Brain Teasers
What is in a Name?
This puzzle is based on a well-known one by Lewis Carroll.
A number of passengers from a sinking ship landed from their boat on a small island, where they had to remain for some months before being rescued. They were a mixed group who now needed to co-exist. One man amused himself by giving the others new names, which he said were appropriate nicknames, but would not disclose any more. Thus, a man who spent his time rambling about the island he called ANDREW, a guy who robbed a fellow passenger he called DENNIS, a friend of his who had written ten words for a song he called CYRIL, a botanist who was particularly interested in the cone-bearing trees on the island he named CHARLES, and an eccentric man who had a mad theory that a building used for storing grain should be painted a bright vermilion he insisted on calling BERNARD. There was one more man with them who was known to have wounded his mother by accidentally firing a gun at her.
What name did he give this man?
A number of passengers from a sinking ship landed from their boat on a small island, where they had to remain for some months before being rescued. They were a mixed group who now needed to co-exist. One man amused himself by giving the others new names, which he said were appropriate nicknames, but would not disclose any more. Thus, a man who spent his time rambling about the island he called ANDREW, a guy who robbed a fellow passenger he called DENNIS, a friend of his who had written ten words for a song he called CYRIL, a botanist who was particularly interested in the cone-bearing trees on the island he named CHARLES, and an eccentric man who had a mad theory that a building used for storing grain should be painted a bright vermilion he insisted on calling BERNARD. There was one more man with them who was known to have wounded his mother by accidentally firing a gun at her.
What name did he give this man?
Hint
All names are anagrams that spell something to fit the man to whom the name applies.Answer
The man who loved to ramble was called ANDREW, because the letters spell WANDER; the thief was called DENNIS, because he had SINNED; the song writer was called CYRIL, because he had written a LYRIC; the botanist interested in cone-bearing trees was named CHARLES, because the letters spell LARCHES; and the eccentric man who had a mad theory that a building used for storing grain should be painted a bright vermilion was appropriately called BERNARD, since the letters spell RED BARN. Therefore, the man who wounded his mother by accidentally firing a gun at her was called THOMAS, because he SHOT MA!Hide Hint Show Hint Hide Answer Show Answer
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