Author: KOrfield

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[Solution] Single, Solitary S

This puzzle is a sudoku, using letters instead of numbers. The first step is to place the answers to the eight feeder puzzles into the highlighted spaces in the grid. We are told that all words go top-to-bottom and/or left-to-right, so HEN, FIGHT, and THE BFG can all be placed due to their unique lengths. The two four-letter answers which intersect must be FEST and SIFT in some order. The bottom row must contain BITS or FISH, since the E of FINE cannot be in the same column as the E of THE BFG.

Since both BITS and FISH place an S in the bottom center region, SIFT cannot be the word in the eighth row. It must be in column nine, with FEST intersecting it. The S of FEST forces FINE to be the word in column eight, with FISH in the top row, and BITS on the bottom.

Once the words are placed, it is a simple matter to complete the sudoku. The finished grid looks like this.

The answer is found on the diagonal from top-left to bottom-right – BIG FINISH.

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[Hint] Questions

The puzzle Questions has been out for a week now. Check the hint below if you are stuck on where to begin.

Once you finish with that, check out the new puzzle for this week, Job Hunting. Hunting for one job is tough; hunting for twenty-eight is insane.

The father in this puzzle is confidently answering questions, but he’s getting them wrong. What should he have said? Some correct answers will be numbers. Don’t forget to drop any punctuation before entering your answer into the checker.

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[Puzzle] Job Hunting – 14 July 2025

The hint for last week’s Questions has been posted, as has the solution to the May-June metapuzzle, Single, Solitary S. Well done to the eighteen solvers who successfully tackled the meta, as well as the twenty-six total solvers who solved at least one puzzle in the last two months!

This week’s new puzzle is Job Hunting. A difficult task calls for a difficult word search.

Please enter your answer below, leaving out all punctuation.

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    [Solution] Replacement Effect

    The first step in this puzzle is to find answers of the correct length to fit the clues. There are a few which have some ambiguity, but that can be resolved later. The correct answers are:

    • WRY
    • COG
    • PROM
    • TD
    • SAGET
    • POOL
    • RNA
    • HYPES
    • ASP
    • PEAL
    • ACE
    • CRICK
    • LICE
    • ATTA
    • LENGTH
    • GET
    • COMPRESSION
    • WE
    • PLATE
    • ROUGE
    • COT
    • TRI
    • MOORE
    • ETRE
    • HEATS

    The boxed letters from each word, read in order, spell out WORD TO REPLACE THESE LETTERS. The trick lies in finding a word to replace the boxed letter in each word to form a new word in each line. The solution, resulting in either a word or name for each line, is HEN. The full list of words is as follows:

    • HENRY
    • CHENG
    • PHENOM
    • THEN
    • SAGEHEN
    • PHENOL
    • HENNA
    • HYPHENS
    • ASHEN
    • PEAHEN
    • HENCE
    • HENRICK
    • LICHEN
    • ATHENA
    • LENGTHEN
    • GHENT
    • COMPREHENSION
    • WHEN
    • PHENATE
    • ROUGHEN
    • COHEN
    • HENRI
    • MOORHEN
    • ETHENE
    • HEATHEN

    A few of the words are more obscure than would normally be preferable, but since it is possible to get the ‘aha’ from only a few transformations, it works out fine.

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    [Hint] Single, Solitary S

    The metapuzzle Single, Solitary S has been out for a week now. Check the hint below for your chance to solve it.

    Once you finish with that, check out the first puzzle of a new set, Questions. You will need your other eight answers to crack this one.

    This is a sudoku puzzle. Start by placing the answers of length three, five, and six into their respective green regions. There is then only one way to place the four-letter answers into the grid which follows the rules of sudoku. Once you have solved the puzzle, you will find your nine-letter answer hidden in the grid.

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    [Puzzle] Questions – 7 July 2025

    The solution to Replacement Effect has been posted, as has the hint for last week’s metapuzzle, Single Solitary S. Seventeen solvers have already solved the meta – will you join them?

    The first puzzle of the new July-August set is Questions. If you don’t know the answers, just guess. What could go wrong?

    This is your last chance to submit answers for Grant Fikes’ tenth season of Kevin’s Puzzles at Home, his homage to this site. All eight feeders and the metapuzzle are available for half credit, and for every solve, he donates to a food bank. Go check it out!

