MONDAY UPDATE: 5 Crypto-Gremlins and 6 Bad Translations remain unsolved. Get 'em while they last!
WEDNESDAY UPDATE: Hmmm... Looks like my plan for individual solving this week isn't working out that well; all the comment activity took place during the communal time Sunday evening, with no comments since. So there are still 5 Crypto-Gremlins and 6 Bad Translations awaiting solution. (If no one solves them during the week, we can re-post them for this coming Sunday's potluck party.)
It's the first Sunday of the month!
Normally that's the time for our Potluck Puzzle Party, when everyone is invited to bring along puzzles to share. But this week there's a special pottery-making program scheduled to air on network television, The Superbowl, and some of our Sunday Puzzle regulars are planning to watch it. who are into arts and crafts are planning to watch. (Which makes sense; we all know that puzzlers tend to be crafty people.)
So the Potluck Puzzle Party is being postponed until next week. This week instead we have a special Superbowl edition.
No, not a collection of pottery-themed puzzles. I thought of that idea too late. (But we can try that for next year, if this program airs again.)
Usually I try to feature puzzles in Sunday Puzzle which are fun to work on as a group. But tonight, since some people can't be here at the regular time, I'm featuring puzzles which are intended for individual solving. That way people can show up whenever they like, copy down the puzzles, and work on them at their convenience.
Ah! But part of the fun of Sunday Puzzle is posting to let others know we've solved a puzzle. Well, we can still do that. But I'd like to add an additional twist this week:
When you have solved a puzzle tonight, please don't post the answer. Instead, come up with some clever way to indicate you've figured out the answer without actually revealing it. Next week we can look at the different ways people do it and award points for the most ingenious, elegant, or humorous ways people come up with.
On tap tonight:
* an
easy word puzzle to warm-up the brain cells!
* two
math puzzles!
* four more
word puzzles!
* a set of five
Crypto-Gremlins!
And, making their fourth (but probably not final) appearance: 9 still unsolved
Bad Translations!
Ready to get started? Here's an easy word puzzle ideal for individual solving:
Warm-Up Word Puzzle:
You might not think of an icebox as something for a warm-up. But let's try it.
The word I C E B O X has an I for its first letter and an X for its sixth letter. Can you think of another 6-letter word which has that property?
When you've figured out what the word is, please don't post the word! Instead, come up with (and post) some way to show that you've solved the puzzle which doesn't actually reveal the answer. For instance, you might come up with a cryptic crossword clue for the word. Or you might look up some quotation in which the word appears and use it for a cryptogram. Or... But that's up to you. Be creative and have fun!
Lots more puzzles waiting for you below. Make the leap and have some fun! I'll be hanging around for a while after the diary posts to socialize and provide help if needed, and I'll be checking in regularly over the next few days. So don't worry about how late you are to the party, go ahead and post. We'll take time to spotlight and appreciate some of the most creative comments next week.
Math Puzzle # 1:
Use the digits 1 to 9 to make five numbers -- four 2-digit numbers and one 1-digit number -- all of which are prime. How many ways can this be done?
Math Puzzle Challenge: When you have solved the math puzzle, find (and post) a way to indicate you have found all the ways to do this which does not actually reveal the answer to those who haven't solved the puzzle yet. Be creative! Next week we'll look at the different methods people use to non-reveal the answer and see who came up with the most ingenious, most elegant, or most humorous way to do this.
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SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE /
Math Puzzle # 2:
Draw a chart with 5 rows and 2 columns. Place the digits 0 to 9 into the chart to make five 2-digit numbes such that the difference between a number and the number directly below it in the chart is always the same.
Math Puzzle Challenge: same as above: come up with a clever way to indicate you know the answer without actually revealing it.
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Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party /
SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE /
Word Puzzle # 1
Here is a set of 6 words:
POT TIE NTH HOE ION PEN
If you take any two of them, they share one -- and only one -- letter. (For instance, POT and TIE share a T, and only a T. POT and PEN share a P, and only a P. Etc.)
What other word(s) can you add to the set while maintaining that principle?
Word Puzzle Challenge: When you've figured out what other word(s) (if any) can be added to the set without breaking the principle, please don't post the actual word(s). Instead, come up with some clever way to indicate you know the word(s) and post that instead.
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Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party /
SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE /
Word Puzzle # 2:
Here is a set of 5 words:
TOE USE STY YOU YEN
If you take any two of them, they share one -- and only one -- letter.
What other word(s) can you add to the set while maintaining that principle?
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Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party /
SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE /
Word Puzzle # 3:
Here is a set of 6 words:
NAIL SALE SINE IDEA SLID SAND
If you take any two of them, they share two -- and only two -- letters.
What other word(s) can you add to the set while maintaining that principle?
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Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party /
SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE /
Word Puzzle # 4:
Here is a set of 4 words:
RATES CASTE CARES CRATE
If you take any two of them, they share four -- and only four -- letters.
