An Introduction to Wordies

Lateral thinking is a term coined by Edward de Bono, a Maltese psychologist, physician and writer. It first appeared in the title of his book The Use of Lateral Thinking, published in 1967. De Bono defines lateral thinking as methods of thinking concerned with changing concepts and perception. Lateral thinking is about reasoning that is not immediately obvious and about ideas that may not be obtainable by using only traditional step-by-step logic.

as quoted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lateral_thinking

These wordies are known by many different names and can be found all over the web now.

Basically wordies (my phrase) are picture word puzzles usually made up of letters, numbers and words to represent a word phrase or saying. Wordies can be similar to Rebus puzzles in some instances.

So here are some examples you may find:

Look at the position of the words...

And the answer is... a hole in one

Replace one or all of the words in this one...

And the answer is... an educated guess

Sometimes the number of words or letters makes a difference...

And the answer is... three blind mice

The size of the lettering or font may matter...

And the answer is... growing pains

Colour may be relevant.

And the answer is... Moonlight Sonata

Sometimes wordies are phonologically cryptic.

And the answer is... Tennis anyone?

Go to the wordie gallery to try them yourself. | page 1 | page 2 |