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Verbal Reasoning Quiz - Word-Number Codes 2 (Questions)

This Word-Number quiz will test your code-cracking skills!

In our first Word-Number Quiz you were dealing with 'inference' from an incompletely number-coded batch of four-letter words. This time you will be cracking ten-digit substitution codes and sometimes coding answers back - but don't worry. You'll be helped by some clues along the way.

You might find this second 11-Plus Verbal Reasoning quiz on Word-Number Codes a little more difficult than the first but you'll soon get the hang of it. The process of decoding words is much the same. It can do you no harm to experience other parts and angles to the coding process!

Be sure to read each question carefully - a misread number can mean the difference between CORRECT and CONNECT! Also, pay attention to the helpful comments after each question. They will shed much-needed light onto how the codes are worked out.

1. If WALT DISNEY is coded as 9876 543210, which of the following is the code for WEDNESDAY?
[ ] 915235810
[ ] 915213580
[ ] 982306147
[ ] 912451674
2. If CAULIFLOWER is coded as 04732135689, what does 043592120 spell?
[ ] Warfarin
[ ] Calorific
[ ] Cauldwell
[ ] Wonderful
3. If (perhaps before a royal ceremonial event) STATE TRUMPETERS are coded as 84145 4267354528, would it be possible to encode SPECIAL CASE ?
[ ] No, because there are no unallocated digits left to represent new letters required
[ ] No, because there are too many new letters left to code using only 10 digits in all
[ ] Yes, for instance as 8359017 9185
[ ] Yes, for instance as 8359012 9185
4. If CIRROCUMULUS CLOUD is coded as 692286171314 63815, can we code the phrase DULL OLD MUSIC ?
[ ] No, we haven't got numbers for all the necessary letters
[ ] No, there wouldn't be enough numbers even if we allocated any spares
[ ] Yes, as 5133 835 71496
[ ] Yes, as 3122 385 71614
5. The GRAND UNION CANAL can be coded as 90217 81631 52124. Which of these codes would represent the disappeared peer LORD LUCAN?
[ ] 4307 48521
[ ] 4207 42581
[ ] 4317 43521
[ ] 4387 42931
6. If 74338126657 85209 is the code for WHEELBARROW LOADS, what destination is encoded as 1566570283?
[ ] Arrowtown
[ ] Borrowdale
[ ] Brownslade
[ ] Whitstable
7. As you may know, Poland is now in the European Union. We can't quite manage THE EUROPEAN UNION in only 10 differing letters/numbers in English, but it works in French (where you can ignore accents on capital letters) as L'UNION EUROPEENNE ... which we may code as 852762 4536144224.
Poland, in French, is POLOGNE. Would we be able to accommodate Polish 'membership' in the union, in its French form?
[ ] No
[ ] No: because it would need too many more letters coding into numbers, than we have spare numbers left
[ ] Yes, for instance as 1686924
[ ] Yes, for instance as 1686206
8. MATHEMATICALLY may (appropriately) be coded as 53897538213440.
My Swiss-French friend lives in a CHALET (193478), and his name is the only one with the phone number correctly coded below. Which is his name?
[ ] Camille (132449)
[ ] Clement (1475738)
[ ] Charlot (1937406)
[ ] Lamitte (4352887)
9. It's amazing what you can buy at THE SUPERMARKET ( = 835 96152472058) these days, yet there are limits ...
Which of these 'shopping lists' is the only one that you could most likely fulfil in a typical supermarket?
[ ] 91725 357852 17289 ; 1274 982719 ; 47839 935589
[ ] 2641 98570 ; 9174 ; 17987 ; 15729
[ ] 982574529 ; 472052 987419 ; 1611589
[ ] 93720 4578 ; 172705589 ; 4552078 055152'9 711727869
10. THE GROSVENOR HOTEL ( = 215 783095638 13254 ) is hosting a major musical event and all its rooms are full.
Each guest has an appropriately digitally-coded pass-key ... apart from in ONE group, where one or more key/s are somehow confused or garbled. In which group, or pair, is the wrong key?
[ ] Trevor Stevens 285938 0259560
Rose Tolengro 8305 23456783
[ ] Sven Sorensen 0956 03856056
Genette Lester 7565225 450258
[ ] Noel Rogers 6354 837580
Elenor Stroessner 545638 0283500658
[ ] Othello Glenross 1545602 36578595
Helen Stonegreve 32154 4374568300

