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Keeping Secrets

A list of 117 words by oroboros.

About

Words of 10 letters, all different, can be used for encrypting, pretty securely, such things as PINs and passwords. The fly in the ointment, for me, in keeping track of them is I've got to write 'em down somewhere (especially in a spreadsheet, say)--which obviously isn't foolproof for really sensitive ones. So, say you want to encrypt PIN 8193: take "LUMBERJACK," and if we let 1 = L, 2 = U, 3 = M... 9 = C, 0 = K, we have "ALCM". For passwords let the letter assume the number 1 - 26 of its position in the alphabet, then use the same procedure. My Dad showed me this when I was a kid (he used "Mother's Day") and I've had fun with it for years...

Comments

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  • oroboros All of frogapplause's (and other's) suggestions that weren't entered on my list have been tagged "ten different letters" to make them accessible to any who may be interested. Jul 28, 2008

  • frogapplause chamberpot, overbaking, mineralogy, mindblower, overacting, defrosting, flourished, curtseying, forestland, jocularity, scrambling, lachrymose, profitable, outflanked, graciously, rheumatoid, harvesting, overpaying, hospitable, putrefying, houseplant, mistakenly, humpbacked, padlocking, hysterical, palindrome, infamously, projecting, introduces, juxtaposed, bigmouthed, judgmental, productive, switchable, switchgear, complexity, narcolepsy, chairbound, bulwarking, scampering, boldfacing, silverback, blockading, ostracized, blathering, biotherapy, ulceration, transfixed, backlisted, becomingly, touchingly, translucid, backslider Jul 19, 2008

  • dontcry vulcanized Jul 18, 2008

  • frogapplause shoplifter, impersonal, journalist, quadriceps, nightscope, folksinger, bankruptcy, breadstick, unfatherly, tambourine, trampoline, prewashing, presoaking, soundtrack, pathfinder, beansprout, dockmaster, importance, fingerbowl, groupthink, cafetorium, headstrong, antismoker, aftershock, whirlabout, wingspread, polygamist, mudslinger, manuscript, roundtable, republican, outlandish, gelatinous, dragonlike, hydroplane, flashpoint, farsighted, background, duckshover, unpolished, beachfront, campground, goatsucker, fishmonger, misfortune, exhumation, exhaustion, candlefish, earthbound, lubricated, postmarked, longhaired, paintbrush, stomachful, regulation, driveshaft, prequalify, presumably, stockpiled, soundalike, panbroiled Jul 18, 2008

  • oroboros Html problem fixed...I hope. BTW, thanks for all the suggestions; however, I'm not using -s plurals. Jul 18, 2008

  • bilby lol dontcry, that's perfect :-) Jul 18, 2008

  • dontcry waitperson Jul 18, 2008

  • bilby I think we're still on track, oro. None of the suggestions are ruled out by your slight change in tack. See dumbwaiter for my anecdote. Jul 18, 2008

  • johnmperry Re: your comment to me
    That's what I figured. I think it's used by some shopkeepers to put the price tags on items without the customers knowing what the price is. I also think a similar mechanism is used by Microsoft to generate its code numbers for software.

    You still need to get rid of bridgework and goldfinger though.

    And this list has a chunk of (unbounded) html at the top. Jul 18, 2008

  • dontcry thumbscrew Jul 18, 2008

  • frogapplause quizmaster, forgivable, hatchlings, wanderlust, goldminers, webcasting, womanizers, vouchsafed, xenographs, zygodactyl, counterbid, wholegrain, volumetric, lovemaking... Jul 18, 2008

  • bilby Ufff, artichokes. Not that blarney-munchers should be allowed to form plurals without competent adult supervision. Jul 18, 2008

  • sionnach must not mock the leather-eared one ....

    artichoke ... hmmm Jul 18, 2008

  • bilby artichoke, dumbwaiter. Jul 18, 2008