    Please enter your answer below, leaving out all punctuation.

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      [Solution] Mutated Clues

      Each of these clues has had a transformation applied to each word. The same transformation must be applied to the answer:

      • FIRST NAME OF A FAST FOOD CLOWN MASCOT (delete third letter) = RONALD (ROALD)
      • AFRICAN NATION TO THE WEST OF SUDAN (reverse word; replace final letter with L) = CHAD (DAHL)
      • IN GOOD BURGER HE ACTED AS ED (replace first letter with three-letter abbreviation for the month of the year in the same position as that letter – A=JAN, B=FEB, etc.) = KEL (NOVEL)
      • LARGEST MEMBER OF THE BRASS FAMILY (insert O after second letter; reverse word) = TUBA (ABOUT)
      • TYPE OF PLANE OR SCHOOL (insert AC in middle of word, keeping larger section in front if necessary) = CHARTER (CHARACTER)
      • BLANK NOW BROWN COW (Last letter of word to front) = HOW (WHO)
      • WITH ANYTHING A COLE PORTER MUSICAL (Add IV after first letter; delete second letter) = GOES (GIVES)
      • SOAK OR MAKE SOPPING WET (Last two letters to beginning, followed by IL) = DRENCH (CHILDREN)
      • DEITY SUCH AS THOR OR OSIRIS (Double vowels) = GOD (GOOD)
      • SETS OF FIVE HUNDRED SHEETS OF PAPER (Add D to beginning of word) = REAMS (DREAMS)

      The modified answers to the clues may be read as the phrase ROALD DAHL NOVEL ABOUT CHARACTER WHO GIVES CHILDREN GOOD DREAMS. The character who fits this description is THE BFG.

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      [Hint] Replacement Effect

      Replacement Effect has been out for a week now. Check the hint below if you are struggling.

      Once you finish with that, check out the May-June metapuzzle, Single, Solitary S. You will need your other eight answers to crack this one.

      The letters in the boxes will spell out an instruction which tells you what to do with those same letters. The first four answers are WRY, COG, PROM, and TD.

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      [Meta] Single, Solitary S – 30 June 2025

      The hint for last week’s puzzle, Replacement Effect, has been uploaded. The solution to Mutated Clues is also available.

      This month’s metapuzzle is a Single, Solitary S. Use your answers from the past eight weeks to find the solution.

      Remember that Grant Fikes is wrapping up his tenth season of Kevin’s Puzzles at Home, his homage to this site. These puzzles run to the easier side, and for every solve, he donates to a food bank. Go check it out!

      Please enter your answer below, leaving out all punctuation.

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        [Solution] Balanced Budget

        In this puzzle, each of the items has a cost equal to the sum of the costs of its letters. Thus, the challenge is to find a value for each letter. There are a few different ways to calculate this; one path is as follows:

        • PEA=$13 and PEAR=$14. Thus R=$1
        • GRAPE=$21 and PEAR=$14, so G=$7
        • CAR is $10, so CA=$9. Since CAT=$14, T=$5
        • CARROT is $18 and CARRT adds up to $16, leaving O=$2
        • TACOS is $18, and TACO adds up to $16, so S=$2
        • Now that we know G and S, GAS being $13 means A=$4
        • With CA=$9 and A=$4, C=$5
        • Since we now know all its letters but P, PASTA=$18 gives P=$3
        • Knowing P allows any of PEA/PEAR/GRAPE to give E=$6
        • From TIRES, I=$6
        • From TRAILER, L=$8
        • From BREAD, BD=$3, which means one must be $1 and the other must be $2
        • From BANANA=$25, BNN=$13, so B must be odd, thus B=$1, D=$2, and N=$6
        • In CAT FOOD, F=$6
        • HOT DOGS gives H=$9
        • BOWL gives W=$3
        • PANCAKES gives K=$7
        • From HAM=$18 we get M=5
        • Then JAM gives J=$7
        • Now all the letters from APPLE JUICE are known except for U=$8
        • Finally, KUMQUAT give Q=$3

        The “Other Expenses” section references saving enough for every $6 letter. The six-dollar letters are E, F, I, and N. The only rearrangement of these which forms a common word – which is also something that might be an unexpected expense – is FINE.