onigame ([info]onigame) wrote,
@ 2008-04-23 18:44:00
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A silly little word puzzle
Sometimes I come up with an puzzle idea that is so silly that there's no point in saving it for something better. So, here's a free puzzle for you.

Each one of these defines a word or phrase. All the answers have some property in common. Since some of the definitions are ambiguous, you'll probably need to find that property to know exactly what phrases I'm referring to.


  • Wereseals
  • Cooked soybeans
  • Composer of The Four Seasons
  • A company that used to have a logo that included six ducks
  • Scientific name for the freshwater dogfish
  • It comes between "revelation" and "riven"
  • One of two U. S. States whose state flag looks the same when turned upside-down
  • A 1960's animated series about an inept secret agent, created by the same man who invented Batman
  • A bike with a motor, such as the one depicted in this picture
  • Rape, necrophilia, and zoophilia, perhaps
  • Czech translation of "Wenceslaus"
  • Surname of the creator of the first comic book printed by Image Comics
  • The westernmost city in the Peloponnese
  • A "nickname" for Jesus Christ
  • The size of a ship that is just large enough to travel from Sri Lanka to Taiwan without needing to go south of Malaysia
  • Where you might find the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library


If you think you've solved it, try adding to the list instead of giving it away.



(Post a new comment)


[info]tigupine
2008-04-24 05:44 am UTC (link)
"Hawaiian dress worn by a 300-pound Homer Simpson"

I swear, you hit the ebzna ahzrenyf like some people huff paint. :)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]onigame
2008-04-24 05:50 am UTC (link)
Hmm, that answer isn't quite right. You should try again.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]thedan
2008-04-24 02:26 pm UTC (link)
How about:

Third face complementing Mankind and Cactus Jack

But I'm unclear why Ian's is wrong, so mine may be as well.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]onigame
2008-04-24 10:55 pm UTC (link)
Nope, not quite there.

You guys have noticed one property but haven't noticed the other, less obvious one.

Try staring at the first two bullet points, they might help.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]jrivet
2008-04-25 03:11 am UTC (link)
Some threats

(Reply to this)


[info]big_bad_al
2008-04-25 07:35 am UTC (link)
There are 3 states whose flags are the same when you turn them upside down: Alabama, Maryland, and New Mexico. Then again, I haven't solved the puzzle yet, so your clue may still be correct in some way I haven't discerned...

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]zotmeister
2008-04-25 07:15 pm UTC (link)
Hmm... What I thought the category was, none of those would fit. In fact, no state name would fit. Assuming no mistake in the original list, I think I know which of those three would fit, but there's a single letter I can't account for... - ZM

(Reply to this) (Parent)

One of those is not the same
(Anonymous)
2008-04-26 03:06 am UTC (link)
It doesn't even matter what definition of upside-down you use.
I was wondering if anyone would be fooled by this. Close, but not quite.


Chris Worrell

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]zotmeister
2008-04-25 07:10 pm UTC (link)
I think I see the rule, but I might be off on one of the nuances. I believe these all clue to legal elements of the category:

  • adjective describing the upper surface of a leaf

  • the high point of a story

  • a vindictive type of doll

  • what an answer needs to be to fit on this list!

  • what the people who failed to see what the nuance was have been!!


  • It may well be the case that some of those fit but not others.

    I think these do not meet the criteria, although they come close in the same way:

  • what a story has done after it reached its high point

  • to have yelled at the top of one's voice

  • prerequisite to a theorem

  • base 10


  • I'd be surprised if any of these were acceptable. - ZM

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    D'OH!
    [info]zotmeister
    2008-04-25 07:21 pm UTC (link)
    The second item on the original list blows my theory. - ZM

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    BINGO!
    [info]zotmeister
    2008-04-25 07:54 pm UTC (link)
    I have it, and now I KNOW I have it. Now to come up with an example in order to PROVE it! - ZM

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: BINGO!
    [info]zotmeister
    2008-04-25 08:44 pm UTC (link)
    Simple:

  • to make a come back (like I'm hopefully doing right now)

  • how to sail from the Atlantic to the Pacific going east to west (generically speaking)

  • something that makes other things shrink (this is a terrible clue)

  • you're in one right now!

  • according to the first fact, a ninja is one of these


  • Complex:

  • the most a value can be


  • These should all be valid. Otherwise, I'm stumped, and a bit embarassed. - ZM

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: BINGO!
    [info]onigame
    2008-04-25 11:41 pm UTC (link)
    I can't solve your clues enough to figure out if you're right. :)

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: BINGO!
    [info]zotmeister
    2008-04-29 04:33 pm UTC (link)
    They're more crosswordy than trivial. Here they are in white - highlight them to read them:

    [recover, canal, reducer, mood, mammal, maximal]

    - ZM

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: BINGO!
    [info]onigame
    2008-04-30 12:48 am UTC (link)
    Yup, looks good to me. Good job!

