REBUSES.ORG
This site allows generating simple rebus puzzles that can be used at school or for entertainment.
Just enter a word or a short phrase in the field below and press the Generate rebus button to generate the rebus puzzle.
Each word will be encoded as a single image. To encode a single word as several images, insert the space into the word (e.g. instead of generator enter gene rator below).
To export the generated rebus as PDF or PNG file use the buttons below
1To create the rebus puzzle, enter the word or short phrase in the Word of phrase field and press the button.
The created rebus puzzle consists of up to 10 images and rebus decode instructions shown below each image.
Each decode hint may suggest to:
· add a letter, e.g. +A
· remove a letter, e.g. -A
· replace one letter with another, e.g. A=B (replace A with B)
Each word will be encoded as a single image. To encode a single word as several images, insert the space into the word.
2Once the rebus is shown, adjust the words used for rebus creation, pressing the buttons under each image-encoded word. Words chosen to encode the original phrase are shown above each rebus image.
3To change the images used to represent each keyword, use the buttons above each image.
4As the last step, save the final rebus as PDF or PNG file using the & buttons.
Images used for rebus creation are released under the Creative Commons CC0 license and may be used freely for almost any purpose - even commercially and in printed format. Attribution is appreciated, but not required.
According to Wikipedia, a rebus is a puzzle device that combines the use of illustrated pictures with individual letters to depict words or phrases. For example: the word "car" might be depicted by a rebus showing a cat next to a minus sign (-) and the letter "t" together with the plus sign (+) and the letter "r".
Rebus in this form was a favorite form of heraldic expression used in the Middle Ages to denote surnames. For example, three salmon (fish) are used to denote the surname "Salmon". A more sophisticated example was the rebus of Bishop Walter Lyhart of Norwich, consisting of a stag (or hart) lying down in a conventional representation of water. The composition alludes to the name, profession or personal characteristics of the bearer, and speaks to the beholder "not by words but by things".
Nowadays, rebuses are not used extensively as a form of heraldic expression (as a hint to the name of the bearer) but are a form of word play or creative puzzle meant to entertain both the person is creating it and the one that is supposed to solve it.
Rebuses puzzles were created by many famous people including: Leonardo da Vinci, Sandro Botticelli, François Rabelais, Voltaire or Mark Twain.
Here are some example rebus puzzles created using this site, sorted from the most easy to solve to the most difficult. Clicking on the rebus reveals the answer.
