Picture puzzle

Example of a picture puzzle

Rebus from 1861. The solution is a paraphrase of an epigram by Wilhelm Müller : Host (if) the love of Ei Fers 'will grow, grow n your wool' (= well) dog (s) R Tau gen; D "Ochs in D" "two E" not "under the" g wheel out to Se (e) h Ent 'eyes.

A picture puzzle in which the task is to find a suitable picture name with the recognizable or wordplay, in this case the value Pi and the plumb bob .

A picture puzzle , also known as the rebus ( Latin rebus 'through things'), is a puzzle consisting largely of drawings : a series of images and symbols, the wording of which, when combined and abstracted, result in one or more new terms that are associated with the Images have no objective connection. The replacement, the omission or the addition of individual letters can be ordered.

There are also picture puzzles in which the task is to find differences between two pictures that look the same at first glance.

Historical

Rebus sequences consisting of images and symbols were already known in the 15th century and delighted the nobility and educated classes , for example in the form of illustrated mockery poems . The picture puzzles published around 1522 are masterfully executed, combined with verses written in northern French dialect, the Rébus de Picardie illuminés .

Picture puzzles later appeared in illustrated newspapers and magazines. A price was often awarded for the solution and the names of those who submitted correct solutions were mentioned.

variant

A similar type of puzzle, which is often linked to a picture puzzle, places letters and other characters in a spatial relationship, with the location designation being part of the solution. A relatively well-known example is

          Bl Bl
        Bl e Bl
          Bl Bl

or

b T b

In order to solve this type of letter game , you sometimes have to think outside the box, and sometimes such a puzzle can only be understood as a word joke. The solutions can be found in the footnotes at the end of the article.

Historical anecdote

Frederick the Great is said to have sent Voltaire the following note:

${\displaystyle {\frac {p}{A}}a{\frac {6}{100}}?}$

Voltaire is said to have answered:

${\displaystyle {G}{a}}$

There is also a variant:

${\displaystyle {\frac {P}{Venez}}a{\frac {ci}{Sans}}?}$

Answer by Voltaire: See above.

solutions

1. ↑ Wikipedia
2. ↑ Bl um e = flower
3. ↑ two small b at T = two small officials
4. ↑ Frederick the Great: A under pa one hundred under six? = A sous pa cent sous six? = À souper à Sanssouci ? = For dinner in Sanssouci? Voltaire: Big G small a = G grand a petit = J'ai grand appétit = I have a big appetite
5. ^ Venez under P à Sans under ci? = Venez sous P à Sans sous ci? = Venez souper à Sanssouci ? = Are you coming to Sanssouci to eat?

literature

• Rébus . In: Illustrirte Zeitung . No. 13 . J. J. Weber, Leipzig September 23, 1843, p. 207-208 ( books.google.de ).
• Rebus almanac. JJ Weber, Leipzig 1845 ( full text in the Google book search)
• Eva-Maria Schenck: The picture riddle. Olms, Hildesheim et al. 1973, ISBN 3-487-04308-4 .

Web links

Commons : Rebus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wiktionary: Rebus  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Wikisource: The Inventor of the Rebus  - Flying Leaves , Volume 1, Issue 13, p. 104 (1845)

• The rebus - magic of drawing (s) essay by Walter Eigenmann
• [1] Rebus 1843-2018. Edited by Tobias Vogt. Free University of Berlin, Institute of Art History, 2018