Mystery Hunt 2012 Recast: COMPLETE!!!

[gftt*]

So here's the finished product:

prunus tuba amor socrus
metus anas rosa saxum
puella odium testu vitis
mons quercus equus ira

Now, how to add these to the letters of the magic square...? It's not just adding the declension number and it's not adding the number of letters in the word (both give gibberish).

[gftt*]

add the first letter of the latin word to the letter in the magic square (mod 26) to get
D U C K
B I L L
P L A T
Y P U S

Call in DUCK BILL PLAYTPUS

[novice]

Call in DUCKBILL PLATYPUS

[Scurra]

Great work. (I got distracted at the last stage, although I don't think I'd have figured out the mod 26 aspect.)
_________________
_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[LordKinbote]

Your answer is correct.

Also, the free answer for this round is INFLEXIBLE WILL. You have all answers you need for the round now.

New round! Welcome to "Mayan Fair Lady".

New puzzle: http://www.mit.edu/~puzzle/12/mayan_fair_lady/picture_an_acorn/Picture an Acorn[/url] by Francis Heaney and Andrew Lin

This is one of the hunt faves.

[LordKinbote]

Also, unless I messed up the count, you've reached your fiftieth answer. Congrats!

[Elethiomel]

Looks like the idea may be to take one slice from each of the 20 pictures and reassemble them into an acorn? Sounds like another arts and crafts session for Novice and his kids.

[gftt*]

[gftt*]

[LordKinbote]

[LordKinbote]

[Elethiomel]

[gftt*]

[novice]

Lock horns is probably rather Escape goat.
And there's PieceS of cake.

[Elethiomel]

Picture an Acorn

1. +G = #13 = free reins / free reigns
2. E->A =
3. -Y =
4. 3->3 =
5. O->E = #16 = shoo in / shoe in
6. 4->2 =
7. -R = #8 = put the cart before the horse / put the cat before the horse
8. 5->4 =
9. +H =
10. 3->2 =
11. E->W = #6 = toe the line / tow the line
12. 2->2 =
13. +S = #5 = just deserts / just desserts
14. A->E = #14 = praying mantis / preying mantis
15. L->E = #1 = roll call / role call
16. 1->3 =
17. +E = #17 = scape goat / escape goat
18. 4->3 =
19. A->O =
20. 1->2 =

[gftt*]

Steam turbine -> Turban (is this 3->2?)
Anchors aweigh -> away (4->2?)
Toe the line -> tow (E->W)

Almost all of these are homophonic. Some are actually quite common mistakes (tow the line, shoe in) and drive me nuts. [/u]

[novice]

This is with a lot of guesses, so probably some mistakes. I couldn't help doing a bit of trial and error (which turned out to be surprisingly difficult).



El, If you could add the number of the pictures showing the idioms to your list, that would be helpful.

[gftt*]

praying mantis-> preying (a->e)

[gftt*]

plane figures -> plain figures??? (2->2)

[Scurra]

The bits of the reconstructed picture I can see lead me to think that the phrase is something like WITH BA(I)TED BREATH (he's got a piece of cheese in his mouth, sitting in front of a mousehole.)
_________________
_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[novice]

[novice]

Okay, here are the mappings after all, in pictorial form...

[Suspence]

Since no one has tried it, I'll swoop...

Call in WITH BATED BREATH
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[LordKinbote]

Uh, I'll just say close enough. The answer was just BATED BREATH.

Hey! It's a puzzle by me! Yay!

Next: Evil Influence by Scott Handelman with additional clues by Kevin Carde and Francis Heaney

[Suspence]

