are formed by the transposition of the letters of words or sentences, or names of persons, so as to produce a word, sentence, or verse, of pertinent or of widely different meaning. They are very difficult to discover, but are exceedingly striking when good. The following are some of the most remarkable:
| Words | Transpositions |
|---|---|
| Astronomers | No more stars |
| Catalogues | Got as a clue |
| Elegant | Neat leg |
| Impatient | Tim in a pet |
| Immediately | I met my Delia |
| Masquerade | Queer as mad |
| Matrimony | Into my arm |
| Melodrama | Made moral |
| Midshipman | Mind his map |
| Old England | Golden land |
| Parishioners | I hire parsons |
| Parliament | Partial men |
| Penitentiary | Nay I repeat it |
| Presbyterian | Best in prayer |
| Radical Reform | Rare mad frolic |
| Revolution | To love ruin |
| Sir Robert Peel | Terrible poser |
| Sweetheart | There we sat |
| Telegraphs | Great help |
51. Arithmorems
This class of riddle is of recent introduction. The Arithmorem is made by substituting figures in a part of the word indicated, for Roman numerals. The nature of the riddle—from the Greek
arithmos
, number, and the Latin
remanere
, back again—will be easily seen from the following example, which is a double Arithmorem:
| H | 51 | and | a tub | —— | a fine large fish |
| A | 100 | and | gore | —— | a sprightly movement in music |
| R | 5 | and | be | —— | a part of speech |
| U | 551 | and | as and | —— | a Spanish province |
| To | 201 | and | ran | —— | a stupefying drug |
| R | 102 | and | nt | —— | an acid |
| OU | 250 | and | pap | —— | a Mexican town |