CRAMBO  , an old rhyming

game which, according to Strutt (Sports and Pastimes), was played as early as the 14th century under the name of the ABC of Aristotle . In the days of the Stuarts it was very popular, and is frequently mentioned in the writings of the time . Thus Congreve's Love for Love, i . 1, contains the passage, " Get the Maids to Crambo in an Evening, and learn the knack of Rhiming." Crambo, or capping the rhyme, is now played by one player thinking of a word and telling the others what it rhymes with, the others not naming the actual word they guess but its meaning . Thus one says " I know a word that rhymes with bird." A second asks "Is it ridiculous?" "No, it is not absurd." "Is it a part of speech ? " " No, it is not a word." This proceeds until the right word is guessed . In Dumb Crambo the guessers, instead of naming the word, express its meaning by dumb show, a rhyme being given them as a clue .