Author: KOrfield

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[Hint] Some Sums

The puzzle Some Sums has been out for a week now. If you’re struggling, check out the hint below.

This week’s new puzzle is Sound Initials. We’ve gone from a math puzzle to a reading one.

Each of the letters in the puzzle stands for the same digit from 0-9 wherever it appears. The question marks also stand for digits, but you will have to translate them into their respective letters to solve the puzzle.

We can see from the first step of the division problem that AR-HT=Y, so A must be one greater than H. Look for other relationships between numbers and use those to solve.

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[Puzzle] Sound Initials – 10 March 2025

The solution to the January-February metapuzzle, Ordered Series, is up now. Fifteen of you solved it. Well done and thank you to all you, as well as anybody who solved any puzzles in the set. The hint for last week’s puzzle, Some Sums, has been posted as well.

This week’s new puzzle is Sound Initials. R U Ready?

Please enter your answer below, leaving out all punctuation.

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    [Solution] Pungent Puns

    Each of the clues references two words which when combined sound like another word, which is also clued.

    • The mystical glow of fellows lit by a candelabra. MEN AURA = MENORAH
    • Colony member runs off to get married to deer. ANT ELOPE = ANTELOPE
    • A needlefish burrow with a flower bed. GAR DEN = GARDEN
    • Peer group of hotels causes harm. INN JURY = INJURY
    • Desert enchantress makes lunch, perhaps. SAND WITCH = SANDWICH
    • Betrayal of an oak or maple child. TREE SON = TREASON
    • Uncooked monarch moves back and forth. RAW KING = ROCKING
    • Noah’s assistant in building boats and gaming centers. ARK AIDE = ARCADE
    • Discuss transgressions or poisons. TALK SINS = TOXINS
    • Consumable bovine in a Norse epic. EDDA BULL = EDIBLE
    • What a pen makes when writing on a slope. INK LINE = INCLINE
    • The sister throws this weapon. NUN CHUCKS = NUNCHUKS
    • An airway Sorento on a platter. TRAY KIA = TRACHEA
    • The full wrath of the treefolk. ENT IRE = ENTIRE
    • A wanderer’s commercial for garden decorations. GNOME AD = NOMAD
    • Part of a swimming pool that you can rely on. DEEP END = DEPEND
    • What someone with a mouth phobia might say when they see gum being chewed. EEK LIPS = ECLIPSE
    • Something found in the freezer of campus housing by animals. DORM ICE = DORMICE

    Reading the first letters of the longer words gives the phrase MAGISTRATE INTENDED. This is a clue for JUDGE MEANT, which sounds like JUDGMENT, the answer.

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    [Hint] Ordered Series

    The metapuzzle Ordered Series has been out for a week now. If you’re struggling, check out the hint below.

    This week’s new puzzle is Some Sums. It’s the first puzzle in the new March-April puzzle set.

    The seven things given in this puzzle are the first, second, third, etc. objects in seven different sets. Each of the answers to the previous seven puzzles is also a member of one of those sets.

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    [Puzzle] Some Sums – 3 March 2025

    The first metapuzzle of the year, Ordered Series, has been out for a week, and there have been thirteen solvers so far. Check out the hint if you want to join them. The solution to Pungent Puns is also up and may help you.

    The first puzzle of the new set is Some Sums. Get ready for some alphabetic arithmetic!

    All eight puzzles of Grant Fikes’ ninth season of Kevin’s Puzzles at Home have now had their hints released. You have one more week to earn some money for the food bank!

    Please enter your answer below, leaving out all punctuation.

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      [Solution] Everything Must Go!

