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Information about Rebus

For the Inspector Rebus'' series of novels see Inspector Rebus, and for the television adaptation see Rebus (TV series). Information on the eponymous detective, see Detective Inspector John Rebus.


Rebus Principle (Linguistics) is using the existing symbols, such as pictograms, purely for their sounds regardless of their meaning, to represent new words. Many ancient writing systems used Rebus principle to represent abstract words, which otherwise would be hard to be represented by pictograms. An example that illustrates the Rebus principle is the representation of the sentence “I see you” by using the pictographs of “eye – sea – ewe”.

A rebus (Latin: "by things") is a kind of word puzzle which uses pictures to represent words or parts of words; for example: H + = Hear, or Here.

The term "rebus" also refers to the use of a pictogram to represent a syllabic sound. This adapts pictograms into phonograms. A precursor to the development of the alphabet, this process represents one of the most important developments of writing.

The writing of correspondence in rebus form became popular in the 18th century and continued into the 19th century. Lewis Carroll wrote the children he befriended picture-puzzle rebus letters, nonsense letters, and looking-glass letters, which had to be held in front of a mirror to be read.[1] Rebus letters served either as a sort of code or simply as a pastime.

Rebuses and heraldry

Enlarge picture
Arms of Congleton Borough Council: conger, leo, tun
Rebuses are used extensively in heraldry as a hint to the name of the owner of a coat of arms. This practice is known as canting. For example, the arms of the Borough of Congleton in Cheshire contain a conger eel, a lion (in Latin, leo) and a tun (another word for a barrel). This word sequence "conger leo tun" recalls the town's name.

The more popular rebuses contain simple English letters of the alphabet in different sizes, colors and other manipulations that often represent popular sayings and phrases.

Rebuses and game shows

Rebuses were central to the United States television game show Concentration. Contestants had to solve a rebus, usually partially concealed, to win a game.

Lone Star Beer, "The National Beer of Texas", has rebus puzzles under the caps of its bottled beer, as does Rainier Beer, Mickey's and Lionshead.

The United Kingdom has also had a games show which requires contestants to identify a rebus. The show, Catchphrase has been a longstanding Saturday evening show, with Roy Walker as its most notable host.

Examples from history

  • It is written that when Voltaire was the guest of Frederick the Great at Sanssouci Palace, they exchanged puzzle notes. Frederick sent over a page with two picture blocks on it: two hands below the letter "P", and then the number 100 below a picture of a handsaw, all followed by a question mark. Voltaire replied with: Ga!
Both messages were rebuses in the French language: deux mains sous Pé, cent sous scie? (= demain souper, Sanssouci?, "supper tomorrow, Sanssouci?"); reply: "big G, small a!", Gé grand, A petit! (= j'ai grand appétit!, "I am very hungry!").
  • General Charles James Napier sent a one-word message after his conquest of the Sindh region, which could be construed as either a rebus or a bilingual pun: "Peccavi"— the Latin word for "I have sinned" = "I have Sindh".

External links

See also

The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin. The novels, centred around the title character Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh.
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Rebus is the title of the detective drama based on the Inspector Rebus novels by the Scottish author Ian Rankin based in and around Edinburgh produced by SMG Productions (STV) for the ITV Network.
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Detective Inspector John Rebus is the protagonist in the Inspector Rebus series of detective novels by the Scottish writer Ian Rankin, 10 of which have so far been televised as Rebus. The novels are mostly set in and around Edinburgh.
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For the journal, see .
Linguistics is the scientific study of language, which can be theoretical or applied. Someone who engages in this study is called a linguist.
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Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Word play is a literary and narrative technique in which the nature of the words used themselves become part of the subject of the work. Puns, phonetic mixups such as spoonerisms, obscure words and meanings, clever rhetorical excursions, oddly formed sentences, and telling
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pictogram (also spelled pictogramme) or pictograph is a symbol representing a concept, object, activity, place or event by illustration. Pictography is a form of writing whereby ideas are transmitted through drawing.
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The adjective syllabic refers to elements relative to a syllable:
  • syllabic verse
  • syllabic consonant

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ABCs redirects here, for the Alien Big Cats, see British big cats.


