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Last week’s instructions asked for a letter taken from one of the six theme entries. Those entries were:
LAMPREYS
ARROGANTE
CONTRALTI
AHEM SORRY
ARMY MAJOR
ORANGELO
That’s an eclectic mix of words and phrases, and there weren’t really any other hints about how to proceed – but one puzzle-solving strategy that’s often worth a shot is anagrams. In this case, there was a slight twist – each theme entry could anagram to something, but with a letter left over (aha, now we’re doing something related to the meta prompt!):
LAMPREYS -> PARSLEY + M
ARROGANTE -> TARRAGON + E
CONTRALTI -> CILANTRO + T
AHEM SORRY -> ROSEMARY + H
ARMY MAJOR -> MARJORAM + Y
ORANGELO -> OREGANO + L
So we’ve got a collection of herbs, and the extra letters spell out … METHYL, which again has nothing to do with anything. But of course, the prompt asked you for a letter taken from one of the entries, suggesting we should repeat the meta mechanism, and it’s pretty easy to see you can get yet another herb – METHYL -> THYME + L. So the answer was the L from ORANGELO. For those who like pictures:
Up next is puzzle #47, “Flock Together.”
The answer to the metapuzzle is something birds do. Submit your answer using the contact form by Monday, February 3 at 11 p.m. Pacific Time. I’ll post the solution, and a new puzzle, next Tuesday.
To keep up with the puzzles: Twitter @pgwcc1; follow the blog for email reminders; rss feed if you’re set up for that.
