Puzzle 1
A 'complete' word is a word in which every letter, in turn, can be replaced by another to form a new word.
For example, RUG is a complete word because:
-ug = hug
r-g = rig
ru- = run
How many of the following words are not complete words? Proper nouns and names are not allowed.
hard
port
duck
bugs
bail
mast
thin
lean
fire
read
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Another example, PEN is a complete word because:
-en = ten
p-n = pin
pe- = pea
Answer
Two of the words are not complete: bugs, lean.
Reasoning
The remaining 8 words can be changed as follows:
hard:
-ard = card
h-rd = herd
ha-d = hand
har- = harp
port:
-ort = fort
p-rt = part
po-t = poet
por- = pore
duck:
-uck = muck
d-ck = deck
du-k = dusk
duc- = duct
bugs:
-ugs = hugs
b-gs = bags
bu-s = buys
bug- = ---- X
bail:
-ail = hail
b-il = boil
ba-l = bawl
bai- = bait
mast:
-ast = cast
m-st = most
ma-t = malt
mas- = mask
thin:
-hin = shin
t-in = twin
th-n = than
thi- = this
lean:
-ean = mean
l-an = loan
le-n = ---- X
lea- = leaf
fire:
-ire = hire
f-re = fare
fi-e = five
fir- = firm
read:
-ead = bead
r-ad = road
re-d = reed
rea- = real
Puzzle 2
What comes next in this sequence:
Bucket · raisins · aardvark · igloo · north · Bradawl · ?
Choose from:
drink, zebra, road, alphabet, lion, keyboard
Puzzle Copyright © Kevin Stone
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Hint
Look at the first letters of the words.
Answer
Alphabet.
The first letters of the words are spelling BrainBashers.
Puzzle 3
What is made from nothing …
… yet you can see it?
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Hint
Think about it carefully.
Answer
A hole, or a shadow.
Puzzle 4
A woman had three old coins: a silver dollar, a quarter, and a dime. Each coin was a little battered and had a piece missing. She found that exactly the same fraction had broken away from each coin.
What fraction of each was missing if the value of the remaining bits of coins was now exactly one dollar in total?
For this puzzle it can be assumed that 1 /2 a coin is worth 1 /2 of its value.
Based on a puzzle by Henry Ernest Dudeney.
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Hint
A dollar is 100 cents, a quarter is 25 cents and a dime is 10 cents.
Answer
7 /27 of each coin was missing.
Reasoning
The original value of the three coins was 100 + 25 + 10 = 135 cents, and the new value was 100 cents.
Therefore, 35 /135 = 7 /27 of the original value has been removed.
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