Cracking the July-September 2008 Bonus Puzzle
On September 28th, the last Sunday of the July-September solving leg (Ladder #4), we offered our contest solvers a "bonus puzzle" of the highest difficulty -- Level 10 (World-Class). We asked those who managed to solve it to tell us their solving time and, if they liked, a brief explanation of how they went about solving it. Below are those elaborations.
Below is the bonus puzzle image, in case you want to give it a try. If you prefer, use the PDF or the Solving Tool import file versions. Solution is posted at the bottom of this page.
Good luck!
Randy Rogers of Cedar Rapids, IA writes:
Wow! That one took a while. I was stuck for a long time - I was convinced that it was SQUEEZED in the middle, but I couldn't get anywhere else. The 9 letter word on the left I figured out was not in the dictionary. So I looked to the usual spot when I get stuck: The 'magic phrase' at the bottom of the puzzle. It finally clicked to try "PRO" as the second word, and then it started falling into place. Well done!
Thanks again for putting this on - I really enjoy my weekly diversion!
Gary Sargent of Rockford, IL writes:
Starting with my first tentative entry
3:02 SQUEEZED in line 8. Fits, the phrase numbers look good, and takes care of Q and Z.
3:06 the second phrase word 786, needs a vowel, 8=U seems likely. With S used, this suggests RUN
3:19 line 11 and column d both seem unlikely, so discard everything and start over.
3:26 Returning to the second phrase word, trying a final O for the vowel suggests PRO. Restore SQUEEZED
3:32 Number limited trial and error gives BRIDGE PRO as the phrase.
3:34 the available letters suggests UNBLOCK for line 11
3:40 the words crossing at 6d appear to end in -ING and -IFY. This leads to the second word on line 6 having both A and U, probably -aU-.
3:44 the first four letters of d are now looking like JUMP, drop -IFY and try JUMPSHIFT.
3:46 XWING (usually hyphenated) uses up necessary letters in the first word on line 6.
3:50 word search offers FAUX. But VWING, even more unlikely than XWING isn't the solution. Clear out the un numbered letters in line 6.
4:02 wordsearch offers AXING for the first word in line 6.
4:33 back from a break, I didn't log out since I would continue thinking about the puzzle. After Googling [sp?] I am left questioning UNBLOCK. The only alternative word search offers is UNBROKE, which conflicts with the phrase numbers.
4:51 finally. Letter by letter trial gives VYING and FAUX for line 6.
1 hr 6 min. An AlphaSleuth hasn't taken me that long this (calendar) year.
Mike Neumeier of Cincinnati, OH writes:
The beginning of this one was easier than some past 9 or 10-level puzzles. The reason is, I readily placed the Q next to U and forthwith formed SQUEEZED. Tried the Z first in there because, like Q, its possible homes are generally less prevalent, and I've developed an eye to looking out for them.
Next I remember solving the bottom (SHIFT) part of JUMPSHIFT. I saw the F could play here.
BRIDGE soon shaped itself in the phrase. It was the second phrase word that I did not solve right away. I remember having DROP instead of DRAW at one point.
Eventually, I made it back to DRAW then recognized the relationship between SQUEEZED and DRAW. Knowing your brother is a bridge life master, I wrote in BRIDGE PRO.
In order, the remainder of the words fell as follows:
UNBLOCK
VYING
JUMP(SHIFT already done earlier)
FAUX
Very nice set of words, which I rarely use in English, even when I play bridge! (Exception: I do occasionally employ the French, "faux pas" in any number of contexts, but I don't recall using it in my play at bridge.) But these are all very much bridge words. I'm sure any book Goren wrote would have them all.
Megan Glass of Lufkin, TX writes:
I had a really tough time with this puzzle!! Once I was able to determine that the 'industry' that the puzzle referred to was cards, I came up with bridge, and was able to use the letters to help fill in most of the numbered letters within the puzzle. (Finding a 3-letter word to go with it was a little tough, but came in quick time.) Then, being a board game player myself, and knowing nothing about the game of Bridge... I had to go to my favorite search engine (Google), and find a glossary for card playing. I was even able to find one specifically for Bridge, and with a little bit of reading and studying the words, I was able to find the answers I needed to complete the puzzle. Phew! Thanks Dan!
Arnold Reich of Bronxville, NY writes:
That one was tough. I never heard of jumpshift so had to deduce it from the remaining letters. Faux, vying, and unblock were also difficult but Bridge Pro led me to the solution. It took just under 16 minutes.
