I also don’t enjoy crosswords, probably because I’m not as good at those as the math puzzles.
That being said, here’s another word puzzle!
1/18/21
Use the given letters to fill in the empty squares so that each row across spells a word and so that the shaded letters, clockwise from the top, spell some things that may show how far you’ve come.
Letters: S P A S M S P A S T O R
1/18/21
Summary
PASSPORT STAMPS
These ones are tougher than the average crossword, since there is something else besides the basic database of crossword answers (in short, words with lots of one-point scrabble letters).
As for regular crossword puzzles: I hadn’t started doing them until about 15 years ago (when I was, er, over 40). Without details, let’s just say I had a LOT of time on my hands. I’d start with the Monday ones (they’re generally the easiest of the week) with a dictionary nearby (a smart phone will suffice, but no fair choosing the links with the words “crossword clue” in them). Now, my goal is 10 minutes or less on Monday ones, 30 minutes or less on Fri/Sat ones, an hour or less on the Sunday ones.
No, I do not keep a record of my times in an Excel spreadsheet.
Contingencies, had a regular numerical “crossword” puzzle. all equations, with a circular logic, based on other clues, I loved those
1/19/21 - Spymaster
Deduce a secret number made of four different digits 1 through 9. The chart shows four guesses at the number, and a score for each guess using baseballs. Any digit that appears in the secret number in the same position as in the guess is scored with a yellow baseball (really a softball - I’m improvising here). Any digit that appears in the secret number in a different position than in the guess is scored with a white baseball. Any digit that is not in the secret number does not get a baseball. It’s up to you to determine which digits are indicated by the baseballs. Can you figure out the four-digit number?
5 4 3 6 — 4 2 7 1 — 8 3 9 6 — 8 6 5 1 —
Since we played a lot of rounds of this game on here not long ago, I’m expecting this one to get solved pretty quickly.
Summary
9621
Correct!
Here’s another word one:
1/20/21
Add a letter to the first set of letters below and form a common word by anagramming the six given letters plus the one you added. For each suceeding row, add the last letter of the previous word you wrote to the new set of letters before anagramming. The last letter of your fifth word should be the letter you added to the first word. Can you complete the daisly chain of anagrams?
C G H I P R A H I R T U E E L P R Z G N O T T U A E L L O V
are you sure you spelled the 4th word correctly?
Yes, just double checked all the rows.
And kudos to you for getting that far. I’ve guessed at the first word (haven’t checked against the answer) and have no idea what the second word is.
I actually started with the third word and worked up, maybe that is my error
Summary
yep, can’t spell - had pretzel as le at the end
|||||||
| g | r | a | p | h | i | c |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| h | a | i | r | c | u | t |
| p | r | e | T | z | e | l |
| g | l | u | t | t | o | n |
| n | o | v | e | l | l | a |
You got it! I guessed the 3rd word after you said you started there, but still didn’t see the second word. Or the fourth word.
1/21/21 - Code Crossword
Every letter in this 5x5 word square has been replaced by the same number everywhere it appears. Can you use letter patterns to reconstruct the grid of ten different words (five across and five down) with the help of the randomly ordered clues?
Clues: epic tales, chip dip, die down, raises one’s voice, stable compartment, aids in crime, smart-mouthed, no longer fresh, donkeys, allowed by law
1 2 1 1 3 2 4 2 5 6 7 6 8 2 7 1 5 2 7 7 2 1 1 6 1
Solution 1/21/21
| S | A | S | S | Y |
| A | B | A | T | E |
| L | E | G | A | L |
| S | T | A | L | L |
| A | S | S | E | S |
I got this one surprisingly quick.
1/21 answer
I started with “Donkeys” because that one seemed easy. There was only one place “Asses” could go, then just went from there.
| # | Letter |
|---|---|
| 1 | s |
| 2 | a |
| 3 | y |
| 4 | b |
| 5 | t |
| 6 | e |
| 7 | l |
| 8 | g |
| s | a | s | s | y |
| a | b | a | t | e |
| l | e | g | a | l |
| s | t | a | l | l |
| a | s | s | e | s |
Ninja’d!