What other word(s) can you add to the set while maintaining that principle?
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Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party /
SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE /
Okay, time for some Crypto-Gremlins -- plus the Crypto-Gremlin Challenge!
Crypto-Gremlin Challenge: Each of the following is a quotation. I've left off the sources, though. When you've solved one, don't post the translation. Instead, find out who said it and post a clue to that person's identity. That will indicate you know the solution without revealing the solution to others who haven't solved the puzzle yet.
NOTE: if you don't know what Crypto-Gremlins are and how they differ from regular cryptograms, you can find a full explanation
here. (You might also like to look up the
Sunday Puzzle Warm-Up from 2013-01-19 which has
a walk-through demonstration for solving a Crypto-Gremlin)
Crypto-Gremlin #1:
Bowl mewcexeclous and gisobmp go uoa rnord fdwmfeswfs rsuums neyl temo mlwqlmrs, xowcd and aeuuewvup yoffskrmo rns kswourp kdzl jeykiemdwyswre tewo bdicsio rd aoidlms rns fdwmfeswfs kdzl rns fdyylwerp xdxsip qerml mewqlmrefs, aemo tewo isouerp mstkismmewvs rns nevnsmro ismksfrd zdie rns uoa.
Crypto-Gremlin #2:
Posts care iepk beis wace gerzags zsuiaicy meta funny, posts care leink pos zsuiaice xs hsugoe cals pe zeyts nams, fuiy waivalavyuns zsuiaicy, fuiy
waivalavyuns qnepy, nads fuiy waivalavyuns ielsnu, fu weedy meta hsugoe qstreik.
Crypto-Gremlin #3:
No games halt combs roxy pa ntikambopzy grobydymy ba xaztybq. Wtbt dtxa vapcq ntikambopba ba bry etputdtusocy.
Crypto-Gremlin #4:
Spanish jump bonptnen sopig spran mpasy. Dopsu mntpepsnmn son spanisnxu fuixucuxypan kehfh son mybbnmmkyan chin jump jp ahsy lhkg opexu dhely.
Crypto-Gremlin #5:
Jamsamoyeawl: bowl newtlwearch flxejl damo pavyoewewtl smadeye keygarya newfexefrour mlcsawceveueyh.
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Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party /
SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE / Puzzle Party / SUNDAY PUZZLE /
Finally, here are the Bad Translation puzzles science posted 3 weeks ago. We've solved 11 12 13 14 of them; that leaves 9 8 7 6 to go.
NOTE: I've posted these as two sets of 10 because that's how they looked when science sent them to me. The answers don't appear to be in alphabetical order, but there may be a pattern to them we're not seeing yet...
Feel free to post the answers to these in comments if you can figure out the original quotes and the movies they're from. (Or, in the spirit of the rest of the puzzles, feel free to post cryptic clues to indicate you've figured out the answer without actually revealing it to the rest of us.)
1. 'Robinson, Problem Solving and research networks?' (1967)
"Mrs. Robinson, are you trying to seduce me?" from The Graduate
2. 'The general trends. Hamster mom and dad berries.' (1975)
"I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elderberries!" from Monty Python and the Holy Grail
3. ‘This is not true. The answer to this question.' (1988)
4. 'I think it's your partner in my jungle.' (1996)
5. 'I'm pretty smart, huh? I love this man.' (1981)
6. 'Access to credit, life and death.' (1994)
7. 'But look, my son was with him.' (1942)
"Here's looking at you, kid" from Casablanca.
8. 'Perhaps power.' (1977)
"May the Force be with you" from Star Wars.
9. 'Now can not be denied.' (1972)
"He made him an offer he couldn't refuse", from The Godfather
10. 'Love is no excuse.'
(1970)
"Love means never having to say you're sorry" from Love Story
11. 'You're a man, I am a man, man.' (1998)
"Dude. I'm the bag man, man" from The Big Lebowski.
12. 'I want to quit smoking.' (2005)
"I wish I knew how to quit you." from Brokeback Mountain.
13. 'Why is this important?' (2008)
14. 'Dare. Less than style.' (1995)
SOLVED tonight by pucklady: "That wasn't flying, that was falling with style!", from Toy Story
15. 'The fact is that human desires, but more than words, is good.' (1987)
"Greed is good" from Wall Street
16. 'Way? If you do not have access.' (1985)
SOLVED tonight by pucklady: "Roads? Where we're going, we don't need roads", from Back to the Future.
17. 'I was very angry, am what?' (1976)
"I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take it any more!" from Network.
18. 'We are a lack of communication.' (1967)
"What we have here is a failure to communicate", from Cool Hand Luke.
19. 'Hello, good morning.' (1968)
20. 'Corps to open the door.' (1968)
SOLVED tonight by pucklady: "Open the pod bay doors, HAL", from 2001: a Space Odyssey.