CATHOLIC - 2) Ecumenical pet lover? (8)
BALI - 9) Island is heart of cannibalism (4)
ION - 11) "Negative," I countered, "it can be positive" (3)
OUST - 12) Remove from combat after it begins (4)
ROTOR - 13) What finishes off another too-earnest Ringo Starr fan (5)
SITE - 16) Location with headless abominable snowmen running backwards (4)
FREER - 17) Sports official, with hesitation, reverses position, becomes less strict (5)
RUE - 18) Feel bad for loveless lothario (3)
TIP - 19) Warning: depression comes back (3)
ADE - 21) Uncapped prepared drink (3)
OWNING - 23) Taking responsibility for being in debt around November 1st (6)
GOLD - 24) Derivative function returns investment, perhaps (4)
25) Petition certain to eliminate resistance (3)
TOGA - 27) Primarily tuxedos or gowns are party attire (4)
28) Knot-like dumpling? (5)
30) True, I exercise (4)
32) Response to naysayer: speak gently about worker (3,3)
34) We dig feverishly with energy to get something found between the cracks (6)
ALSO - 36) I've heard everyone makes clothes, as well (4)
38) Male's changing into a female (5)
41) Sounded very sad and alone (4)
43) IV drips start to make us possessive (3)
OBOE - 44) The leaders of our band own every instrument (4)
SOURCE - 46) Scour all around and double back for point of origin (6)
49) Dictator announced impotence (3)
51) Unfulfilled promise to feed (3)
52) Without fringe groups, college is left wing (3)
ORCAS - 53) Ogre-like sea creatures (5)
56) I've heard you make clothes, for one (4)
SALSA - 58) A lass dancing a dance (5)
59) Revealed, after we left, to be tired (4)
60) Strange and limitless particle (3)
61) Listen back to front for godmother? (4)
BYPASSES - 62) Avoids spy's base circuitously (8)

TIC TOK - 1) Jackson brother receives $1000 by week's end to produce Ke$ha song (3,3)
COSIGN - 2) Endorse wave sounds (6)
ANI - 3) Ian is insane, cuckoo (3)
TOTAL - 4) Tenor and alto butchered the works (5)
HUED - 5) Colorized western is about the east (4)
LTR - 6) Abbreviated message discovered inside infiltration (3)
IKE - 7) That is about the weakest middle name for a president (3)
CREW - 8) Rowers turn, losing first place (4)
BORN - 9) Delivered by rounding obstetrician and registered nurse (4)
LOUNGE - 10) Lie down on luge awkwardly (6)
TRIO - 14) More than two, or it breaks (4)
15) Drink up before inmate's last meal (6)
FESS - 17) Own first of five expensive star sapphires (4)
20) It's zero-dimensional, partially-ordered, and it's often 32-bit (5)
22) Two units in troop formation for surge (7)
26) Decent-at-heart individuals (4)
27) We left boss in New York to get to conference (3)
HOLA - 29) Scholar takes "Introduction to Spanish"? (4)
31) Traces of inert gas found by restroom of northern home (5)
CUSSES - 32) Profanities and excuses about son's origin after leaving former wife (6)
33) Fields medalist shows the way (3)
35) Jack broadcast unfinished Disney movie (6)
IRIS - 37) Flower from Dublin with stem cut (4)
39) Changes, mutes a channel (6)
40) Fall back in formation, mutually (6)
LULL - 42) Fifty microliter-large gap in activity (4)
45) Proposes to eat no pickles (5)
ROSA - 47) Parks badly so far, without fail (4)
CRAB - 48) Cancer found in lumbar cord in regression (4)
50) Sound echoes with no loss of dynamic relationships (4)
COY - 54) Evasive carbon monoxide found before end of survey (3)
ASP - 55) Oddly, Aesop reveals snake (3)
57) Discharging electromagnetic pulse from powerful country causes anger (3)
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[gftt*]

11) "Negative," I countered, "it can be positive" (3) = ION
13) What finishes off another too-earnest Ringo Starr fan (5) = ROTOR
21) Uncapped prepared drink (3) = ADE
23) Taking responsibility for being in debt around November 1st (6) = OWNING


33) Fields medalist shows the way (3) = TAO

[Elethiomel]

OAT - 51) Unfulfilled promise to feed (3)

POINT - 20) It's zero-dimensional, partially-ordered, and it's often 32-bit (5)
IGLOO - 31) Traces of inert gas found by restroom of northern home (5)
IRE - 57) Discharging electromagnetic pulse from powerful country causes anger (3)20) It's zero-dimensional, partially-ordered, and it's often 32-bit (5)

[Scurra]

And I did this one too. And solved it; perhaps mostly because I looked at it and knew instantly how it worked.
_________________
_{still Quiz Olympiad champion. Must get a life.
New definitions: COFFEE - someone who is coughed upon}

