March, 2003 Puzzle Contests
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3/31-4/1/03 Contest:
The eight items given below suggest eight words, all of which end with the same last 3 letters. What are they?
garment worn by people of ancient Greece and Rome
a type of drink
relating to a cone
sudden fright
an outdoor meal
relating to Germans
relating to Germans (different word)
an individual with intense pigmentation
Answer (from the winner):
"Words einding in 'nic'
tunic: garment worn by people of ancient Greece and Rome
tonic: a type of drink
conic: relating to a cone
panic: sudden fright
picnic: an outdoor meal
Germanic: relating to Germans
Teutonic: relating to Germans (different word)
melanic: an individual with intense pigmentation"
Winner: Donna Webb, Edina, MO
3/28-3/31/03 Contest:
What is most unusual about the following silly paragraph?
When fishing, it is important not to arch your back, as this may cause you to lose your balance and fall into the water. I was once on a trip with twins, both sporting goatees. As it turned out, they were both full of bull, and crabbed about everything from the time we lowered the boat down the ramp, until the time we left. Needless to say, we didn't score any fish that day. I would much rather lie on the beach sipping a virgin daiquiri.
Answer (from the winner):
"There is reference to all 12 signs of the zodiac.
When fishing, it is important not to arch your (Sagittarius the Archer) back, as this may cause you to lose your balance (Libra the Scales) and fall into the water (Aquarius the Water Carrier). I was once on a trip with twins (Gemini the Twins), both sporting goatees (Capricorn the Goat). As it turned out, they were both full of bull (Taurus the Bull), and crabbed (Cancer the Crab) about everything from the time we lowered the boat down the ramp (Aries the Ram), until the time we left. Needless to say, we didn't score (Scorpio the Scorpion) any fish (Pisces the Fishes) that day. I would much rather lie on (Leo the Lion) the beach sipping a virgin (Virgo the Virgin) daiquiri."
Winner: Ken Thresher, Lakewood, WA
3/27-3/28/03 Contest:
What letter should replace the ? in this series?
k q j t n e s s f f t t ?
Answer (from the winner):
"? = a
king, queen, jack, . . . three, two, ACE"
Winner: Doris Quigley, Rock Island, Illinois
3/26-3/27/03 Contest:
Rome is to Pax Romana as Loggins is to ?
Answer (from the winner): "Vox Humana (Human Voice) which is the title of a Kenny Loggins album which went gold in the 1980's. This era is where he did his best work and Pax Romana (Roman Peace) is an era where Rome flourished."
Winner: Ashok of Redondo Beach, CA USA.
3/25-3/26/03 Contest:
Decide what 2 words are missing from the following:
It seems 12X456 that we must sometimes fight in order to achieve a state that is 12Y456.
Answer: ironic and irenic. The X and Y are are different in the coded 6 letter words.
Winner: Shirley Wolf, Rockville, MD
3/24-3/25/03 Contest:
I am what you have done if you have missed your target by firing too far. Also, I am a type of pattern. What am I?
Answer (from the winner): "The answer is overshot. Overshot means pt. and pp. of overshoot. It also means a pattern formed in weaving when filling threads are passed over several warp threads at a time."
Winner: Ashok of Redondo Beach, CA USA
3/21-3/24/03 Contest:
What do all of the following have in common?
Pot of gold
Saint Francis
Spotted Canine
Band with one-armed drummer
Answer (from the winner): "LEP
Pot of gold = leprechaun
Saint Francis = lepers
Spotted Canine = leopard dog
Band with one-armed drummer = Rick Allen of Def Leppard"
Winner: sasiteck; Fairfax County, VA
3/20-3/21/03 Contest:
In the New Miss-Matic Laundromat, decide what letter should currently replace ? in the series below:
100 = L
20 = J
10 = R
4 = ?
Answer (from the winner): "W
1/100 of a dollar = penny (Lincoln)
1/20 of a dollar = nickel (Jefferson)
1/10 of a dollar = dime (Roosevelt)
1/4 of a dollar = quarter (Washington)"
Winner: Mark Rahija, Kansas City
3/19-3/20/03 Contest:
What do the following words all have in common?
x-ray double tunnel
Answer (from the winner): "are all different kinds of vision.
x-ray vision
double vision
tunnel vision"
Winner: Debbie Hazlett
3/18-3/19/03 Contest:
A philosopher I am, my name is commonly mispronounced in the United States. My first 4 letters are shared with a 9 letter word related to work with clothes. You "can't leave" this existence unless you transcend it, or something like that. Who am I?
Answer (from the winner):
"I think you are Jean-Paul Sartre. The first four
letters are the same as in sartorial, which is a nine
letter word relating to a tailor. I have no idea how
his name is properly pronounced although I am
currently taking French language classes so hopefully
that will change soon. Oh, and one of Sartre's works
is on the Transcendence of the Ego."
The other hints were "No Exit," another of Sartre's works, with "can't leave" as the hint, and "existence" as Sartre was an existentialist philosopher.
