From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles


Atbash is a simple substitution cipher that reverses the alphabet: A
becomes Z, B becomes Y, C becomes X, and so on.


--- AlephrCoTavrCoBetrCoShin, which is the source of the name
rCLAtbashrCY.



In English, the classic demo is HELLO raA SVOOL


Wizard --> draziW

Girt --> triG

(Like Palindromes)



Girt is a real English word. ItrCOs an old or uncommon form of gird
meaning rCLto bind, encircle, or fasten,rCY and it also appears as a
noun in a few technical senses.



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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On 31/05/26 10:29, HenHanna wrote:

Girt is a real English word. ItrCOs an old or uncommon form of gird
meaning rCLto bind, encircle, or fasten,rCY and it also appears as a
noun in a few technical senses.

Girt is simply the past participle of the verb gird. As verbs weaken it
is probably being gradually replaced by "girded", but "girt" continues
to survive as the passive participle.

The patriotic song "Wollongong the Brave" contains the lines

Land that is girt
By sea (on one side)
We have soil full of dirt
--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> wrote:

On 31/05/26 10:29, HenHanna wrote:

Girt is a real English word. ItrCOs an old or uncommon form of gird
meaning rCLto bind, encircle, or fasten,rCY and it also appears as a
noun in a few technical senses.

Girt is simply the past participle of the verb gird. As verbs weaken it
is probably being gradually replaced by "girded", but "girt" continues
to survive as the passive participle.

The patriotic song "Wollongong the Brave" contains the lines

Land that is girt
By sea (on one side)
We have soil full of dirt

--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW

thanks!



AI says all these are cognates:


Girth: The measurement around an object.

Garden / Yard: Fenced-in or enclosed plots of land.

G|+rtel: The standard modern German word for a belt.

Gartel: The traditional woven prayer belt worn by Hasidic Jewish men.

Asgard / Midgard: The enclosed realms of the gods and humans in Norse mythology.



-grad / -gorod: The suffixes used for Slavic cities (like Volgograd or Novgorod), which originally meant a fortified or walled enclosure.


------ Novgorod means [New City], so it's just like Newton.




The Basque First Name: Interestingly, Garden is also a legitimate, recognized female first name of Basque origin (a region between Spain
and France).

In the Basque language, it translates to "transparent" or "clear,"
though it is often cross-translated internationally to mean "a
cultivated land of flowers".
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On 2026-05-31, Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> wrote:

Girt is simply the past participle of the verb gird. As verbs weaken it
is probably being gradually replaced by "girded", but "girt" continues
to survive as the passive participle.

You mean "become regular". Gird/girt/girt is already a weak verb.
Along with bend/bent/bent and a few others it belongs to a group
that have coalesced the stem final dental and the past suffix.
--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On 2026-05-31, Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:

You mean "become regular". Gird/girt/girt is already a weak verb.
Along with bend/bent/bent and a few others it belongs to a group
that have coalesced the stem final dental and the past suffix.

PS:
Wikipedia's
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_irregular_verbs
categorizes the verbs: strong, weak, preterite-present, and a few
other odds and ends.
--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Sun, 31 May 2026 00:29:36 +0000, HenHanna wrote:

In English, the classic demo is HELLO raA SVOOL

Gdzh yiroort, zmw gsv horgsb glevh
Wrw tbiv zmw trnyov rm gsv dzyv:
Zoo nrnhb dviv gsv yliltlevh,
Zmw gsv nlnv izgsh lfgtizyv.
--
David Entwistle
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles


"HenHanna" <HenHanna@Posting.from.CsiPh> posted:

------ Novgorod means [New City], so it's just like Newton.

Several other cities have names which mean "New City":

* Carthage (Etruscan *Car++aza from the Punic qrt-b+Nd+it (EEnAEEnoEEno EEncEEnaEEnoEEnorCA)
"new city", implying it was a "new Tyre.)
* Cartagena, Spain (orig. Carthago Nova, i.e. New Carthage, or
lit. New New City)
* Naples (From Latin: Neapolis, from Ancient Greek: +Y+|+4-C+++++|-e,
romanized: Ne|ipolis, lit.rCe'new city'.)
* Nablus (in West Bank, formerly Flavia Neapolis)
* Chiang Mai, Thailand (a|Ca+ea+|a+oa+ca|aa+2a+ia|e)
* MANY other examples with Names beginning Nov|i-, Neu-, Nev-, New,
Nov-, Nieuw-, Ny- etc.


"Chiang Mai" originally referred to just the city's inner square mile surrounded by wall and moat. English speakers now generally
refer to this innermost "New City" as "the Old City."

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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On Sunday, Christian Weisgerber exclaimed wildly:

On 2026-05-31, Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:

You mean "become regular". Gird/girt/girt is already a weak verb.
Along with bend/bent/bent and a few others it belongs to a group
that have coalesced the stem final dental and the past suffix.

PS:
Wikipedia's
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_irregular_verbs
categorizes the verbs: strong, weak, preterite-present, and a few
other odds and ends.

And of course it cross-references the explanation of the classes at <URL:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_irregular_verbs>

/dps
--
"I am not given to exaggeration, and when I say a thing I mean it"
_Roughing It_, Mark Twain
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

David Entwistle <qnivq.ragjvfgyr@ogvagrearg.pbz> wrote:

On Sun, 31 May 2026 00:29:36 +0000, HenHanna wrote:

In English, the classic demo is HELLO raA SVOOL

Gdzh yiroort, zmw gsv horgsb glevh
Wrw tbiv zmw trnyov rm gsv dzyv:
Zoo nrnhb dviv gsv yliltlevh,
Zmw gsv nlnv izgsh lfgtizyv.

--
David Entwistle

Thanks!


>>> Because of its simplicity, Atbash hasnrCOt been used for serious encryption purposes but it has been used to disguise words from
casual readers. One example of this is in the bible where place names
have been encrypted using Atbash in some chapters of Jeremiah.

For example, Jeremiah 25:26 reads, rCyThe King of Sheshach shall drink
after them.rCO

Decrypting Seshach using Atbash gives you the more recognisable word, rCyBabylonrCO.



-------- there's a word for hiding a ciphered text in plain sight , in
this way
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From Newsgroup: rec.puzzles

On 31/05/26 23:49, Christian Weisgerber wrote:

On 2026-05-31, Peter Moylan <peter@pmoylan.org> wrote:

Girt is simply the past participle of the verb gird. As verbs weaken it
is probably being gradually replaced by "girded", but "girt" continues
to survive as the passive participle.

You mean "become regular". Gird/girt/girt is already a weak verb.
Along with bend/bent/bent and a few others it belongs to a group
that have coalesced the stem final dental and the past suffix.

Thanks for the reminder. Such details are easy to forget.
--
Peter Moylan peter@pmoylan.org http://www.pmoylan.org
Newcastle, NSW
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