# New Riddles/ Brain Teasers Needed! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 31, 2015, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546 "2015-08-31T21:31:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 14
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/261 "2015-09-29T21:04:57Z")
🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/262 "2015-09-29T21:16:43Z")
I’m generally slow with hints, but I’ll start adding some extra information already. I tossed in REDDISH, DRIED, and MOUNTAINOUS specifically as references to previous puzzles in this thread, and you can assume all of those belong on my list. I could’ve replaced REDDISH with GREENISH, though, and it would still have referenced [my red-\>green-\>blue tile-coloring puzzle](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18711991&postcount=192). Hell, I could’ve used YELLOWISH, replacing DRIED as reference to [**Chronos** ’s “dry, yellow, wooden, strange” puzzle](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18675935&postcount=66). But perhaps the cleverest move of all, still referencing [**biotop** ’s early classic](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=18652059&postcount=7), would’ve been to replace both MOUNTAINOUS and BURNT with MOUNT BLACKBURN (good name, that one; not many I see that good). ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/263 "2015-09-29T21:46:06Z")
Ack, sorry, I should’ve capitalized **Biotop**. (That wasn’t one of my cryptic clues; just a typo) ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/264 "2015-09-29T22:03:18Z")
I wish I’d spotted this thread earlier! I love puzzles. I’ve got loads to share. Here’s an easy one to start off: ARGON, LOWER, ANGER, VERSION, OVER, ANGLE, AUNTS, BOUT, TRAIN, OBSERVE, ARROW, RAINED. Which word is the odd one out and why? As a hint: Count how many words there are. ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/265 "2015-09-29T22:12:45Z")
I’m also a fan of cryptic crosswords. Here’s a few clues of my own: 1. Mafioso holding all the strings (4) 2. Strange market sounds (7) 3. Dry land (9) 4. Rebel against Slavic tyrant. Heads will roll! (4) 5. Deep breath makes lightbulb go on (11) ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/266 "2015-09-29T22:22:52Z")
Cryptic #2: Bizarre (means strange, but sounds like bazaar = market) Cryptic #4: Tsar (heads of “Rebel against Slavic tyrant”, backwards (I’m thinking “roll” indicates this?), spelling out a Slavic tyrant) ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/267 "2015-09-29T22:28:46Z")
So far so good 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/268 "2015-09-29T22:51:28Z")
I’m not sure about this one, but Cryptic #1: Vito? (as in Vito Corleone, the logo for The Godfather being presumably his hand holding strings) ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/269 "2015-09-29T23:07:57Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > I’m not sure about this one, but > > Cryptic #1: > > Vito? (as in Vito Corleone, the logo for The Godfather being presumably his hand holding strings) Good guess, but not quite right. This one’s a double definition, and one of the definitions is slightly uncommon. I’ll give you a hint: The second definition of this word is a musical term. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/270 "2015-09-29T23:11:18Z")
Oh, of course! Cryptic #1: Capo (Mafia captain and implement placed on guitar strings) ---
**Author:** ![Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Ulf\_the\_Unwashed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulf_the_Unwashed)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/271 "2015-09-29T23:15:04Z")
> [@Tithonus](#): > > I wish I’d spotted this thread earlier! I love puzzles. I’ve got loads to share. Here’s an easy one to start off: > > ARGON, LOWER, ANGER, VERSION, OVER, ANGLE, AUNTS, BOUT, TRAIN, OBSERVE, ARROW, RAINED. > > Which word is the odd one out and why? > > As a hint: > > Count how many words there are. Well, how about observe? All the other words can become other words by adding an initial letter…jargon, strain, taunts, narrow, etc. but I think observe cannot be changed in that way. But that doesn’t involve the number of words. ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2015, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/272 "2015-09-29T23:16:11Z")
Yes it does! The added initial letters correspond to months: J for January, F for February, M for March, etc., in order ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/273 "2015-09-30T00:03:52Z")
Cryptic #5: Inspiration (meaning both deep breath and a sudden flash of an idea, as illustrated in cartoons with a lightbulb) ---
**Author:** ![Hoopy\_Frood](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hoopy_frood/32/8452_2.png) [@Hoopy\_Frood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hoopy_Frood)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/274 "2015-09-30T02:14:36Z")
Cryptic #3: continent (double definition) ---
**Author:** ![Memnon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Memnon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Memnon)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 1:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/275 "2015-09-30T13:18:01Z")
All correct. Well done! Let’s try something a little trickier. Create a wordsearch grid containing the words: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN, and TWELVE. One catch, your grid has to be 6x6. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/276 "2015-09-30T15:51:39Z")
Hm, I didn’t know that cryptics were allowed to use double definitions. I thought that one of the two clues had to be some form of wordplay (anagrams, sound-alikes, etc.). And the number word-search looks fun; I’ll have to try that. The key is obviously going to be starting with the ELEVEN and TWELVE. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/277 "2015-09-30T18:52:02Z")
Create … > [@Tithonus](#): > > a wordsearch grid containing the words: ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR, FIVE, SIX, SEVEN, EIGHT, NINE, TEN, ELEVEN, and TWELVE. One catch, your grid has to be 6x6. E L E V E N T W E L V E F F I V E V O Q G R N E U W H X I S R T T E N O ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/278 "2015-09-30T19:50:44Z")
There’s tons of ways to create this word search grid, if words are allowed to move in any of the eight typical directions. For what it’s worth, though, there are no ways to do it if we force horizontal words to be read left-to-right and vertical words to be read top-to-bottom. (An example of another solution: ```auto T F O U R O W N F X T W E E I G H T L S V N R E V S E V E N E L E V E N ``` ) ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/279 "2015-09-30T20:23:47Z")
> [@Indistinguishable](#): > > There’s tons of ways to create this word search grid, if words are allowed to move in any of the eight typical directions. Yes, if “tons” means “exactly 44” (or “exactly 352” when the eight members of each equivalence class are considered distinct). (I confess to writing a word-grid searcher from scratch in 20 minutes.) ---
**Author:** ![Indistinguishable](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/90ced4/32.png) [@Indistinguishable](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indistinguishable)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2015, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546/280 "2015-09-30T20:26:06Z")
Heh, I did the same thing. It should be acknowledged that the solution **septimus** posted was clever enough to pack things so tightly as to even leave an unused spot on the grid! Out of the 44 possible solutions (up to rotation and mirroring), there are 5 with an unused spot. However, there are none with two or more unused spots. Those 5 solutions are as follows: First, a pair of very similar solutions: ```auto T S E V E N W I ? N E T E X I V R H L N E U H G V L O W T I E F I V E E ``` ```auto T S E V E N W I ? N E T E X I V R H L N E U H G V L O W T I E F F I V E ``` Then another pair of very similar solutions: ```auto T W E L V E H S ? T L E G E E E E R I V V N U H E E I O W T N N F S I X ``` ```auto T W E L V E H S ? T L E G E E E E R I V V N U H E E I O W T N N F X I S ``` And, finally, the solution **septimus** posted: ```auto E L E V E N T W E L V E F F I V E V O ? G R N E U W H X I S R T T E N O ``` [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546.md?page=13) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-riddles-brain-teasers-needed/729546.md?page=15)