What's That Flat?

Double-Cross

Two words or phrases are each divided into two pieces; then their second pieces are switched to form two others. Example: ONE maids, TWO rapture THREE mature, FOUR rapids . (This would appear in the solutions list as “ma/ids, rap/ture.”)

DOUBLE-CROSS (8, 5, 4, *9) (*9 = NI2)

With a slim, steely ONE,
The foul deed was done;
The client was given the sack.
From offstage, a noble
Sang “Woman is mobile.”
So-who could FOUR have on his back?

A dread hunch had he
When he felt the sack THREE:
Of what burden was he the carrier?
Gilda set up a din
(TWO had not yet set in)
And bade FOUR farewell with an aria.

=Pen Gwyn

The solution: ONE stiletto, TWO rigor THREE stir, FOUR Rigoletto . (This would appear as “sti/letto, rigo/r.”)

The enumeration of all four parts of a double-cross is given.

When composing or solving a double-cross, be careful not to mix up THREE and FOUR: note that ONE and THREE have the same beginning, as do TWO and FOUR.

In a phonetic double-cross, the parts are rearranged phonetically and not by spelling. For example: ONE Hall of Fame, TWO gurneys THREE Holofernes, FOUR game .

In a reversed double-cross, after switching the second pieces of ONE and TWO, you reverse the results to get THREE and FOUR. For example: ONE red rover, TWO Erebus THREE suborder, FOUR revere . (This would appear as “red ro/ver, Ere/bus.”)

Based on an idea by Stilicho, the double-cross was introduced by Nightowl at the 1980 convention.