Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1885-11-16
sl1omlhs' Column,
ANAGRAMS.

alphabet WIND themselves up IN. ana
the game still retains its power to
fascinate. The keen-witted boy OF
girl of to-day-and man or woman
too. for that matter-finds as much
pleasure and perpleSity in it as did
the young Greek of more than TWEEN
ty centuries ago.
An anagram is simply a rear
rangement of the letters done in such
manner that another or several
other words are made. Thus sea-
noe" becomes "ocean, and "astron-
omers" are made ''moon-starers.
The former of these anagrams is
very simple one. No little skill
and thought, however, are necessary
where besides forming new words,
one endeavors to make these new
words IN some way suggest the orig
inal; as, for instance, to have them
ask question the answer to which
is found in the given word, or to
find an anagram which shall define
the word it is derived from. This is
a higher order of amusement, and
offers opportunities for the use of
sharp eyes and the exercise of quick
wits that are to be found in few
games.
A delightful. evening may be spent
by number of persons part OF
whom make while the others solve
The anagrams. A box of pasteboard
letters, such as are sold in all toy
and stationery shops, is all that
is needed in the way of material, I'M
less ones spelling is at all uncertain,
in which case good dictionary is
indispensable. | make special men
ton of this because | have spent
many fruitless hours in trying to I'M
ravel a knotty anagram, only to find
at last that the word has been care
lessly spelled at the outset, and its
anagram was, of course, incorrect.
Be sure, then, before transposing q
letter, that your word is properly
spelled. Do not select long word.
One of four or five syllables is often
more easily guessed than one of two
or three AS a general thing short
word containing number of vowels
| is harder to discover than any other.
Having chosen your word place
the letters that form it before you on
the table without regard to order,
and as they lie they may suggest
one or more new words. If either of
these has any bearing upon or con-
nection with the meaning of the orig
inal word, it is a good word to use i'll
the anagram. If such words fail to
appear at once, keep transposing and
your anagram will have point, and
be something more than mere trick
in letters.
Practice and experience will make
you very very expert after a while.
through many brilliant hit has been
made unconsciously.
Proper names-authors and dis.
tin gulshed men-are excellent to be.
gin on, and their anagrams can be
made to refer to the best-knowI
works. Of this kind of anagram the
pen-name of Bryan Waller Proctor
is q good one, and Proctor is almos
/ better known as Barry Cornwall
poet" than by his own name.
No fixed rules OF general direc
tons can be given to aid you in this
The method l adopt, and which has
proved very successful, is as fol
lows: / spread the letters out before
me just as they come, and looking
carefully at them, try to get some
clew to the word they represent. /
/ fail to do so, | change them re
peatedly back and forth, in and out
until, if our arithmetics did not tel
us otherwise, it would seem as i
they could not possibly be arranged
in more ways than / am employed
If after this / am still in the dark,
give up attempting to find the who'll
word by inspiration or inspection
and devote myself to building it NJ
piecemeal, always beginning at tn
tail end.
The termination of English word
are comparatively few, and | use il
turn-ringing all possible changes OF
them-such common suffixes a
''tton," ''mess," Hy,'' "al," sous,
"ance," ''ic," as we'll as others tina
are familiar to you oil. Using an.
: one of these as ''trial" ending,
of course have only the remainin!
: letters of the word to arrange, an
: the task is at once simplilied. Fol
lowing this plan one rarely fails t
bring down his game.
In guessing in the manner pointe
out above. it often happens tina
ones whole mind becomes so inten
upon forming the separate syllable
that one actually fails to discove
the word, even when it lies spelle
in full before ones eyes and | hav
seen people-not young ones
either-with such q word as SOME
TIMES in front of them, saying t
themselves "SO-MET-I-MES, som
ETI-MES, what on earth can tina
be?"-and they have absolutely nc
seen the word and gone on transpos
ing the letters.
, The following are excellent exam
Piles of anagrams with some mean
y ;,oo