Here are some less well known proverbs. What is the missing word in each?
Loyalty is worth more than ?.
He that cannot pay in ? must pay in person.
Shameful ? is worse than shameful eating.
Don't say ? until you are asked.
Payment in advance is ? payment.
Answer
Loyalty is worth more than money.
He that cannot pay in purse must pay in person.
Shameful leaving is worse than shameful eating.
Don't say no until you are asked.
Payment in advance is evil payment.
??
Puzzle 226
Practical Pat was asked to cut a 99 foot rope into three smaller, equal length ropes.
However, as usual, Pat couldn't find the measuring tape, so a guess took place!
When the tape was finally found (it was under a hat), Pat discovered that:
the second piece of rope was twice as long as the first piece, minus 35 feet the third piece of rope was half the length of the first, plus 15 feet
How long were each of the pieces of rope?
Answer
First = 34 feet.
Second = 33 feet.
Third = 32 feet.
Reasoning
This question can be solved using algebra. If we call the length of the first rope A, we have: Rope 1 = A Rope 2 = 2 x A – 35 Rope 3 = 0.5 x A + 15
The three ropes add to 99 feet: 99 = Rope 1 + Rope 2 + Rope 3 99 = A + (2 x A – 35) + (0.5 x A + 15) 99 = 3.5 x A – 20 119 = 3.5 x A 34 = A
There are two alternate series, starting with the first two numbers, and each formed by doubling the preceding number in its own series and subtracting 2.