Top GL'er Team ODD

[MNOWAX]

Posters of the VSP, Lend me your pencils! Its is time for YOU to get in on the action! Check out this puzzle fomr Grey Labyrinth, and the submission from Team Even, and Vote HERE for your Favorite! Be Quick though, you only have 7 days to voice your opinion!

Team ODD: Jbvntx, Zag, Projectyl

http://www.zag.net/Puzzlania/Uncle%20Bobs%20Estate.pdf
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The Man The Myth The Legend
MNOWAX

[ralphmerridew]

Starting it off:
Ingredients:
2) Arsenic (As)
9) Cyanide
23) Pepper
24) Pork
25) Potato
27) Saffron
28) Salad Fork
31) Squid

Words appear to be clued in alphabetical order.

[referee]

18) Jelly
29) Salt
36) Wasabi
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Jan 21st, 2008: The pillaging continues.
Mar 4th, 2008: Rest in Peace, Gary Gygax. May your dice always roll a natural 20 wherever you are.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[jbvntx]

... and they're off! Good luck, all. It was lots of fun making it with zag; hope you all enjoy it.
jbvntx
_________________
jbv

[ralphmerridew]

22) oleo?
34) trail mix?

[referee]

By reading the notebook:

A pinch = first letter
A dash = last letter
A teaspoon = first two letters
A tablespoon = last two letters
A jigger = last three letters

Sift = take alternating letters
Blend, Mix = put the letters of both alternating. Blend AAA and BBB is AAABBB. Sift ABCDE is ACE
Trim away, Remove = Delete the letters that match

Stir 1 minute = Last letter goes to the front
Simmer 1 minute = ROT-1. HAL simmered 1 minute is IBM

Add = add to the front
Follow with = add to the end
Grate = remove double letters. Letters grated is LEERS. Grated again, it's LRS

Chop = remove letters from the beginning
Squeeze = overwrite letters from the beginning

Fold in = Add to the center. Fold AAAA into BBBB is AABBBBAA
Fold into = Add to the sides. Fold AAAA into BBBB is BBAAAABB

The only one that I'm unable to work out is Reduce.
Reduce LOBSTCOFFEEERPOT is LOBCOFEERT, and Reduce BUTTERSHSTOCKFI is BTEHOCKFI
_________________
Jan 21st, 2008: The pillaging continues.
Mar 4th, 2008: Rest in Peace, Gary Gygax. May your dice always roll a natural 20 wherever you are.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[ralphmerridew]

Reduce: Remove any pair of letters that are adjacent in the alphabet and in the phrase. ACEDQT -> ACQT

[referee]

Thanks. and 12) is obviously fish.
_________________
Jan 21st, 2008: The pillaging continues.
Mar 4th, 2008: Rest in Peace, Gary Gygax. May your dice always roll a natural 20 wherever you are.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[Zag]

Great job working out the glossary, referee and rm! I hope that part was fun.

[referee]

Yeah, quite fun, doing the steps and see how you reached the result.
_________________
Jan 21st, 2008: The pillaging continues.
Mar 4th, 2008: Rest in Peace, Gary Gygax. May your dice always roll a natural 20 wherever you are.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[jbvntx]

zag and I will cheer people on, but no hints from either of us during the review week!
_________________
jbv

[Oscar]

The ingredients and equipment (except for 18) are:
anise
arsenic
blueberries
bourbon
broccoli
cinnamon
coriander
corn
cyanide
dill
fennel
fish
five spice powder
garlic
honey
kitchen sink
lemon
?
lox
mint
mustard
oleo
pepper
pork
potato
radish
saffron
salad fork
salt
saucepan
squid
toaster
tomato
trail mix
unagi
wasabi
Assuming the initial letter of 18 is the only one relevant to dish #2 gives:
1) bon appetit
2) secret ingredient (using 'combo' for fries & coke)
3) lentinls
Presumably the twist referred to in the puzzle-text is how to interpret #3?
I thought maybe 'lent' in 'ls', but the only herb I could find beginning in 'l' and ending in 's' was lemongrass which doesn't seem to incorporate 'lent'.

[referee]

The secret ingredient is LENTILS

Oscar made a couple mistakes (well, one) in the last recipe.
Nice puzzle. Great job.
_________________
Jan 21st, 2008: The pillaging continues.
Mar 4th, 2008: Rest in Peace, Gary Gygax. May your dice always roll a natural 20 wherever you are.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[Zag]

James Howe, of Dewey, Cheetham, and Howe, gives this response, in a rather condescending tone:

"Oh, I am sooo very sorry. The will clearly states that The correct answer can only be discovered by successfully completing ALL of the recipes. That answer could have been reached without solving the first puzzle at all! The will also clearly states that the secret ingredient is an herb, which any competent chef could tell you that Lentils are not an herb."



