The Sign in the "Sail" Puzzle.
"I hope you will not think me very stupid, but even with the answer I cannot read the sign of the boat-house in the puzzle. Will you kindly explain through your columns now to read it?"
The preceding, either in these words or others of the same meaning, came to us from several readers. The first word is read by taking not the letters on the sign, but the succeeding one in the alphabet, as "b" for "a," "e" for "d," and so on. The second word is read by taking the preceding letter in each case, as "l" for "m," etc. The remaining words are read by taking the letters in reverse alphabetical order. For example, the fourth word on the sign begins with "x," which is the third letter, reading backwards, or from the end of the alphabet. For it read "c," and so on.