Puzzle 77
The other day I was sitting in my local tavern, The Spyglass, which overlooks the sea, when in sailed my old friend the pirate Captain Conan Drum. "Well, shiver me barnacles!" he roared on seeing me. He too is a bit of a puzzle addict and so, after joining me for a glass of milk and telling me about his latest exploits on the high seas, he couldn't resist showing me his latest conundrum.
He reached into one of his jacket pockets and produced seven gleaming £5 coins, which he then proceeded to arrange on the table in front of me exactly as shown below. "Now, me lad." he said, with a mischievous look in his eyes. "I'll wager you'll not be able to solve this one. Take away two coins from this here arrangement to leave five coins across and three coins going down."
It was clear the wily old sea dog still had one or two tricks up his sleeve, as I couldn't for the life of me see how it could be done. Can you see through his skulduggery and solve it?
Puzzle Copyright © Lloyd King
Puzzle 78
Using exactly four straight lines, without taking your pen off the (virtual) paper, can you join all nine dots?
Note: this puzzle is not interactive, and cannot be clicked.
A Charming Puzzle, Twentieth Century Standard Puzzle Book, A. Cyril Pearson.
Puzzle 80
School Reunion '62all logic puzzles
During a recent school reunion, four friends were discussing their starting salaries.
The salaries in question were, 8, 10, 12 and 14 thousand pounds per year.
The MP earned the most.
Alex earned more than Billie and the doctor earned more than Drew, the vet.
Billie, the lawyer, did not start on £10,000 nor did Drew.
And Chris couldn't remember.
Can you determine who has which job and their starting salaries?