In each of the quizzes below, match a numbered item in the left column with a lettered item in the right column. What’s the basis for the matching? That’s the puzzle. There are four principles – different but related – one for each quiz.
If you can’t figure them out, I’ll give you a BIG HINT in a day or two.
QUIZ 1:
1. Armstrong’s turf a. Ameche role
2. Farmer’s show b. Disfigures
3. Saturn satellite c. So-so
4. Loci d. Wipe a table
5. Organic medium e. Flash the tush
6. Viking sits here f. Fly catcher
7. Lozenge g. Curmudgeon
8. Ship’s time unit h. Arts study
9. Turn a handle i. Antler tips
10. Intergalactic stuff j. Cockneys do it to aitches
QUIZ 2:
1. Fourth dimension a. Natator Mark
2. Two-dimensional b. Seth, to Eve
3. Car stopper c. Sans beauty
4. Black & outasight d. Take five
5. Brain housing e. Herb
6. Expectorates f. Kind of wit
7. Nearest star g. Entire
8. Verify h. Propel a boat
9. Emotional pang i. Bratislavan
10. Grow together j. To lose deliberately
QUIZ 3:
1. First paragraph a. Infuriate
2. Antagaonism b. Fowl house
3. Injury c. Close friend
4. Desert a cause d. Collide
5. Sweet smoke e. Broken part
6. Authentic f. 1/8 peso
7. Infirm person g. Wield a baton
8. Group owned h. Heavy metal
9. Suggest hint i. Coiled
10. Deportment j. Void
QUIZ 4:
1. N, S, & John Paul a. Serene
2. Kind of nuclear b. Incline
3. Katmandu land c. Chevron
4. Hiatus d. Not here
5. Kind of module e. Turn white
6. Mills or Motors f. Activity rates
7. Most of cosmos g. Hubbard
8. Bivalve h. Wright idea
9. Clergyman i. Re: forearm
10. Heavens/C2H5OC2H5 j. Blow up
Replies
An interesting idea for a set of puzzles! So far, I've worked out the basis for the matching in Quizzes 1, 2 and 3, but Quiz 4 has me stumped. As to actually applying those matches, I can only do it for two clues in Quiz 1, though I've done rather better with Quiz 2 (9 matches out of 10) and 3 (7 out of 10).
I'll sleep on it (it's gone midnight in the UK), and see if I can work out anything further before posting any of my answers.
No further inspiration, I'm afraid, but here's what I've worked out on how the first three quizzes operate.
In Quiz 1, you have to find pairs of clues which give different definitions for the same word. So, for example, clue 7 "Lozenge" and clue j "Cockneys do it to aitches" both define the word "drop" (as in cough lozenges/drops and "'ere, 'Enery, 'it 'im on the 'ead wiv an 'ammer").
In Quiz 2, you need clues that define words with the same pronunciation, but different spellings. For example, clue 1 "Fourth dimension" gives the word "time", and clue e "herb" gives the word "thyme".
Quiz 3 is the reverse, where you want words with the same spelling that are pronounced differently. For example, clue 7 "Infirm person" gives "invaLID", while clue j "void" gives "inVALid".
I still haven't worked out the rule for Quiz 4.
“An interesting idea for a set of puzzles!”
Yes, I thought so, too! I’d like to take credit for it, but I found it in a magazine of more recent vintage than Young England.
“So far, I've worked out the basis for the matching in Quizzes 1, 2 and 3…”
I’m going to go ahead and post that hint I mentioned yesterday. And if anyone else cares to participate, I’ll open it up beyond simply identifying the quizzes to answering them as well.
“As to actually applying those matches…”
You did better than I did. I found, at most, one answer per quiz. (But then as soon as a figured out the basis of the quiz, I yielded to temptation and checked the answers.
“…but Quiz 4 has me stumped.”
In quiz one, I quickly matched “1” with “e” and thought to myself, “This is going to be easy!” (I suspect the original submitter started with an easy one to lure one in with a false sense of security.) I could not figure out the basis for quiz 4, either. If you are keen to figure it out for yourself, don’t read any further.
HINT: The four quizzes above are al based on word relationships. Here are the principles, in alphabetical order, not necessarily in the same sequence as the puzzles.
