The Puzzler's Mansion (30 page)
Read The Puzzler's Mansion Online
Authors: Eric Berlin
The answer to this puzzle is BITES.
Switcheroo
The letters spell out THE ANSWER IS TIME.
Big Mouth
SIXTY MINUTES =
H
OUR
YOU WRITE ON THE BLACKBOARD WITH THIS = C
H
ALK
SILVERWARE WITH A BLADE = KNIF
E
COLOR OF A TOMATO = R
E
D
WATER FROM THE SKY = R
A
IN
POSTAGE ON AN ENVELOPE = ST
A
MP
AUTOMOBILE = CA
R
LITTLE FEMALE = GI
R
L
The answer is HEAR.
Captain Danger
The answer is BRAVE.
The Poet
Most people believe that I'm round
And on many a finger I'm found.
But here's an odd fact I will share:
Boxers believe I am square!
R
ING
Pull a bow 'cross a string
And I'm happy to sing.
(A hint for this riddle:
I'm just like a fiddle.)
VI
O
LIN
Take one slice of bread.
And turn up the heat.
Soon I'm crunchy instead
And delicious to eat.
TOA
S
T
If the power is out,
Just light up my wick.
And before you can pout,
it's bright again quick!
CANDL
E
The answer is ROSE.
The Shock
The letters spell out REMOVE HIS BATTERIES.
You can measure out 4 ounces of water in six moves:
1.   Fill the 5-ounce beaker from the 8-ounce beaker.
2.   Fill the 3-ounce beaker from the 5-ounce beaker. This will leave 2 ounces in the 5-ounce beaker.
3.   Pour the 3-ounce beaker back into the 8-ounce beaker.
4.   Pour the 2 ounces left in the 5-ounce beaker into the 3-ounce beaker.
5.   Again fill the 5-ounce beaker from the 8-ounce beaker.
6.   Fill the 3-ounce beaker from the 5-ounce beaker. Since there are 2 ounces already in the smallest beaker, you will need to add only 1 ounce to fill it, and this will leave you with 4 ounces in the 5-ounce beaker.
There are a number of possible answers, but here's one:
  1.   Stack cats
  2.   Flee elf
  3.   Mirror rim
  4.   See referees
  5.   Nurses run
  6.   Bird rib
  7.   Panda had nap
  8.   Pupils slip up
  9.   Rise to vote, sir
10.   Slap my gym pals
Scar / scarf
Slot / sloth
Crow / crown
Pear / pearl
Tub / tuba
Clam / clamp
Each number, when spelled out, has one more letter than the number before it. (ONE, FOUR, THREE, ELEVEN, and so on.) In each case, the first number with the correct number of letters is used. The next number in the series would be spelled with eleven letters; the first such number is TWENTY-THREE.
MONSTER / MOBSTER
FIRE ANTS
NECTARINE / TOMATO / ONION
(FE)MALE
STENCH
CELLO
CHILLY / CHILI
TAP / PAT
NEW HAMPSHIRE
The three groups are as follows:
Titles where A is the only vowel:
All That Jazz, Avatar, Gattaca, Casablanca, Star Wars
Titles that include a president's last name:
The Bridges of Madison County, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, The Truman Show, Mildred Pierce, Arthur
Titles with two words starting with the same letter:
Ella Enchanted, Mamma Mia!, Doctor Dolittle, Rob Roy, King Kong
Orlando, Florida
1.   Milk helps your bones grow, but I have to admit, so
da is y
ummier.
2.   Doris, Edwar
d, and Eli, on
their way to school, took a shortcut through the park.
3.   After cleaning all the frying
pans, y
our next task will be to scrub the stove.
4.   Snaps, zippers, laces, or Vel
cro? Cus
tom-made sneakers sure have a lot of options!
5.   Once inside the cou
gar den, I a
wkwardly began taking pictures of the cubs.
DUMBER (add DRUM)
CAPTION (add PIANO)
GUNG-HO (add GONG)
GRANOLA (add ORGAN)
ORPHAN (add HARP)
JAWBONE (add BANJO)
RAVIOLI (add VIOLA)
BEAUTY (add TUBA)
MENTION and MONTANA
AVERAGE and VIRGO
PIANISSIMO and OPEN SESAME
AFTER and FUTURE
EAGLE and GOALIE
OREGON and REIGN
TALENT and ATLANTA
INTERN and NEUTRON
LOBSTER and ALABASTER
AISLE and USUAL
OCARINA and ACORN
PRINCESS and HEADGEAR are left over.
