Tag: Meta

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[Solution] Ordered Series

The seven words given in this metapuzzle can be paired up with the answers to the previous puzzles as members of seven different categories:

  • The Empress / Judgement = Tarot cards of the Major Arcana
  • Gordon / Samson = Thomas & Friends trains
  • Hydrogen / Silicon = Chemical elements
  • Monroe / Garfield = US Presidents
  • Squirtle / Beedrill = Pokémon
  • Taurus / Aries = Zodiac signs
  • Zeta / Psi = Greek letters

A closer look will show that each of these groups has an ordering, and most of them are numbered. Further examination reveals that each of the seven words given here hold a unique position between first and seventh in their sets. Sorting the list by those numbers gives the following table:

CategoryGiven Word# in SetPuzzle Answer# in Set
ElementsHydrogen1Silicon14
ZodiacTaurus2Aries1
TarotThe Empress3Judgement20
TrainsGordon4Samson15
PresidentsMonroe5Garfield20
GreekZeta6Psi23
PokémonSquirtle7Beedrill15

In this order, the positions of the puzzle answers in the sets can be converted to letters, with 1=A, 2=B, etc., to make the phrase NATO TWO. In the NATO phonetic alphabet, the second member is BRAVO. Bravo to you for solving this metapuzzle!

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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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[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] The Missing Piece

    This metapuzzle requires the answers from the previous two months. They are GRIT, ESCAPES, BUY, DEUCE, COVERT, FIST, HOSE, and INFECTION. The metapuzzle provides eight clues, which do not define these eight words. The breakthrough comes in realizing that the clues all describe the puzzle answers with an additional letter added – the “missing piece” of the puzzle title. The clues and their corresponding answers are:

    • Change – CO[N]VERT
    • Figure out – DE[D]UCE
    • Former prisoners – ESCAP[E]ES
    • Home – HO[U]SE
    • Modulation – INF[L]ECTION
    • Original – FI[R]ST
    • Support – BU[O]Y
    • Swindle – GRI[F]T

    These extra letters don’t spell anything in the order given, but that order is merely alphabetical by clue. Solvers will notice that the answers begin with the letters from B through I. Putting the answers in alphabetical order gives the following:

    • BU[O]Y
    • CO[N]VERT
    • DE[D]UCE
    • ESCAP[E]ES
    • FI[R]ST
    • GRI[F]T
    • HO[U]SE
    • INF[L]ECTION

    In this order, the added letters spell out ONDERFUL. The lack of a word starting with A suggests adding a letter to the front of this to form the answer WONDERFUL, as in “You did a wonderful job in solving this puzzle!”

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    [Hint] The Missing Piece

    The November-December metapuzzle, The Missing Piece, has been out for a week now. If you are stuck on solving it, check out the hint below, as well as the solutions to all eight feeder puzzles on the solutions page.

    Once you’ve finished that, check out the first puzzle in a new set, Funny Pages.

    Every answer in this puzzle is missing a letter. Don’t forget to look for a way to order your answers.

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    [Meta] The Missing Piece – 30 December 2024

    A hint for Clue Conundrum, the puzzle from last week, is now available, as is the solution to Triple Rhyme Time from two weeks ago.

    The final metapuzzle of the year is The Missing Piece. Use your answers from the past eight weeks to find the solution, then come back next week for the start of a new year of puzzles.

    Please enter your answer below, leaving out all punctuation.

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      [Solution] Spatial Relationships

      This metapuzzle consists of the following image, along with the answers to the feeder puzzles: MOZART SYMPHONY, YOU ARE HERE, FIFTH GEN CONSOLE, CANDY BAR, OBERON, TRIDENT, THERMOMETER, and CARNIVOROUS PLANT.

      This image suggests the planets of our solar system, moving outward. Each answer corresponds to one of the planets:

      • Mercury = THERMOMETER (Thermometers are traditionally filled with mercury.)
      • Venus = CARNIVOROUS PLANT (Venus flytrap)
      • Earth = YOU ARE HERE (Unless any aliens are solving these puzzles, in which case, welcome!)
      • Mars = CANDY BAR (Mars bar)
      • Jupiter = MOZART SYMPHONY (Mozart Symphony No. 41 is named Jupiter.)
      • Saturn = FIFTH GEN CONSOLE (the Sega Saturn)
      • Uranus = OBERON (Oberon is a moon of Uranus.)
      • Neptune = TRIDENT (The god Neptune wields a trident.)

      Indexing into each answer by the number written on the planet spells out the solution, MOONSHOT (or MOON SHOT), referring to an ambitious, groundbreaking effort, such as the 1969 moon landing.