Occasional Puzzles - Let them eat cake
Occasional Puzzles readers across the country wrote in to report that yesterday’s Word Wednesday was too easy, with feedback ranging from “on par with my third grader’s English homework” to “a good distraction for about ten seconds” to “wait, what puzzle?”
To make up for this inexcusable lapse in difficulty, here is something a little harder 🙂
Today’s Puzzle
Your puzzle-obsessed friend is having a logic-themed birthday party. You thought that was kind of weird, but you decided to go anyway because she said there’d be cake. As soon as you arrive, she announces the first party game. She says she is going to line you and nine other friends up in height order, such that you can see all of the people in front you, but no one behind. She will then put either a black or white party hat on each person’s head, assigned randomly (there may be ten white hats, or there may be none). Each person, she says, starting from the tallest and going down the line, will have to say either the word “black” or the word “white” to indicate the color of their own hat. Your friend announces that there will be no cake unless at least nine of you can correctly state the color of your own hat. She allows you to confer as much as you want before you line up and get hats, but reminds you that, once you are lined up, the only words you can say are “black” and “white”. How do you get the cake?!
Note that you are not allowed to use volume, intonation, or any other kind of signal besides the words “black” and “white”. Nor are you allowed to turn around and look at the people behind you (obviously). Good luck!
Wednesday’s Puzzle - Put. A. Word. On. It.
What one word can you put at the end of each of the following to make new words?
- a
- back
- down
- for
- in
- on
- out
- to
- up
- wind
[SPOILER] Answer to Wednesday’s Puzzle
Add the word “ward” to make the following:
- award
- backward
- downward
- forward
- inward
- onward
- outward
- toward
- upward
- windward