An alphabet is a standardized set of letters
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Writing, is the representation of language in a textual medium; that is with the use of signs or symbols. It is distinguished from illustration such as cave drawings and paintings, and recording language via a non-textual medium such as magnetic tape audio.
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Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (IPA: /ˈdɒdsən/) (January 27 1832 – January 14 1898), better known by the pen name Lewis Carroll (/ˈkærəl/
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Nonsense is an utterance or written text in what appears to be a human language or other symbolic system, that does not in fact carry any identifiable meaning.

Nonsense categories

Nonsense can be considered as noise.

It comes in 4 categories:

1.
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mirror is an object with a surface that has good specular reflection; that is, it is smooth enough to form an image. The most familiar type of mirror is the plane mirror, which has a flat surface.
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In communications, a code is a rule for converting a piece of information (for example, a letter, word, or phrase) into another form or representation, not necessarily of the same type.
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A hobby is a spare-time recreational pursuit.

Origin of term

A hobby-horse was a wooden or wickerwork toy made to be ridden just like the real hobby. From this came the expression "to ride one's hobby-horse", meaning "to follow a favourite pastime", and in turn,
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Heraldry in its most general sense encompasses all matters relating to the duties and responsibilities of officers of arms.[1] To most, though, heraldry is the practice of designing, displaying, describing, and recording coats of arms and badges.
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Canting arms is a technique used in European heraldry whereby the name of the individual or community represented in a coat of arms is "translated" into a visual pun.
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Congleton

Congleton ()
|240px|Congleton (

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Conger
Oken, 1817

Species

See text.

Conger is a genus of marine congrid eels. It includes some of the largest types of eels, ranging up to 3 m (10 ft) in length.
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Anguilliformes

Suborders
See text for suborders and families.
True eels (Anguilliformes) are an order of fish, which consists of 4 suborders, 19 families, 110 genera and 400 species. Most eels are predators.
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P. leo

Binomial name
Panthera leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Distribution of lions in Africa


Synonyms
Felis leo
(Linnaeus, 1758)

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barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container, traditionally made of wood staves and bound with iron hoops. Someone who makes such barrels is known as a cooper. Contemporary barrels are also made in aluminium (also called kegs) and plastic.
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English}}} 
Writing system: Latin (English variant) 
Official status
Official language of: 53 countries
Regulated by: no official regulation
Language codes
ISO 639-1: en
ISO 639-2: eng
ISO 639-3: eng  
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game show involves members of the public or celebrities, sometimes as part of a team, playing a game, perhaps involving answering quiz questions, for points or prizes. In some shows contestants compete against other players or another team whilst other shows involve contestants
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Concentration was a TV game show based on the children's memory game of the same name.

The property has been seen in several different versions:

The original network daytime series, Concentration,
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A contestant is someone who takes part in a competition, usually a professional competition or a game show on television. The participants competing against each other have to go through rounds. The s may have to compete in later stages or rounds until there is just one winner.
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Lone Star Pale Lager
Lone Star Light Light Pale Lager

Lone Star is the brand name of a beer once produced in San Antonio, Texas and marketed as "The National Beer of Texas.
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Rainier Brewing Company (1884 - 1999) was a Seattle, Washington company that brewed Rainier Beer, a popular brand in the Pacific Northwest. Although Rainier Brewing Co. was founded in 1884, the Seattle, WA site has been brewing beer since 1878.
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Mickey's is a classic malt liquor made by the Miller Brewing Company. It has an alcohol content of 5.6% by volume.

Still widely known for its unique Beehive, wide-mouthed bottle, Mickey's is sometimes humorously referred to by college wags as "Mickey's Big Mouse," "big
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Lionshead is a pilsner produced by Lion Brewery, Inc. in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. It is made with American malts, corn and hops. Its cheap price (around $10 per case) and generally unoffensive taste make it a favorite for college students.
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