What's a Rebus?

A rebus is a word puzzle. It is a sequence of pictures that represent syllabic sound. By adding images together in line we form "words" and "sentences." Ancient Egyptian hyroglyphs read like rebuses, and the making of word puzzles was a favorite past time during the 18th and 19th centuries (1700's & 1800's).

Most recently rebuses have found there way into our culture in game shows and on the inside of bottle caps. That is the first place I remember seeing one. On the inside of a Lucky Lager bottle cap. Before littering wasn't cool, bottle caps were plentiful on the side of the road. Finding one with a rebus inside was like treasure to me. Follow the link and you'll find hundreds of examples of the rebuses on the inside of bottle caps. This one says "Sweetie Pie." "S" + a picture of wheat + "E" + a picture of pie = sweetie pie.

These are a lot of fun to make up and draw, or cut and paste from magazines or on the computer. Send secret messages to your friends and challenge them to figure out the meaning!

For more examples of a rebus just google images of a rebus. Lots of examples will come up.