Seriously, you guys did great work! But there IS a twist at the end, as Oscar suspected, and that is not the answer.

[jbvntx]

Silent, taut muscles rippling, the great cat waits in the shadows above, narrow slits of eyes flicking over the approaching prey. Closer, closer, he wills them on. The trap is set, too much time and work to fail. He hovers in expectation over the forum that has become his jungle. His claws extend and retract involuntarily at the thought of tearing into his unexpecting victim's flesh. "Is it LENTILS?," he hears, and zag the unmerciful springs forward...
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jbv

[Oscar]

I followed the instructions to the letter(s) and got BASIL
[insert Antrax signature message here]

[Zag]

James Howe begins the process of signing over ownership of the restaurant chain to Oscar! He is secretly cursing the man, because the ownership was to go to the firm if no one came up with the correct answer.

[Oscar]

Thanks, Zag, I always did have a soft spot for good old Uncle Bob. If you ever come in for some fried okra I'll make sure you get discount...
Thanks for an entertaining puzzle.

[Sentran]

18: The protein in foie gras is Liver. Pate de Foie Gras is Goose Liver Pate.
_________________
Sentran
"Speaking of double negatives, I haven't read greylab yet today." - Lifeinmomland

[Oscar]

If the question had been 'what organ is the basis of foie gras' I wouldn't have a problem with it. Apparently the liver produces most of the proteins in the body, including albumin and various globulins.

I also stand by #3 being lentinls
1. sauc-toastersaladforkkitchensink-epan
2a saucto-bl-saladforkkitchensinkepan
2b pan-sauctoblsaladforkkitchensinke
3 p-n-a-c-o-l-a-a-f-r-k-t-h-n-i-k
4 pna-el-afrkthnik
5a p-t-o-o-t-m-a-a-t-t-o-o => pttm => pm
5b pepper => peer => pr
5c p-p-m-r => mr
5d m-t-r-rai => mtai
5e mtai-pnaelafrkthnik
6 mtaipnaelafrk - (thnik)
7 mtaipnalafrk
8 oleomtaipnalafrk
9 oleo-n-taipnalafrk
10 oleontaipnala-s-rk
11 oleontipnlsrk
12 lentinls

But of course I don't want to quibble about a puzzle which was both very enjoyable and has transformed my life!

[Zag]

The term 'protein' is used as a chef would use it. The protein of a dish is the primary meat or meat equivalent (such as tofu), so Sentran is correct.

I just looked at jbv's original answer sheet to see where it disagreed with yours. Step 9 said

9. Take out the pinch of Mustard and move the dash of Cinnamon into its place

It might have been clearer if it had said

9. Take out the pinch of Mustard and move the existing dash of Cinnamon into its place

But that's what he meant.

[Oscar]

I think the protein business is strictly a British/American divide. I do a lot of cooking and that use of the term 'protein' doesn't crop up over here. On the other hand I concede that I should have spotted the use of 'the' rather than 'a' in the third recipe.
Whatever, the puzzle was a good one and thanks again.

[referee]

So, care to enlighten us about the twist, Oscar?
_________________
Jan 21st, 2008: The pillaging continues.
Mar 4th, 2008: Rest in Peace, Gary Gygax. May your dice always roll a natural 20 wherever you are.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[jbvntx]

Yes, Zag is right. The "N" in step 9 needed to be "moved" from later in the word, not added in from outside. This was one of those places where we were intentionally making each puzzle a little harder than the previous one, and of course this was the final puzzle so I pretty much thought anything was fair game.

Making this last puzzle was particularly interesting in that it had a mixture of obviously difficult parts, such as step 5, and more subtle ones, like step 9. I was curious whether places like step 9 would prove tricky precisely because they didn't look it.

Zag and I were both learning a lot while making these, I think, trying to strike a good balance so that each recipe introduced enough new twists that as the solvers got used to them, the puzzles got harder, so the interest level didn't drop.

Anyway, referee, for the twist to get the final solution to the overall puzzle, remember that you needed to solve all three recipes and look once again at the answers to the three recipe puzzles.

That should get you there.
_________________
jbv

[referee]

oh, duh. Am I silly to have missed it or what. Nice.
_________________
Jan 21st, 2008: The pillaging continues.
Mar 4th, 2008: Rest in Peace, Gary Gygax. May your dice always roll a natural 20 wherever you are.

Be the Ultimate Ninja! Play Billy Vs. SNAKEMAN today!

[Sentran]

I had to go over this puzzle a number of times to find where I was making mistakes, but I finally got it. Great puzzle!
_________________
Sentran
"Speaking of double negatives, I haven't read greylab yet today." - Lifeinmomland

[jbvntx]

I'm sure I speak for zag as well when I say I'm very pleased you enjoyed it so much!
_________________
jbv