ANAGRAMS: In one quiz, the words defined have the same letters but in a different order, e.g., trace and cater.
HOMOGRAPHS: Another set designates words that have identical spellings but different meanings, and often, different pronunciations, e.g., does can be female deer or a form of the verb do.
HOMONYMS: These words are the same in sound and spelling but different in meaning. Lock can be a device to secure a door, or it can be a tuft of hair.
HOMOPHONES: The words in this quiz have identical pronunciations but different spellings, e.g., mind and mined.
Argh! Anagrams! I never thought of that. With that hint, I can probably work out a few more answers. I'll get back to them later on.
Oddly, I also worked out the answer to question 1 in quiz 1 fairly easily. However, unlike you, Jeff, it never clicked with me that question e matched. Now that you've pointed it out, it's completely obvious!
Here are my answers to the quiz I've most nearly completed. The answers are all homophones.
QUIZ 2:
1. Fourth dimension - time
e. Herb - thyme
2. Two-dimensional - plane
c. Sans beauty - plain
3. Car stopper - brake
d. Take five - break
4. Black & outasight - hole
g. Entire - whole
5. Brain housing - skull
h. Propel a boat - scull
6. Expectorates - spits
a. Natator Mark - Spitz
7. Nearest star - Sun
b. Seth, to Eve - son
8. Verify - check
i. Bratislavan - Czech
9. Emotional pang - throe
j. To lose deliberately - throw
10. Grow together - ?
f. Kind of wit - ?
Sadly, even knowing that clues 10 and f must produce answers that sound the same, I can't see it.
Very good!
Answer to #10 is...
Grow together - knit
Kind of wit - nit
As Peter has already deduced, the solution to the puzzle is as follows:
QUIZ 1 - HOMONYMS
QUIZ 2 - HOMOPHONES
QUIZ 3 - HOMOGRAPHS
QUIZ 4 - ANAGRAMS
I’m taking the rest of the day off today. For anyone who would care to solve the individual items, I’ll post the answers on Monday.
Here are my answers to the homographs quiz. The linking words have the same spelling but often different pronunciations.
QUIZ 3:
1. First paragraph
h. Heavy metal - lead
2. Antagonism
d. Collide - clash (I'm a little dubious about this one)
3. Injury
i. Coiled - wound
4. Desert a cause
e. Broken part - fragment (also a little dubious)
5. Sweet smoke
a. Infuriate - incense
6. Authentic
f. 1/8 peso - real
7. Infirm person
j. Void - invalid
8. Group owned
b. Fowl house - coop (though I'd hyphenate the word for the first meaning, "co-op")
9. Suggest hint
c. Close friend - intimate
10. Deportment
g. Wield a baton - conduct
I was held up for quite a while because I originally thought that "lead" might be the answer to clue 9, and so I matched 9 Suggest hint with h Heavy metal. I then I spent ages vainly trying to work out how to match 1 First paragraph with c Close friend.
And now, the answers I have to the anagrams quiz.
QUIZ 4:
1. N, S, & John Paul - Poles (at first I thought cardinal, as in cardinal direction)
b. Incline - slope
3. Katmandu land - Nepal
h. Wright idea - plane
6. Mills or Motors - general
j. Blow up - enlarge
7. Most of cosmos - space
f. Activity rates - paces
8. Bivalve - clam
a. Serene - calm
9. Clergyman - priest
c. Chevron - stripe
10. Heavens/C2H5OC2H5 - ether
d. Not here - there
I've failed to solve three pairs of clues:
2. Kind of nuclear
4. Hiatus
5. Kind of module
e. Turn white
g. Hubbard
i. Re: forearm
Let's see how you did. (Quite well, actually!)
QUIZ 3: All of your pairing were correct, but the two you were dubious about were...
2-d. conflict
4-e. defect
QUIZ 4:I am horrible at anagrams. Not only did I not figure out the basis of the quiz, once I read what it was I didn't even try. You did very well, though! The ones you didn't get were...
2-g. thermo/mother
4-e. lapse/pales
5-i. Lunar/ulnar
You've been a good sport, Peter! Are you still trying to solve QUIZ 1 or would you like me to post the answers?