out-brazen Out-cast Out-cry Out-do Out-grow Out-law Out-line Out-live Out-march Out-rage Out-ride Out-run Out-sail Out-sell Out-shine Out-side Out-sit Out-sleep Out-spread Out-stare Out-stretch Out-talk Out-vie Out-ward Out-weigh Out-wit Out-work Out-worn Over-act Over-awe Over-bear Over-board Over-boil Over-burden Over-cast Over-charge Over-cloud Over-come Over-court Over-do Over-due Over-eye Over-feed Over-flow Over-grown Over-head Over-hear Over-heard Over-joy Over-lade Over-lay Over-leap Over-load Over-look Over-mast Over-match Over-pa.s.s Over-pay Over-peer Over-plus Over-poise Over-power Over-press Over-rack Over-rate Over-reach Over-right Over-ripen Over-roast Over-rule Over-run Over-see Over-seer Over-set Over-shade Over-shadow Over-shoe Over-shoot Over-sight Over-size Over-sleep Over-spread Over-stock Over-strain Over-sway Over-swell Over-take Over-throw Over-took Over-value Over-work Ox-gall Ox-lip

Pack-age Pack-cloth Pad-dock Pad-lock Pain-ful Pain-less Pal-ace Pal-ate Pal-let Pan-cake Pan-tiler Pa-pa Pa-pal Par-able Pa-rent Pa-ring Par-snip Par-son Par-took Part-ridge Pa.s.s-able Pa.s.s-over Pas-time Patch-work Pa-tent Path-way Pat-ten Peace-able Pea-c.o.c.k Pear-led Peer-age Peer-less Pen-knife Pen-man Pen-man-ship Penny-worth Per-jury Pert-in-a-city Pick-lock Pick-pocket Pie-bald Pike-staff Pill-age Pin-cushion Pine-apple Pip-kin Pitch-fork Pit-men Plain-tiff Play-fellow Play-house Play-mate Play-wright Plough-man Plough-share Pole-cat Pol-lute Pop-gun Pop-in-jay Port-age Port-hole Post-age Post-chaise Post-date Post-house Post-man Post-office Pot-ash Pot-hook Pound-age Prim-rose Prior-ship Prop-a-gate Punch-bowl

Quad-rant Quench-less Quick-lime Quick-sand Quick-set Quick-silver

Rain-bow Ram-part Ran-sack Rap-a-city Rasp-berry Rattle-snake Red-breast Red-den Rid-dance Ring-leader Ring-let Ring-tail Ring-worm Rolling-pin Rose-water Rot-ten Round-about Round-house Run-a-gate Rush-light

Safe-guard Sal-low Sand-stone Sat-in Sat-ire Sauce-box Sauce-pan Saw-dust Saw-pit Scare-crow Scarf-skin Scar-let School-fellow School-master School-mistress Scot-free Screech-owl Scul-lion Sea-born Sea-calf Sea-coal Sea-faring Sea-girt Sea-gull Sea-maid Sea-man Seam-less Seam-stress Sea-nymph Sea-piece Sea-port Sea-sick Sea-son Sea-ward Second-hand Seed-cake Seed-ling Seed-pearl Seed-time Seers-man s.e.x-tile s.e.x-ton Shame-less Sham-rock Shape-less Sharp-set Sheep-cot Sheep-shearing Sheep-walk Sheet-anchor Sh.e.l.l-fish Shift-less Ship-board Ship-wreck Shirt-less Shoe-string Shoe-waker Shop-board Shop-keeper Shop-man Sh.o.r.e-less Short-hand Short-lived Short-sighted Shot-free Shoulder-belt Shrove-tide Side-board Side-long Side-saddle Side-ways Sight-less Silk-weaver Silk-worm Silver-smith Sin-less Six-fold Skim-milk Skip-jack Sky-lark Sky-light Slap-dash Sleeve-less Slip-board Slip-shod Slip-slop Slope-wise Slow-worm Snip-pet Snip-snap Snow-ball Snow-drop Snuff-box Sod-den Sol-ace So-lo Sol-vent Some-body Some-how Some-time Some-what Some-where Song-stress Son-net Southern-wood Span-king Spare-rib Spar-row Speak-able Speech-less Spite-ful Sports-man Spot-less Spring-halt Spruce-beer Stair-case Star-board Star-gazer Star-less Star-light Star-like Star-ling States-man Stead-fast Steel-yard Steer-age Step-dame Step-daughter Step-father Step-mother Steward-ship Stiff-neck Still-born Stock-jobber Stone-fruit Store-fruit Store-house Stow-age Strata-gem Straw-berry Stream-let Strip-ling Sum-mary Summer-house Summer-set Sun-beam Sun-burnt Sun-day Sun-dry Sun-flower Sun-less Sup-plant Sup-pliant Sup-port Sup-port-able Sup-position Sup-press Swans-down Sweep-stake Sweet-bread Sweet-briar Sweet-heart Sweet-william Sweet-willow Swine-herd Swords-man

Tar-get Tar-tar Taw-dry Tax-able Tea-cup Teem-ful Teem-less Tell-tale Ten-able Ten-a-city Ten-ant Ten-dance Ten-don Ten-dril Ten-or Thank-ful Thank-less Them-selves Thence-forth There-after There-at There-by There-fore There-from There-in There-on There-to There-with Thick-set Thought-ful Thought-less Thread-bare Three-fold Three-score Thresh-old Through-out Thunder-bolt Thunder-struck Till-age Tip-pet Tip-staff Tire-some t.i.tle-page Toad-stool Toil-some Tom-boy Tooth-ache Top-knot Top-most Top-sail Touch-stone Touch-wood Towns-man Toy-shop Track-less Trap-door Tre-foil Trip-let Trip-thong Trod-den Turn-pike Turn-spit Turn-stile Tutor-age Twelfth-night Twelfth-tide Two-fold Two-pence

