The squarest word in any language is the Latin time, which, in connection with the three other Latin words, item, meti, emit, can be read, when written as a square, in every possible direction. Thus:—
| T | I | M | E |
| I | T | E | M |
| M | E | T | I |
| E | M | I | T |
As it seems impossible to go one better, we have been seeking, as a new nut for our store, some English word which may be a good second. Can you complete the square which is built up on these lines?
| D | E | L | F |
| * | * | * | * |
| * | * | * | * |
| * | * | * | * |
Delf is the key word, but it so far falls short of the perfection aimed at, that other letters are used in four of the vacant places. Still, it is so constructed that words which begin with D, E, L, or F appear each of them in four different directions, and is thus quite a notable example.
No. XL.—A PUZZLE DIAMOND
Can you fill in this diamond with four words that read alike from left to right, and from top to bottom?
| D | ||||||
| . | I | . | ||||
| . | . | A | . | . | ||
| D | I | A | M | O | N | D |
| . | . | O | . | . | ||
| . | N | . | ||||
| D | ||||||