[gftt*]

[novice]

CAN TOO 32) Response to naysayer: speak gently about worker (3,3)
WEDGIE - 34) We dig feverishly with energy to get something found between the cracks (6)
SELMA - 38) Male's changing into a female (5)
SOLO - 41) Sounded very sad and alone (4)

[Suspence]

15) Drink up before inmate's last meal (6) - Seems to be REGALE, but I don't see the wordplay.
TED - 27) We left boss in New York to get to conference (3)
KNISH - 28) Knot-like dumpling? (5)
ELL - 52) Without fringe groups, college is left wing (3)
MEATUS - 39) Changes, mutes a channel (6)
IDI - 49) Dictator announced impotence (3)
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[gftt*]

[Suspence]

MOOLAH - 35) Jack broadcast unfinished Disney movie (6)
UNIT - 56) I've heard you make clothes, for one (4)
BINDS - 45) Proposes to eat no pickles (5)
OUR - 43) IV drips start to make us possessive (3)
OUTPOUR - 22) Two units in troop formation for surge (7)
SUE - 25) Petition certain to eliminate resistance (3)
ONES - 26) Decent-at-heart individuals (4)
TONE - 30) True, I exercise (4)
AUTUMN - 40) Fall back in formation, mutually (6)
DUOS - 50) Sound echoes with no loss of dynamic relationships (4)
SHOD - 59) Revealed, after we left, to be tired (4)
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[Suspence]

This is the only gap I have left in my grid:

?H?A - 61) Listen back to front for godmother? (4)

[Elethiomel]

RHEA - 61) Listen back to front for godmother? (4)

(Mother of Zeus, HEAR -> RHEA)

[novice]

[gftt*]

Treating it as Mastermind doesn't seem to work out... too many letters are unavailable due to the two lines without dots. However, the number of dots (both white and black combined) always equals the number of O's on the line.

[Suspence]

The title is 13 letters long. Find the right positions for the O's then apply that to the title, possible?
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[Suspence]

Turning back to the Meta:


William S. Bergman

Reused show answers:
KINGS HIGHWAY BRIDGE
PINHEAD
JACK CARDIFF
CHRIST CHURCH REGATTA
JOSH SCHWARTZ
ARIGATO GOZAIMASU
CARDINAL JULES MAZARIN

New Answers:
ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX
COSMO SEX QUIZ
NEVER REMOVED FROM BOX
CRUSHED VELVET TUX
EXHAUST VALVES
VIDKUN QUISLING
INFLEXIBLE WILL
DUCKBILL PLATYPUS

LEFT SIDE OF STUBS:
Row O Seat 9 Clay Cup / Row K Seat 3 Mud Cracks
Row R Seat 6 Groom Me
Row S Seat 2 Gumbo / Row Q Seat 7 Up Quick, / Row B Seat 4 V-Chips
Row T Seat 5 Hug Joe / Row R Seat 7 It’s Lit / Row Y Seat 8 Byron, No
Row K Seat 3 I’m So / Row H Seat 2 Why Fall
Row K Seat 1 King Quit / Row L Seat 1 Ah, Now / Row I Seat 6 He Fears
Row T Seat 5 What Fez
Row H Seat 8 YMCA
Row I Seat 4 Gawky Jim

RIGHT SIDE OF STUBS:
as Gaps Mark a Major Quaggy Hazard Row V Seat 5
by a Gangplank, Jan Brady? Row V Seat 1
Klutz, It’s Just Twilight Row Y Seat 3
Making a Banana-Fig Pizza Row Q Seat 6
May Become Tax-Exempt? Row J Seat 7
Mummifying Civic Junk Row W Seat 8
Now for Exxon/GQ Offer, John Row Z Seat 2
Wimpy O.J. in My Fizzy Gin Drink Row Q Seat 4

I've noted that the letters from ZAPHOD BEEBLEBROX make up most of the missing letters from MUMMIFYING CIVIC JUNK, with no letter crossover between the two phrases. Still missing from a pangram here are QSTW.
_________________
I hate people who try to write interesting things in their signature.

[Suspence]