Winner: Lisa Stevenson, Toronto ON Canada
3/17-3/18/03 Contest:
You are at a river, and have 2 containers with you. One will hold exactly 5 liters and the other will hold 3 liters. The problem is that you need exactly 4 liters of water. How can you accomplish this, if you do not receive help from anyone else, and do not have any other measuring devices?
Answer (from the winner):
"1. Fill the 3-liter container and pour it into the
5-liter container.
2. Fill the 3-liter container again and pour as much
as needed to exactly fill the 5-liter container.
3. Empty the 5-liter container.
4. Pour the water remaining in the 3-liter container
(1 liter) into the 5-liter container.
5. Fill the 3-liter container again and pour all the
contents into the 5-liter container. The 5-liter
container now holds exactly 4 liters."
Winner: Shirley Wolf, Rockville, MD. Nearly 60 people sent in answers. While Shirley has once again demonstrated her outstanding puzzle solving ability, she was also quite lucky this time :-)
3/13-3/17/03 Contest:
The puzzles were unsolved for 3/14-3/17, so they were reissued for 3/14-3/17.
PUNNERY PUZZLES PART 2
You must get all 3 of the following right to be entered to win:
1. Step down to the South American river (6 letters)?
2. Tired of not having your printout of items to purchase at the store (8 letters)?
3. Cave of battle (6 letters)?
Answers (from the winner):
"1. stereo (stair-rio)
2. listless
3. warden (war-den)"
Winner: Shirley Wolf, Rockville, MD
3/12-3/13/03 Contest:
PUNNERY PUZZLES
You must get all 3 of the following right to be entered to win:
1. What do you call a thespian who is deeply concerned (9 letters)?
2. An obvious father or mother (8 letters)?
3. The ripping up of your monthly payment on your apartment (7 letters)?
Answers (from the winner):
"1. The answer is character (care actor).
2. The answer is apparent (a parent and the word apparent means obvious)
3. The answer is torrent (tore rent)."
Winner: Ashok of Redondo Beach, CA USA.
3/11-3/12/03 Contest:
Given the first 3 completed problems, replace the numbers in the last 3. You must get all of these right to be entered to win:
1. examine, fabric: canvass, canvas
2. wide, chawbacon: thick, hick
3. container, bend: bowl, bow
4. talent, terminate: 5, 4
5. fish, listen: 5, 4
6. melt, fumble: 4, 3
Answers (from the winner):
"4. talent, terminate; skill, kill
5. fish, listen; shark, hark
6. melt, fumble; thaw, haw"
Winner: Ben Justesen, Alexandria, VA
3/10-3/11/03 Contest:
skill-like is to artifice as device-like is to ? (11 letters)
Answer: machination. Art, the first part of artifice, can mean a type of skill. Machine, taken (mostly) from machination, is a type of device. Artifice and machination are synonyms, and machination contains 11 letters.
Winner: Shirley Wolf, Rockville, MD
3/7-3/10/03 Contest:
What do the following words have in common?
broom swagger match candle lip
Answer (from the winner): "If
you add the word 'stick' to the end of all, you have new words."
Winner: Cindy Eulitt, Charlotte, NC
3/6-3/7/03 Contest:
2 words are suggested below, both ending with the same 4 letters. What are the 2 words?
bird
number system
star
wine
Answer (from the winner): "The two words are binary and canary. Binary describes the two-digit numeral
system, as well as a two-star system in which the stars are linked together
by gravity or are near but not too near the horizon-event of a black hole.
Canary is a bird, but also a type of wine."
Winner: Henry DeGraaf
3/5-3/6/03 Contest:
I am a player, a guy who tries to pick women up. My first half can indicate reluctance, and if you add a letter to my first half, you have a spider-related queen from Dungeons & Dragons. I contain 8 letters. What am I?
Answer (from the winner): "Lothario
Loth--reluctance
Lolth--spider goddess from dungeons and dragons"
Winner: P. Kader from Wisconsin
3/4-3/5/03 Contest:
I am a word you might use to describe someone who talks too much. My first 3 letters are a fish. What am I?
Answer (from the winner): "The answer is garrulous, meaning excessive or rambling talk. Gar is any of several ganoid fishes of the family Lepisosteidae of fresh and brackish waters of North and Central America, having long, narrow jaws, an elongated body, and a long snout."
Winner: Lora Lambert. Lora submitted 2 explanation/definitions, and I chose the more garrulous of the 2 :-)
3/3-3/4/03 Contest:
I am a fleet footed woman of legend. Remove 1 of my letters and you have a well known city in the United States. Who am I?
Answer (from the winner): "The answer is Atalanta. Take away one of the letters ('a') in her name and you get Atlanta which is a well known city in Georgia, USA. Atalanta was the fastest runner alive, a brave and beautiful woman far ahead of her time. She even got to hang out with Jason and the Argonauts, joining them on the Quest for the Golden Fleece.
I hope I win. Thanks a lot."
Winner: Ashok of Redondo Beach, CA USA.
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