Ditloid

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A ditloid is a type of word puzzle, in which a phrase or quote must be deduced from the numbers and abbreviated letters in the clue. Common words such as 'the', 'in', 'a', 'an', 'of', 'to', etc. are not normally abbreviated. The name 'ditloid' was given by the Daily Express newspaper, originating from the clue: 1 DITLOID = 1 Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. Some examples are given below.

[edit] History

Will Shortz originated the current form of this puzzle and first published it in the following article from the May-June 1981 issue of Games Magazine:

EQUATION ANALYSIS TEST

by Will Shortz

This test does not measure your intelligence, your fluency with words, and certainly not your mathematical ability. It will, however, give you some gauge of your mental flexibility and creativity. In the three years since we developed the test, we've found few people who could solve more than half the 24 questions on the first try. Many, however, reported getting answers long after the test had been set aside -- particularly at unexpected moments when their minds were relaxed, and some reported solving all the questions over a period of several days. Take this as your personal challenge.

Instructions: Each equation below contains the initials of words that will make it correct. Find the missing words. For example, 26 = L. of the A. would be 26 = Letters of the Alphabet.

26 = L. of the A.

7 = W. of the A.W.

1,001 = A.N.

12 = S. of the Z.

54 = C. in a D. (with the J.)

8 = P. in the S.S.

88 = P.K.

13 = S. on the A.F.

32 = D.F. at which W.F.

18 = H. on a G.C.

90 = D. in a R.A.

200 = D. for P.G. in M.

8 = S. on a S.S.

3 = B.M. (S.H.T.R.!)

4 = Q. in a G.

24 = H. in a D.

1 = W. on a U.

5 = D. in a Z.C.

57 = H.V.

11 = P. on a F.T.

1,000 = W. that a P. is W.

29 = D. in F. in a L.Y.

64 = S. on a CB.

40 = D. and N. of the G.F.

In its annual 1981 issue of "What's hot and what's not," Us Magazine named the Equation Analysis Test in the "what's hot" category -- the only nonperson so recognized.

Shortz reports:

Some anonymous person had retyped the puzzle from Games (word for word, except for my byline), photocopied it, and passed it along. This page was then rephotocopied ad infinitum, like a chain letter, and circulated around the country. Games readers who hadn't seen the original even started sending it back to Games as something the magazine ought to consider publishing!

-Will Shortz

Shortz based the puzzle on the Formula Analysis Test - Revised Form published in Morgan Worthy's 1975 book, AHA! A Puzzle Approach to Creative Thinking (Chicago: Nelson Hall):

M.+M.+N.H.+V.+C.+R.I = N.E.

"1B. in the H. = 2 in the B."

8D. - 24H. = 1W.

H.H.& M.H. at 12 = N. OR M.

3P. = 6

4J. + 4Q. + 4K. = all the F.C.

S. & M. & T. & W. & T. & F. & S. are D. of W.

A. + N. + A.F. + M.C. + C.G. = A.F.

T. = L.S. State

23Y. - 3Y. = 2D.

E. - 8 = Z.

8P. = 1G.

C. + 6D. = N.Y.E.

S.R. of N. = 3

A. & E. were in the G. of E.

My F.L. & South P. are both M.C.

"N.N. = G.N."

N. + P. + S.M. = S. of C

1 + 6Z. = 1M.

B. or G. - F. - M. = O.

"R. = R. = R."

A.L. & J.G. & W.M. & J.K. were all A.

N. + V. +P. + A. + A. + C. + P. + I. = P. of S.

S. + H. of R. = U.S.C.

P. & N. & D. & Q. & H.D. are all C.

Y. - S. - S. -A. = W.

Y. + 2D. = T.

Worthy gives the source of his inspiration and speculates about the perennial popularity of this puzzle:

I got the idea for linguistic equations from graffiti someone had written in the form of an obscene formula on a restroom wall at the University of Florida. When the answer suddenly came to me, I realized the format was a good one for eliciting the "aha effect". After that I used such items as exercise material when teaching workshops on creative thinking.

My guess is that one reason a person enjoys linguistic equations is that the answer hits him or her all at once rather than being solved in an incremental fashion. It is similar to what happens when we suddenly see an embedded figure pop into focus; the satisfaction is visceral rather than just intellectual. My experience was that people often had the answer to an item come to them when they were not consciously thinking about the puzzles, but relaxed, such as in the shower or about to fall asleep.

Another factor is that with well-written items, success does not hinge on obscure information. Ideally, a person should never have to feel, "I could never have gotten that one no matter how long I worked on it." There is something ego enhancing about knowing you have the answer inside and just need to find it.