CHAT: Calloway's Code

kam@CARROT.CLARA.NET scripsit:

> There was a discussion
> on the radio recently about all the "barbaric" contractions that the kids
> use in their text messages, how English will never be the same again,
> ... end of civilation as we know it ... etc. etc. etc. Strangely no one
> saw the analogy with the abbreviations that an earlier generation had
> used in telegrams/cables.
But that was never a mass phenomenon.  I should also like to mention the
O. Henry story "Calloway's Code" here, which got the news past
censorship by an interesting open code involving conventional
news-biz expressions.

The encrypted cable was:

     Foregone preconcerted rash witching goes muffled rumour mine
     dark silent unfortunate richmond existing great hotly brute
     select mooted parlous beggars ye angel incontrovertible

which decrypted to

     Conclusion arrangement act hour:of:midnight without:saying
     report hath:it host horse majority pedestrians in:the:field
     conditions white:way contested force few question times description
     correspondent unawares fact

using the rule "Decrypt the first element of a newspaper cliche to the
second element".  A smooth translation:

     Concluded arrangement to act at hour of midnight without
     saying.  Report has it that a large body of cavalry and an
     overwhelming force of infantry will be thrown into the
     field.  Conditions white.  Way contested by only a small
     force.  Question the Times description.  Its correspondent is
     unaware of the facts.

The full story:  http://www.classicreader.com/read.php/sid.6/bookid.1216/

--
John Cowan           http://www.ccil.org/~cowan              cowan@ccil.org
Please leave your values        |       Check your assumptions.  In fact,
   at the front desk.           |          check your assumptions at the door.
     --sign in Paris hotel      |            --Miles Vorkosigan