      This is a regular crossword, except that some of the clues give an answer that is twice as long as the number of squares given. These are all preceded by “50% OFF” indicators, and either the first or second half of the answer must be left off to form a crossword-legal entry to place in the grid. The completed grid looks like this:

      Here are the longer answers to the 50% off clues, in case the grid doesn’t help with them: 1A) CHICKENS, 9A) WILLIAMS, 10A) CHLORIDE, 14A) FIBULA, 16A) NUCLEI, 17A) MACRON, 31A) TRUSTY, 32A) BO PEEP, 33A) HORNET, 35A) EXPONENT, 41A) COURTIER, 42A) FEMININE, 43A) ANYWHERE, 2D) ARCHIE, 3D) UPHILL, 4D) CLEFAIRY, 5D) ARTHUR, 6D) VIOLATIONS, 8D) DELICATE, 18D) ARIANA, 25D) STAIRS, 26D) REPEAT, 27D) FLASHY, 30D) LAST SUPPER, 32D) BETHSEDA, 34D) BARITONE, 36D) BEFORE, 38D) DIPPER, 39D) CAPONE, 40D) SEETHE

      Clue 24A, “The answer, without a discount” can be determined from the crossing down clues to be MILITARIES. To solve the puzzle, take 50% off from this to get ARIES.

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      [Hint] Pungent Puns

      The puzzle Pungent Puns has been out for a week now. If you’re struggling, check out the hint below.

      The metapuzzle for January-February is Ordered Series. Check it out once you’ve completed last week’s puzzle, or give it a go anyway if you’re still stuck.

      The sentences have been split up into their component clues to make them easier to understand. The first one has been given as an example. Two of the clues cannot be broken up, but still lead to a two-word phrase which sounds like a single word.

      First Word ClueSecond Word ClueCombined Word Clue
      fellows (MEN)mystical glow (AURA)candelabra (MENORAH)
      Colony memberruns off to get marrieddeer
      needlefishburrowflower bed
      hotelpeer groupharm
      desertenchantresslunch, perhaps
      oak or maplechildBetrayal
      uncookedmonarchmoving back and forth
      Noah’s boatassistantgaming center
      discusstransgressionspoisons
      Norse epicbovineConsumable
      What a pen makes when writing (2 wds.)slope
      sisterthrowsweapon
      platterSorentoairway
      treefolkwrathfull
      garden decorationcommercialwanderer
      Part of a swimming pool
      (2 wds.)      		rely
      What someone with a phobia might saymouthgum
      campus housingsomething found in the freezeranimals

      You will get a clue phrase, which clues a pun of an eight-letter word.

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      [Meta] Ordered Series – 24 February 2025

      The hint for last week’s puzzle, Pungent Puns, has now been posted, as has the solution to Everything Must Go!, the puzzle from two weeks ago.

      The metapuzzle for the past two months is Ordered Series. ERRATA: The puzzle incorrectly listed “The High Priestess”, rather than “The Empress”. This has been corrected. Apologies for the confusion. Thanks to Grant for the correction. Use your answers from the last seven puzzles to solve it. Or, if you haven’t gotten last week’s answer yet, try to solve it with only six answers for a little extra challenge. Next week we will start another two-month puzzle set.

      Reminder that Grant Fikes is wrapping up his ninth season of Kevin’s Puzzles at Home. These puzzles run to the easier side, and for every solve, he donates to a food bank. All eight puzzles are now available, so go check it out!

      Please enter your answer below, leaving out all punctuation.

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        [Solution] Hippopotomonstrosesquipedaliophobia

        Each of the clues refers to a very long word, generally one specifically coined to be long. Indexing into these words by the numbers following their clues spells out shorter words. The long words and their shorter counterparts are as follows:

        • otorhinolaryngological (INHALING)
        • Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (TINY)
        • supercalifragilisticexpialidocious (PARTICLES)
        • pseudopseudohypoparathyroidism (MAY)
        • floccinaucinihilipilification (INFLICT)
        • honorificabilitudinitatibus (THIS)
        • antidisestablishmentarianism (DISEASE)

        Reading the shorter words in order gives the clue phrase INHALING TINY PARTICLES MAY INFLICT THIS DISEASE. Following the pattern established previously, this is a clue for PNEUMONOULTRAMICROSCOPICSILICOVOLCANOCONIOSIS. Indexing into this word by the numbers at the bottom spells out the final answer, SILICON.