Up-braid Up-hill Up-hold Up-land Up-ride Up-right Up-roar Up-shot Up-start Up-ward Use-less

Vain-glory Van-guard Vault-age

Wag-on Wag-tail Wain-scot Waist-coat Wake-ful Wal-nut Wan-ton Ward-mate Ward-robe Ward-ship Ware-house War-fare War-like War-rant Wash-ball Waste-ful Watch-ful Watch-man Watch-word Water-course Water-fall Water-fowl Water-man Water-mark Water-mill Water-work Way-lay Way-ward Weather-c.o.c.k Weather-gla.s.s Weather-wise Web-bed Web-foot Wed-lock Week-day Wel-come Wel-fare Well-born Well-bred Wheel-wright Where-at Where-by Whet-stone Whip-cord Whip-hand Whirl-pool Whirl-wind White-wash Whit-low Whit-sun-tide Who-ever Whole-sale Whole-some Wild-fire Wil-low Wind-la.s.s Wind-mill Wind-pipe Win-now Win-some Wise-acre Wit-less Wolf-dog Wood-c.o.c.k Wood-land Wood-lark Wood-man Wood-note Wood-nymph Work-house Work-man Work-shop Worm-wood Wrath-ful Wrath-less Wrist-band Writ-ten

Year-ling Youth-ful

[A LIAR SHOULD HAVE A GOOD MEMORY.]

55. Chronograms or Chrono-graphs

are riddles in which the letters of the Roman notation in a sentence or series of words are so arranged as to make up a date. The following is a good example:

My Day Closed Is In Immortality.

The initials MDCIII. give 1603, the year of Queen Elizabeth's death.

Sometimes the Chronogram is employed to express a date on coins or medals; but oftener it is simply used as a riddle:

A poet who in blindness wrote; another lived in Charles's reign; a third called the father of English verse; a Spanish dramatist; the scolding wife of Socrates; and the Prince of Latin poets,--their initials give the year of the Great Plague--MDCLXV.--1665: Milton, Dryden, Chaucer, Lope-de-Vega, Xantippe, Virgil.

The word comes from _Chronos_, time, and _gramma_, a letter.

[BEGIN WELL AND END BETTER.]

56. Conundrums.

These are simple catches, in which the sense is playfully cheated, and are generally founded upon words capable of double meaning. The following are examples:

Where did Charles the First's executioner dine, and what did he take?

_He took a chop at the King's Head._

When is a plant to be dreaded more than a mad dog?

_When it's madder._

What is majesty stripped of its externals?

It is _a jest_.

[The _m_ and the _y_, externals, are taken away.]

Why is hot bread like a caterpillar?

_Because it's the grub that makes the b.u.t.ter fly._

Why did the accession of Victoria throw a greater damp over England than the death of King William?

_Because the King was missed_ (mist) _while the Queen was reigning_ (raining).

Why should a gouty man make his will?

_To have his legatees_ (leg at ease).

Why are bankrupts more to be pitied than idiots?

_Because bankrupts are broken, while idiots are only cracked._

Why is the treadmill like a true convert?

_Because it's turning is the result of conviction._

When may a n.o.bleman's property be said to be all feathers?

_When his estates are all entails_ (hen-tails).

[EVERY MAN KNOWS WHERE HIS OWN SHOE PINCHES.]

57. Cryptography, or secret writing

from the Greek _cryptos_, a secret, and _graphein_, to write--has been largely employed in state despatches, commercial correspondence, love epistles, and riddles. The telegraphic codes employed in the transmission of news by electric wire, partakes somewhat of the cryptographic character, the writer employing certain words or figures, the key to which is in the possession of his correspondent.

The single-word despatch sent by Napier to the Government of India, was a sort of cryptographic conundrum--_Peccavi_, I have sinned (Scinde); and in the agony column of the 'Times' there commonly appear paragraphs which look puzzling enough until we discover the key-letter or figure. Various and singular have been the devices adopted--as, for instance, the writing in the perforations of a card especially prepared, so as only to allow the real words of the message to be separated from the ma.s.s of writing by means of a duplicate card with similar perforations; the old Greek mode of writing on the edges of a strip of paper wound round a stick in a certain direction, and the subst.i.tution of figures or signs for letters or words. Where one letter is always made to Stand for another, the secret of a cryptograph is soon discovered, but when, as in the following example, the same letter does not invariably correspond to the letter for which it is a subst.i.tute, the difficulty of deciphering the cryptograph is manifestly increased:

Ohs ya h sych, oayarsa rr loucys syms Osrh srore rrhmu h smsmsmah emshyr snms.

The translation of this can be made only by the possessor of the key.

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z h u s h m o n e y b y c h a r l e s h r o s s e s q

"Hush Money, by Charles H. Ross, Esq."--twenty-six letters which, when applied to the cryptograph, will give a couplet from Parnell's "Hermit":

"Far in a wild, unknown to public view, From youth to age a reverend hermit grew."

The employment of figures and signs for letters is the most usual form of the cryptograph. From the following jumble we get a portion of Hamlet's address to the Ghost:

9 a 6 2 x # 9 a 1

3 a 3 # 2 # * 7 6 9 5 2 1 2 7 2 a 1 ; # 4 2 8 * ; # ( 3 3 , * 7 8 2 9 x , 1 * 6 * 4 x 3 a 1 9

a 2 1

With the key