Ditloids

Ditloids are word puzzles that also involve numbers - they are sometimes referred to as language or linguistic equations. The modern version of Ditloids was invented by Will Shortz and published in 1981 under the title "Equation Analysis test" in Games Magazine.

The name Ditloids was coined by the Daily Express. It refers to "One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovich" (1 DITLOID).

What Are Ditloids?

A Ditloid is a short phrase containing at least one number in which the non-trivial words have been replaced by their initial letters. The object of the puzzle is to work out the words. So a simple example would be:


7 D in a W

This might also be written as:

7 = D in a W

The answer is 7 Days in a Week.

Any phrase can be used to form a Ditloid, however a good puzzle should have the same attributes as a good crossword clue: once the answer is discovered the solver should be certain that it is right, and if not discovered the solver should look at the answer and think "I should have got that". For this reason phrases that are too general or too obscure rarely make good ditloids.

Lists of Ditloids are sometimes produced that relate to a certain theme. For example a couple of Ditloids that could relate to the themes of this site are:

6 S on a D

52 C in a D

D F P I 1981


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6 Sides on a Die

52 Cards in a Deck

Ditloids First Published In 1981