Chapter 10

“Twice six is six, and soSix is but three;Three is just five you know,What can we be?”

“Twice six is six, and soSix is but three;Three is just five you know,What can we be?”

“Twice six is six, and soSix is but three;Three is just five you know,What can we be?”

is the number of letters of the alphabet used in spelling a number. Thus twice six, ortwelve, is composed of six letters, and so on.

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52. A button.

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53. LEVEL—MADAM.

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54. An egg.

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55. Vague.

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56.

A headless man had a letter to write,(The letter O, i.e.nothing.)He who read it had lost his sight,(He readnothing.)The dumb repeated it word for word,(He saidnothing.)And deaf was he who listened and heard.(He heardnothing.)

A headless man had a letter to write,(The letter O, i.e.nothing.)He who read it had lost his sight,(He readnothing.)The dumb repeated it word for word,(He saidnothing.)And deaf was he who listened and heard.(He heardnothing.)

A headless man had a letter to write,(The letter O, i.e.nothing.)He who read it had lost his sight,(He readnothing.)The dumb repeated it word for word,(He saidnothing.)And deaf was he who listened and heard.(He heardnothing.)

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57. Highway.

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58. A set of false teeth.

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59. The “fearful fate” enigma is slaughter; cut off its head and we have laughter; lop off its shoulders and we find aught.

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60. Speculation—peculations.

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61. The word “united” is “of fellowship the token,” and the requirement “reverse it, and the bond is broken” refers only to the two central letters. When this is reversed the word “untied” is formed.

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62. Average.

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63. German—manger.

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64. Corkscrew.

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65.Taris transformed byArt, and as a sailor is fond of port, and blisters in the sun. When it turns to run it becomesRat, and when it doubles it isTartar, and is caught.

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66.

A man with one eye two plums must have seen,One perfectly ripe, the other quite green.The former he took, and ate it with pleasure,The other he left to ripen at leisure.

A man with one eye two plums must have seen,One perfectly ripe, the other quite green.The former he took, and ate it with pleasure,The other he left to ripen at leisure.

A man with one eye two plums must have seen,One perfectly ripe, the other quite green.The former he took, and ate it with pleasure,The other he left to ripen at leisure.

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67. A widower who has lost two wives.

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68. The grape-vine on the Marquis of Breadalbane’s estate, Killin, N.B., which bears more than 5000 bunches of grapes, of which only 500, properly thinned out, are allowed to mature, so that the fewer and smaller bunches bear finer fruit.

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69. Poe, poet, poetry.

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70. Theatres. The articlestheandalead on to the other four letterstres, and these form the wordrest, if thetis transferred to the end.

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71. Scold, cold, old.

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72. Justice, (just—ice).

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73. A shadow.

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74. VI., IV., I.

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75. The letter I.

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76. The letter V.

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77. An army.

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78.A rich table;chair,table;charitable.

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79. High-low.

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80. Orange, pear, date, banana, peach, plum, lime, lemon, mango, apple.

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81. Innuendo.

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82. Snipe, of whichpinesis an exact anagram.

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83.

None can locate the subject of my riddle,For all the world would seek its place in vain,Cut it asunder almost in the middle,And in our very midst its place is plain

None can locate the subject of my riddle,For all the world would seek its place in vain,Cut it asunder almost in the middle,And in our very midst its place is plain

None can locate the subject of my riddle,For all the world would seek its place in vain,Cut it asunder almost in the middle,And in our very midst its place is plain

is solved bynowhere,now here.

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1. Good-night (knight).

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2. Grandson.

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3. Oyster.

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4. Stay-lace.

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5. Ann—ounce.

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6. VOID, OVID.

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7. Disconsolate (disc—on—so—late).

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8. Ginger—Nigger. (G.E.R. Great Eastern Railway).

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9. Honesty (hone, below the razor).

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10. Nutmeg.

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11. Waterloo.

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12. Whether (whet—her).

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13. Mendicant (mend I can’t).

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14. Campbell.

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15. Foxglove.

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16. Anglesea.

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17. Shewed.

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18. Sparrow, often a gutter percher!

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19. Dishonest (dish—one—st).

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20. Dogmatism.

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21. Anthem.

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22. Gigantic (gig—antic).

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23. Toad (adis Latin forto).

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24. Cineraria (sinner—area).

