Category: Solutions

This is a standard crossword puzzle with no gimmicks. The completed grid looks like this:

The four answers reading down the central column of the puzzle combine to give the answer CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS.

These clues reference six different lists, containing 50, 82, 151, 12, 118, and 24 items. The final line of the puzzle gives the first letters of each of the lists:

• 118 Elements in the Periodic Table
• 82 Fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
• 24 Letters in the Greek Alphabet
• 12 Months in the Year
• 151 Pokémon in Generation I
• 50 States in the United States

Each of the lists also has an order, which means it is possible to find a specific member of that list based on its position. (States are ordered by admission to the union.)

States:

• 27th of 50 – Florida
• 21st of 50 – Illinois
• 13th of 50 – Rhode Island
• 40th of 50 – South Dakota
• 16th of 50 – Tennessee

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Fighters

• 43rd of 82 – Toon Link
• 72nd of 82 – Hero
• 15th of 82 – Ice Climbers
• 56th of 82 – Robin
• 74th of 82 – Terry
• 5th of 82 – Yoshi

Generation I Pokémon:

• 38th of 151 – Ninetales
• 2nd of 151 – Ivysaur
• 31st of 151 – Nidoqueen
• 125th of 151 – Electabuzz

Months:

• 10th of 12 – October
• 2nd of 12 – February

Elements:

• 106th of 118 – Seaborgium
• 26th of 118 – Iron
• 54th of 118 – Xenon
• 117th of 118 – Tennessine
• 39th of 118 – Yttrium

Greek Letters:

• 18th of 24 – Sigma
• 9th of 24 – Iota
• 14th of 24 – Xi

The first letters of each answer spell out the clue phrase FIRST THIRTY NINE OF SIXTY SIX. The Bible has sixty-six books, and the first thirty-nine are known as the OLD TESTAMENT.

Each of the phrases includes the name of a number crossing between two or more words:

• The serpent of ouroboros eats its own tail.
• Please place a pencil on every desk.
• With re-entry out of the way, all that remains is the landing.
• We must weigh the consequences of all our actions before we act.
• As the poet says, “Lenin et e’en while the Soviets starv’d”.
• In Raleigh, they cheer for the Panthers.
• Rodgers came hither slowly, while Everett went yon expeditiously.
• A few of our teenagers are selling candy to raise funds.
• The UFO urgently sent out a distress signal.
• How did I guess his height? Eeny, meeny, miny, moe, of course.
• Like Jonathan Groff, I’ve come back.
• LeFou really was a bad influence on Gaston.
• There are an equal number of men and women in each group.
• If our calculations are to be believed, this puzzle is not too difficult.

Turning these letters into numbers gives the phrase DACHSHUND REDID, which is nonsense, but does hide the number HUNDRED, which is the answer.

This is an 8×8 sudoku variant. Each row, column, and region must contain the letters D, E, H, I, L, N, O, and W. The logic doesn’t require any multi-step leaps, and the completed grid looks like this:

The letters on the main (top-left to bottom-right) diagonal spell out the answer NEW DELHI.

Each of these clues gives an answer which contains a number:

• Six Flags
• Fifteen Men on the Dead Man’s Chest
• Eighteen Wheeler3
• Twenty-One Gun Salute
• Big 12 Conference
• One Piece
• 15 Minutes of Fame
• 14 Karat Gold
• Ben Folds Five

Translating these numbers to letters (A=1, B=2, etc.) gives the answer FORMULA ONE.

Each of the grids contains five sets of lines which do not appear in the other. These are highlighted here:

The differences spell out the answer, FIRST WORLD, as in “First World Problems”.

The answer to each of the clues is a model of car with length equal to the number in parentheses:

(Honda) ACCORD
(Chevrolet) NOVA
(Kia) SOUL
(Jeep) WRANGLER
(Ford) ESCORT
(Isuzu) RODEO
(Amc) EAGLE
(Mitsubishi) LANCER
(Ford) EXPLORER
(Chevrolet) CAVALIER
(Ford) TAURUS
(Jeep) RENEGADE
(Chevrolet) IMPALA
(Dodge) CHARGER
(Jeep) CHEROKEE
(Toyota) AVALON
(Ford) RANGER

The first letters of the car models spell out ANSWER ELECTRIC CAR. The answer is ELECTRIC CAR.

This is a word search containing the names of 29 different cat breeds. The full list is:

ABYSSINIAN
BAMBINO
BENGAL
BIRMAN
BURMESE
EGYPTIAN MAU
GERMAN REX
KANAANI
KORAT
MINSKIN
MINUET
MUNCHKIN
OCICAT
PERSIAN
RAGAMUFFIN
RAGDOLL
RUSSIAN WHITE
SAVANNAH
SCOTTISH FOLD
SIAMESE
SIBERIAN
SOKOKE
SPHINX
SUPHALAK
THAI LILAC
TOYGER
TURKISH ANGORA
TURKISH VAN
YORK CHOCOLATE

The completed grid looks like this:

The unused letters in the puzzle, read from top to bottom, spell out TODAY’S ANSWER: BRITISH BLUE. The answer is BRITISH BLUE.

Each of the clues leads to a five-letter answer. These answers are:

• 1) CAUSE
• 2) EAGLE
• 3) PURSE
• 4) BINGO
• 5) LUNGS
• 6) BUICK
• 7) GAMER
• 8) COBRA
• 9) FORCE
• 10) FJORD
• 11) COMMA
• 12) JIFFY
• 13) GLAND
• 14) DAFFY
• 15) ALONE
• 16) OBEYS
• A) PERIL
• B) CAIR0
• C) CLUED
• D) LILAC
• E) ROMEO
• F) CURLY
• G) POLKA
• H) PAUSE

Each of these answers fit into the grid with its five letters in the five cells surrounding its clue letter or number:

There is a bit of ambiguity around the outside, which is not necessary to resolve in order to solve the puzzle. However, it can also be resolved by discovering that the outer letters, read top-to-bottom and left-to-right, spell out the clue phrase USE UNNUMBERED MIDDLES. This tells us to read the eight lettered (unnumbered) middle squares of the words, which spell out (again in top-to-bottom, left-to-right order, which is also in alphabetical order) the answer PADLOCKS.