(also known as 'The Love-Songsters' ~ 215 4395 036702580 )
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Verbal Reasoning Quiz - Word-Number Codes 2 (Answers)
1. If WALT DISNEY is coded as 9876 543210, which of the following is the code for WEDNESDAY?
[ ] 915235810
[x] 915213580
[ ] 982306147
[ ] 912451674
Answer 2 is correctly coded
2. If CAULIFLOWER is coded as 04732135689, what does 043592120 spell?
[ ] Warfarin
[x] Calorific
[ ] Cauldwell
[ ] Wonderful
The code begins and ends with the same symbol, so none of the other Answers would be worth grappling with
3. If (perhaps before a royal ceremonial event) STATE TRUMPETERS are coded as 84145 4267354528, would it be possible to encode SPECIAL CASE ?
[ ] No, because there are no unallocated digits left to represent new letters required
[x] No, because there are too many new letters left to code using only 10 digits in all
[ ] Yes, for instance as 8359017 9185
[ ] Yes, for instance as 8359012 9185
There would need to be new digits for C, I and L; and we only had 9 and 0 left. So this wouldn't quite have worked
4. If CIRROCUMULUS CLOUD is coded as 692286171314 63815, can we code the phrase DULL OLD MUSIC ?
[ ] No, we haven't got numbers for all the necessary letters
[ ] No, there wouldn't be enough numbers even if we allocated any spares
[x] Yes, as 5133 835 71496
[ ] Yes, as 3122 385 71614
Answer 3 is fine; the 'cop-outs' in Answers 1 & 2 were false, and meanwhile the last word in Answer 4 was miscoded as MUCUS.
The music might have been LOUD as well, but that would have been too obvious from the tail of the original phrase
5. The GRAND UNION CANAL can be coded as 90217 81631 52124. Which of these codes would represent the disappeared peer LORD LUCAN?
[x] 4307 48521
[ ] 4207 42581
[ ] 4317 43521
[ ] 4387 42931
Various other words may have turned up, but Lord Lucan appears correctly in Answer 1 only.
The renegade Lord allegedly dsappeared elsewhere than the Canal ... but has yet to be found!
6. If 74338126657 85209 is the code for WHEELBARROW LOADS, what destination is encoded as 1566570283?
[ ] Arrowtown
[x] Borrowdale
[ ] Brownslade
[ ] Whitstable
BORROWDALE (in scenic Cumbria) is the destination, if you check it thoroughly; Arrowtown (in the south island of New Zealand) would be possible but inaccurate, Whitstable would need an I which we don't have available in this Question, and Brownslade, while containing possible letters within plausible word-shapes, was simply made up for the occasion
7. As you may know, Poland is now in the European Union. We can't quite manage THE EUROPEAN UNION in only 10 differing letters/numbers in English, but it works in French (where you can ignore accents on capital letters) as L'UNION EUROPEENNE ... which we may code as 852762 4536144224.
Poland, in French, is POLOGNE. Would we be able to accommodate Polish 'membership' in the union, in its French form?
[ ] No
[ ] No: because it would need too many more letters coding into numbers, than we have spare numbers left
[x] Yes, for instance as 1686924
[ ] Yes, for instance as 1686206
Answer 3 is feasible with the next available digit, 9, taking on duty as 'G'.
It's 'just letters and numbers' in a situation like this, so in theory it could work in almost any language, though you would only ever have words in their English form in an 11+-style test, of course, as it would be unfair and at least potentially offputting otherwise.
Meanwhile, Polish itself uses the Roman alphabet ~ generally rather as we do, but their word-shapes are often nothing like ours ... The EU in Polish is 'Unia Europejska', which is recognisable enough but already needs more than 10 different code digits. Just as well you are not required to code into/from foreign languages, as wartime spies would routinely do. (Japanese posed a particular problem for its own speakers, let alone anyone trying to 'crack' it: they have not just one alphabet, but a mixture of no fewer than three!)
8. MATHEMATICALLY may (appropriately) be coded as 53897538213440.
My Swiss-French friend lives in a CHALET (193478), and his name is the only one with the phone number correctly coded below. Which is his name?
[ ] Camille (132449)
[ ] Clement (1475738)
[ ] Charlot (1937406)
[x] Lamitte (4352887)
Answer 4 is the only correctly coded one: some even needed letters that were not available!
9. It's amazing what you can buy at THE SUPERMARKET ( = 835 96152472058) these days, yet there are limits ...
Which of these 'shopping lists' is the only one that you could most likely fulfil in a typical supermarket?
[ ] 91725 357852 17289 ; 1274 982719 ; 47839 935589
[x] 2641 98570 ; 9174 ; 17987 ; 15729
[ ] 982574529 ; 472052 987419 ; 1611589
[ ] 93720 4578 ; 172705589 ; 4552078 055152'9 711727869
List 2 would include RUMP STEAK, SPAM, PASTA and PEARS, which all seem reasonably mainstream.
List 1 contained SPARE HEATER PARTS (probably better sourced in a hardware shop or online), PRAM STRAPS and MATHS SHEETS ... hardly the first things one thinks of on entering a supermarket; List 3 contained STREAMERS, MARKER STAMPS and PUPPETS (perhaps a fancy-dress or party-goods shop might offer a wider selection of these); List 4 contained SHARK MEAT, PARAKEETS and MEERKAT KEEPER'S APPARATUS which are presumably more the province of a pet shop
10. THE GROSVENOR HOTEL ( = 215 783095638 13254 ) is hosting a major musical event and all its rooms are full.
Each guest has an appropriately digitally-coded pass-key ... apart from in ONE group, where one or more key/s are somehow confused or garbled. In which group, or pair, is the wrong key?
[ ] Trevor Stevens 285938 0259560
Rose Tolengro 8305 23456783
[ ] Sven Sorensen 0956 03856056
Genette Lester 7565225 450258
[ ] Noel Rogers 6354 837580
Elenor Stroessner 545638 0283500658
[x] Othello Glenross 1545602 36578595
Helen Stonegreve 32154 4374568300

(also known as 'The Love-Songsters' ~ 215 4395 036702580 )
The numbers in Answer 4 are transposed (Othello has Helen's 'key', and vice-versa; despite the misleading spacing) ~ look for the telltale double L and S in the second line.
All the others are fine. It's amazing what can be done with just two handsful of letters, and English has twice-and-a-half (or so) as many to play with.
You will have noticed from these examples, which clearly stretch you a lot more widely than actual 11+ will do, that 'the same old letters' tend to crop up more frequently. The rarer and more colourful consonants such as J, Z and Q (which, of course, has to lug its own telltale U around with it) tend to feature less commonly in coding drills ~ precisely because they draw attention to themselves and are harder to hide.
Anyway, we hope you had some fun cudgelling your wits against these puzzles!