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25. Ignis—fatuus, or Will-o’-the-wisp (ignis, fire—fatuus, a fool).

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26. Isis (sis in Latin,thou mayest be).

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27. Capacity.

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28. Scarcity.

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29. Pardon.

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30. Humbug.

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31. Ramrod.

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32. Dumpling.

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33. Into.

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34. Herring.

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35. Dublin (bud—nil).

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36. Peerless.

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37. Beatrice.

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38. Beam—beis half of the wordverb,amis half ofsame, andbeandamare similar in sense.

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39. Pulpit.

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40. Spare—rib.

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41. Usher.

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42. The shipCarmania.

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43. Candid.

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44. Husbandman.

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45. Hamlet.

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46. Handcuff.

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47. Sinecure.

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48. Infancy.

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49. Teachest.

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50. Hippodrome.

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51. Invalid.

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52. Woman.

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53. Kensington.

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54. Benjamin.

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55. Stipendiary.

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56. Wonder.

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57. Cabin.

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58. Falstaff.

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59. Periwinkle.

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60. Nameless.

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61. Fourscore.

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62. Hatred.

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63. Catsup.

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64. Molestation.

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65. Omen.

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66. Isinglass.

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67. Muffin.

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68. Footman.

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69. Sparrow-grass.

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70. Matchless.

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71. Planted.

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72. Toast-rack.

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73. Half-and-half, if properly punctuated.

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1. Washerwoman.

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2.

“Call me an uncle, then you speak me fair,Call me anuncle-anuncle if you dare!”

“Call me an uncle, then you speak me fair,Call me anuncle-anuncle if you dare!”

“Call me an uncle, then you speak me fair,Call me anuncle-anuncle if you dare!”

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3. Pluck the goose.

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4. Also.

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5. A lawsuit.

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6. Because they are bargains.

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7. A pair of shoes.

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8. Because whenever he goes out he can put his portmanteaux (Portman toes) into his boots.

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9. FIVE.

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10. Rail—liar.

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11. Because it slopes with a flap!

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12. In California they eat all the peaches they can, and can all they can’t!

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13. The utmost effort ever made by a piebald (or by any) horse at a high jump isfour feet from the ground!

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14. Insatiate (in—sat—I—ate).

The clevercouplet—

Under my first my second stood.That’s your riddle: mine’s as good!

Under my first my second stood.That’s your riddle: mine’s as good!

Under my first my second stood.That’s your riddle: mine’s as good!

was intended to point out that the enigma

In my first my second sat,Then my third and fourth I ate

In my first my second sat,Then my third and fourth I ate

In my first my second sat,Then my third and fourth I ate

wasunderstood, and to frame at the same time a fresh one of similar sort.

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15. A gardener minds his peas, a billiard-marker his cues, a precise man his p’s and q’s, and a verger his keys and pews.

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16. A man with one eye can see more than a man with two, for in addition to all else he can see the other man’s two eyes, which can only see his one.

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17. When you ask a policeman what o’clock it is, you are like the Viceroy of India, because you areas king for the time.

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18. “What does Y E S spell?” is the question to which “yes” is the only possible reply.

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19. An umbrella.

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20. London for many years was a wonderful place for sound, for you could laugh at 5 p.m. at Waterloo Junction, and by walking briskly acrossthe river be in time for the late Echo at Charing Cross.

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21. Because it may be smelt!

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22. The full reading of “1s. 6d. me a bloater” is “Bob Tanner sent me a bloater.”

Note.—If any solver should ask, “But where is the ‘sent’?” we reply, “The scent was in the bloater!”

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23. The solution of the prime conundrum “Why is a moth flying round a candle like a garden gate?” is—Because if it keeps on it singes its wings (its hinges it swings).

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24. (Twe)lve—twe(nty) = twenty.

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25. Because it would be my newt (minute).

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26. The steps by which, in paying my debt to a lawyer, a threepenny piece swells to the needed six and eightpence arethese:—

Three pence is one and two pence;One and two pence is fourteen pence;Fourteen pence is six and eight pence!

Three pence is one and two pence;One and two pence is fourteen pence;Fourteen pence is six and eight pence!

Three pence is one and two pence;One and two pence is fourteen pence;Fourteen pence is six and eight pence!

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27. When the Vickers Maxim (vicar smacks him).

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28. Children should go to bed soon after tea because when “t” is taken awaynightisnigh.