    Now to work on making your clues a bit more specific. E.g., "Alternative to a man or a plan" :)

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: BINGO!
    [info]zotmeister
    2008-05-01 02:07 am UTC (link)
    Aw - I thought that one was the only good clue. It's certainly the only trivium among them. I think it interesting that the Panama Canal is dug in a spot where the oceans "line up backwards". - ZM

    (Reply to this) (Parent)


    [info]trivee
    2008-04-28 06:18 am UTC (link)
    - Former queen of a northern African state, a daemon
    - A piece for orchestra, without music
    - Format of comedies, histories and tragedies
    - Taro feast




    (Reply to this) (Thread)


    [info]onigame
    2008-04-30 12:54 am UTC (link)
    Hmm, I'm kinda stuck.

    1. Devil? Succubus?
    2. Instrumental?
    3. Play? Folio?
    4. Luau?

    (None of these words have the right properties, btw)

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)


    [info]trivee
    2008-04-30 02:59 pm UTC (link)

    Answers:


    1) Lamia (queen of Lybia, murders children)

    2) Bolero (the hint is a well-known quote from Ravel)

    3) Folio (the hint is part of the actual title of Shakespeare's First Folio, published, obviously, in folio format)

    4) Luau


    Too bad I didn't guess yours :(

    (Reply to this) (Parent)

    How about these?
    (Anonymous)
    2008-04-29 02:55 pm UTC (link)

    • Sitcom that had two actors play one husband.

    • Predecessor to the word processor.

    • A self-administered drug that comes in a "pen".



    Eric

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    Re: How about these?
    [info]onigame
    2008-04-30 12:55 am UTC (link)
    1. Bewitched?
    2. Typewriter?
    3. Epipen?

    (None of these words have the right properties)

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: How about these?
    (Anonymous)
    2008-04-30 02:53 am UTC (link)
    OK, now I think I'm on track:


    • a type of threat

    • the way eggs are served in hell

    • thwart capture or notice

    • gradually transition from simple to complex

    • between ace and trey



    Eric

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: How about these?
    [info]onigame
    2008-04-30 10:22 pm UTC (link)
    Hmm...

    1. ******. This works.
    2. Pickled? This doesn't work.
    3. *****. This works.
    4. I dunno.
    5. Deuce. This doesn't work.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: How about these?
    (Anonymous)
    2008-05-01 01:13 am UTC (link)
    2. Not "pickled" but "devilled".

    4. The answer is "evolve".


    Boy, I'm surprised that "deuce" doesn't work....



    Eric

    (Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

    Re: How about these?
    [info]zotmeister
    2008-05-01 02:08 am UTC (link)
    2 works; 4 doesn't. - ZM

    (Reply to this) (Parent)


    [info]onigame
    2008-04-30 10:38 pm UTC (link)
    Here's the word list for the original puzzle:


    • SELKIES
    • EDAMAME
    • VIVALDI
    • CADILLAC
    • AMIA CALVA
    • (Myst 3) EXILE
    • ALABAMA
    • COOL MCCOOL
    • VELOSOLEX
    • SEX CRIMES
    • VACLAV
    • (Rob) LIEFELD
    • AMALIADA (sorry, the question isn't correct; the westernmost city is Loutraki)
    • REDEEMER
    • MALACCAMAX (this is the word that inspired the puzzle)
    • SIMI HILLS

    (Reply to this)

    I think I've finally circled onto the right concept...
    (Anonymous)
    2008-05-01 11:14 pm UTC (link)
    1. Pleasingly fat ["plump"]
    2. Phishing, some email from Nigeria, three card monte, etc. ["scams"]
    3. Ape or parrot (five letters) ["mimic"]
    4. Soft-nosed bullet ["dumdum"]
    5. What Mrs. Robinson does when she removes her nylons ["seduces"]
    6. Zoned for hours in front of the TV ["vegged"]

    Eric

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    Re: I think I've finally circled onto the right concept...
    [info]onigame
    2008-05-03 09:39 am UTC (link)
    Well done! Very nice.

    (Reply to this) (Parent)

    djfJZSmNshPXBbkiKM
    (Anonymous)
    2008-05-09 11:44 am UTC (link)
    7RC6En fw831f64td9glse934dkjga

    (Reply to this)

    I think I have it, but your third solution is making me question it somewhat
    [info]meadowhawk
    2008-05-13 04:42 pm UTC (link)
    a close-knit group that the media wants you to suspect ["cabal "]
    productive hobby for grandmothers with two sticks ["knitting "]
    a ground paste that some say goes with pita bread ["hummus "]


    I don't understand your third answer though. Every other example fits. I guess we will see how close this is.

    (Reply to this) (Thread)

    Re: I think I have it, but your third solution is making me question it somewhat
    (Anonymous)
    2008-05-13 10:20 pm UTC (link)
    Your first works, your others don't. :-)

    (Reply to this) (Parent)

    It was fun
    [info]lisa_quiz
    2008-06-26 11:20 am UTC (link)
    But I've read the comments too soon so I kind of missed the purpose. Temptations are just too much sometimes

    (Reply to this)

    jwUkZjkgXaVL
    (Anonymous)
    2008-08-03 12:55 pm UTC (link)
    far.txt;3;3

    (Reply to this)


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