Daily Brainteaser

[turgy22]

My answers (I made a few assumptions, so I don't know if I'm doing it right):

Shortest: A - GM - QVW = 5 letters (excluding A)
Longest: A - BC - DEJ - IH - GFK - LM - NQP - OT - UVW = 20 letters (excluding A)

You're not doing it right.
First, you have to move in straight lines. If the straight line would leave the maze, it's not a valid move.
Second, don't count the letters you're moving over, only the ones you land on.
Just as an example of what the first three moves might look like:
A to C (via B)
C to P (via H & M)
P to R (via Q)
From R, you could only move to B (via N & H). Up is a wave. Down isn't valid. Left is the direction you just came from.
I hope that clears things up. The puzzle was a bit confusing. Mooseman got it right, although there is another solution on the long path.

 

[Mooseman]

January 4

1. Office squawk-box system + war action + Caped Crusader's car
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (17 letters)
Intercombatmobile

 

[BigBlue]

January 3

In the seven-term sequence A, B, C, D, E, F, G, each term after the first three is the sum of the previous three terms. If D = 12, E = 17, and G = 60, determine the value of A.

<Solution Snipped>

It's a bit simpler than that... We don't need to know any of the other numbers. The object is speed...

Answer:

D = A+B+C = 12
E = B+C+12 = 17, so B + C = 5, and therefore A = 7

 

[turgy22]

January 1st
Shortest path: A K N T W (4 moves)
Longest path: A C P R B D Q G T V F H U W (13 moves)
Note that I mistakenly said that Mooseman's longest path answer was correct. I counted the number of letters instead of the number of moves and didn't realize it until just now when I put the two paths side-by-side. Good effort, though.

January 2nd
HYPOALLERGENIC
Congrats, Mooseman and BigBlue, for solving it.

January 3rd
A = 7
Congrats, Rokapoke, Mooseman and BigBlue for getting it. BB is right in that the value of G was extraneous information. Oddly enough, the solution on the back of the page showed Rokapoke's method, as if finding every number was necessary.

January 4th
1) INTERCOMBATMOBILE
2) DREAMERCHANTILLY
3) PARASOLVENTNOR
Excellent job, Rokapoke, for getting all three. Like BigBlue and Mooseman, I could only get the first.

January 5th
CRY ME A RIVER
This was an easy one. Except for Spidey.

 

[turgy22]

What do these five things have in common?

NIFTY
RATIONAL
COLLAR
SKIRTS
DAVIS

 

[rokapoke]

What do these five things have in common?

NIFTY
RATIONAL
COLLAR
SKIRTS
DAVIS

Ooooh! I know! They're all on the "January 6" page of your calendar!

Answer: They all rhyme with the names of car rental agencies.

 

[Spiderman]

They all use letters in the English alphabet?

 

[BigBlue]

Good job Rokapoke! Wow!

 

[Mooseman]

Good one Rokapoke.....

That was my first thought, but then I thought it was too stupid and looked for another answer....

 

[turgy22]

Fill in each blank in Column A not with a word that completes the cliche, but with a word from Column B that commonly precedes the missing word in a common phrase.

Column A
1. Best thing since sliced ________
2. Bark up the wrong ________
3. Think outside the ________
4. Grist for the ________
5. The whole ball of ________

Column B
a. Steel
b. Ballot
c. Sealing
d. Family
e. Garlic



January 6th Answer:
Each rhymes with the name of a major car rental company: Thrifty, National, Dollar, Hertz, and Avis.
Congratulations, Rokapoke, for figuring that one out. It had me stumped.

 

[rokapoke]

January 7

Column A
1. Best thing since sliced ________
2. Bark up the wrong ________
3. Think outside the ________
4. Grist for the ________
5. The whole ball of ________

Column B
a. Steel
b. Ballot
c. Sealing
d. Family
e. Garlic



Answer:

1. Garlic (bread)
2. Family (tree)
3. Ballot (box)
4. Steel (??? wool ??? -- EDIT: I checked, it's "Grist for the mill")
5. Sealing (wax)

 

[rokapoke]

January 2:


Fill in the blanks to complete the 14-letter word below.

H _ _ _ A _ _ E R _ _ N _ C

I gave up on this one and found a good website for this:

http://www.morewords.com/wordsbylength/14h/

Answer (if anybody else was being driven nuts by not knowing):
hYPOaLLerGEnIc

 

[Mooseman]

January 7th - Almost a Cliche
1) E, Bread
2) D, Tree
3) B, Box
4) A, Mill
5) C, Wax

 

[Spiderman]

I actually can get this one!

Column A
1. Best thing since sliced ________
2. Bark up the wrong ________
3. Think outside the ________
4. Grist for the ________
5. The whole ball of ________

Column B
a. Steel
b. Ballot
c. Sealing
d. Family
e. Garlic

Answer:


1. Garlic
2. Family
3. Ballot
4. Steel
5. Sealing

 

[BigBlue]

Column A
1. Best thing since sliced ________
2. Bark up the wrong ________
3. Think outside the ________
4. Grist for the ________
5. The whole ball of ________

Column B
a. Steel
b. Ballot
c. Sealing
d. Family
e. Garlic

Answers:

1) e (Bread)
2) d (Tree)
3) b (Box)
4) a (Mill)
5) c (Wax)


This one was actually really easy comparatively...

 

[Spiderman]

It had to be if I could get it

 

[turgy22]

Find a six-digit number in which the first digit is four more that the second; the third is one less than the second; the product of the first two digits equals the two-digit number formed by reading the third and fourth digits together; the fifth is the sum of the first and third digits; and the last digit is the sum of the fourth and fifth digits.


January 7th Answer:
1)E. Garlic Bread
2)D. Family Tree
3)B. Ballot Box
4)A. Steel Mill
5)C. Sealing Wax
Congratulations to everyone who attempted to solve it.

 

[BigBlue]

Find a six-digit number in which the first digit is four more that the second; the third is one less than the second; the product of the first two digits equals the two-digit number formed by reading the third and fourth digits together; the fifth is the sum of the first and third digits; and the last digit is the sum of the fourth and fifth digits.

January 8th Answer:
621279

Work:

6 = 2+4
2
1 (6 * 2)
2
7 = 6 + 1
9 = 2 + 7

 

[rokapoke]

January 8

Find a six-digit number in which the first digit is four more that the second; the third is one less than the second; the product of the first two digits equals the two-digit number formed by reading the third and fourth digits together; the fifth is the sum of the first and third digits; and the last digit is the sum of the fourth and fifth digits.

Answer:

First digit: Between 0 and 9.
Second digit: Between 0 and 9. Eliminates 0-3 from first digit contention.
Third digit: 0-9. Eliminates 0 from second digit contention, 4 from first digit contention. First digit now between 5 and 9.
Fourth digit: If first digit is 9, fourth is 5 (3rd4th = 45); if first digit is 8, fourth is 2 (3rd4th = 32); if first digit is 7, fourth is 1 (3rd4th = 21); if first digit is 6, fourth is 2 (3rd4th = 12). No options eliminated.
Fifth digit: Sum of first and third. Eliminates 8 and 9 from first digit contention.
Sixth digit: 0-9. Fourth + Fifth for a number starting with 7 = 10; only first digit possibility remaining is 6.

Final Answer: 621279.

 

[rokapoke]

Well done, BB, you beat me to the posting!