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29. Scottish may be lighter than Irish men, for while Irishmen may be men of Cork, Scotsmen may be men of Ayr.

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30. Because barbers do not cut hair any longer!

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31. Colenso.

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32. This is Archbishop Whately’s riddle, and a solution, suggested long after his offer of £50 hadexpired:—

When from the Ark’s capacious roundMankind came forth in pairs,Who was it that first heard the soundOf boots upon the stairs?To him who cons the matter o’er,A little thought reveals,He heard it first who went beforeTwo pairs of soles and eels!

When from the Ark’s capacious roundMankind came forth in pairs,Who was it that first heard the soundOf boots upon the stairs?To him who cons the matter o’er,A little thought reveals,He heard it first who went beforeTwo pairs of soles and eels!

When from the Ark’s capacious roundMankind came forth in pairs,Who was it that first heard the soundOf boots upon the stairs?

To him who cons the matter o’er,A little thought reveals,He heard it first who went beforeTwo pairs of soles and eels!

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33. If Moses was the son of Pharaoh’s daughter,hewas the daughter of Pharaoh’s son.

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34. The word of three syllables which represents woman or man alternately by three contractions is heroine—hero—her—he.

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35. Solution to-morrow!

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36. Wholesome.

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37. They were jolly well tired!

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38. The stocks.

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39. Because it makes a far—thing present.

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40. If I were in the sun, and you were out of it, it would be asin.

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41. COLD.

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42. Takeoff—ice.

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43. Enduring.

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44. Uncross the “t” of “a foot,” and it becomes “a fool.”

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45. A rabbit can run into a square wood with sides that each measures a mile, keeping always in a straight line,until it reaches the middle of the wood, when it must begin to run out of it!

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46. To-morrow.

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47. Scar—bo—rough.

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48.

Though I in time for lunch may be,U cannot come till after T.

Though I in time for lunch may be,U cannot come till after T.

Though I in time for lunch may be,U cannot come till after T.

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49. A wig.

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50. Becausewecannot bewedwithout it.

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51. A spit.

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52. Wit (double you—I—tea).

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53. Holding up your hand you will see what you never have seen, never can see, and never will see—namely, the little finger as long as the finger next to it!

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54. The Emperor of Russia issues manifestoes.An ill-shod beggar manifests toes without his shoes!

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55. To show Walsham How a good bishop is made.

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56. There was certainly a tribe of Man—asses.

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57. L. s. d.

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58. A pillow.

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59. Abused (a—b—used).

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60. A settler.

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61. Because John Burns.

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62. It looks round!

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63. A minute.

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64. A deaf and dumb man cannot tickle nine persons, because he can only gesticulate (just tickle eight!).

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65. London always began with anl, and end always began with ane!

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66. Season.

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67. The new moon, for the full moon is much lighter.

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68. Island (lais the middle,isis the beginning,andis the end!).

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69. Because! (bee caws).

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70. The reading of the Dark Rebus

OBeD

is—a little blackie in bed with nothing over him.

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71. If a monkey is placed before a cross it at once gets to the top, for APE is then APEX.

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72. The answer to this riddle, defined as “two heads and an application,” isa kiss.

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73. The Latin expression of encouragement “macte” may be applied in its English equivalentin-creaseto a batsman when an umpire says of him “not out” after a risky run.

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74. The place which answers to the description “Half an inch (ch) before the trees (elms), halfa foot (fo), and half a yard (rd) after them leads us to an English town,” isChelmsford.

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75. The subject of the riddle, which none can locate, isnowhere. Cut asunder almost in the middle, it breaks into the opposite extreme, and becomesnow here!

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76. The two letters which in nine letters describe the position of one who has been left alone in his extremity are aband oned.Abandoned.

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77. Usher (us—her).

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78. You can make a Maltese cross with less than twelve unbent and unbroken matches, by striking only one match and dropping it down his back. If the first fails, try another!

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79. We may suppose that there were less vowels than we have now in the early days ofNoe, whenuandiwere not there.

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80. An orange (or—ange).

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81. The moral taught to us by the old emblem of a weathercock in the shape of a fish on a church near Lewes is, “It is vain to aspire!”

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82. FIDDLE.

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83. The words “for the want of water we drank water, and if we had had water we should have drank wine,” were spoken by the crew of a vessel that could not cross the harbour bar for want of water, and who had no wine on board.

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84.


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