Brainteaser Answers
Brainteaser Answers
10/01/2023 - Here comes the Sun
Q - What are the missing letters?
SUN ?????SUN
Answer:
MVEMJ - The question represents the solar system, with the right-hand side being the first letters of the planets in order of their distance from the sun.
21/07/2020 - Can't play it
Q: What is the shortest word that can legally be played in a game of (British) Scrabble, but which can never appear on a Scrabble board?
Answer:
PIZZAZZ.There is only one Z and only 2 blanks, so a word with 4 Zs is impossible to play.
13/07/2020 - What next?
Q: What is the next word in this sequence:
UNSAID, RANDOM, SALUTED, DANEWEEDS, DRAUGHTS, AFRAID, ?
Answer:
QUADRATS. The words are anagrams of SUNDAY, MONDAY, ..., FRIDAY, and SATURDAY with the Y changed to another letter.
21/02/2020 - Missing word
Q: What word is missing: AAGKN, ABBIRT, EEEORY, EGGIRT, EGILPT, LOW, OOR
Answer:
HOOP. The set are Christopher Robin's animal friends with their letters in alphabetical order: Kanga, Rabbit, Eeyore, Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Roo. Missing is Pooh, who becomes HOOP.
12/02/2020 - A question to put you to sleep
Q: Find a whole number which when spelled out has its letters in alphabetical order.
Answer:
Forty.
05/02/2020 - Missing and not missing
Q: Eric, Graham, John, Michael, Terry. Which name is both missing and not missing?
Answer:
Terry. These are the first names of the Monty Python Team. Terry is missing, bus as there is another Terry, it is also not missing.
31/01/2020 - Where next?
Q: What follows Vienna, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Helsinki, Athens, ?
Answer:
Budapest. The European countries of which these are the capitals begin with A, B, C, ... Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary.
22/01/2020 - Calendar Foods
Q: If we eat Fish on St David's Day, Crab on US Independence Day and Goat on Christmas Day, what do we eat on Halloween?
Answer:
Scorpion. The sign of the zodiac on each day determines what we eat:
St David's Day is 1st March - Pisces
US Independence Day is 4th July - Cancer
Christmas Day is 25th December - Capricorn
Halloween is 31st October - Scorpio
10/09/2019 - Word Sequence V
Q: What word could follow:
(a) FUN, ABLE, OUR, BIER, BRAVE, COIN, RUDE, SEAT, ?
(b) NIL, DEMO, DAY, NAME, SPILL, UP, READ, ?
Answer:
(a) DOT, or any word that remains a word with two I's inserted: FaUNa, bABbLE, OccUR, BIddER, BeReAVE, COffIN, gRUDgE, ShEATh, iDiOT
(b) COO, or any word that remains a word when reversed with two H's inserted: NIL/LIaNa, DEMO/bOMbED, DAY, cYcAD, NAME, dEMANd, SPILL/eLLIPSe, UP/PUff, READ/DAggER, COO/hOOCh
04/09/2019 - Can't play it
What is the shortest word that can legally be played in a game of (British) Scrabble, but which can never appear on a Scrabble board?
Answer: PIZZAZZ: There is only one Z and only 2 blanks, so a word with 4 Zs is impossible to play.
28/08/2019 - What's the film?
HAND, LONE, TWO, WHOLE, LADY, LIFE, SUCH, WORKMAN; BAND, DIG, ORB, PULP, EARS, GUNS, MUGS, SNAPS.
Answer: Some Like It Hot: HANDsome, LONEsome, TWOsome, WHOLEsome, LADYlike, LIFElike, SUCHlike, WORKMANlike, BANDit, DIGit, ORBit, PULPit; EARshot, GUNshot, MUGshot, SNAPShot.
20/08/2019 - Complete the set
Bedazzlement, Highjack, Quantify, Unveiled, Yokewood,?
Answer: Paroxysm: taking alternate letters yields the whole alphabet without repeats.
BEDAZZLEMENTHIGHJACKQUANTIFYUNVEILEDYOKEWOODPAROXYSM
B.D.Z.L.M.N.H.G.J.C.Q.A.T.F.U.V.I.EY.K.W.O.P.R.X.S
13/08/2019 - Arrange in a different logical order
CROSS, DOT, DROP, MIND, ROLL
Answer: DROP (h's), DOT (i's), MIND (p's and q's), ROLL (r's), CROSS (t's)
07/08/2019 - A round of drinks
What could follow Mojito, Eggnog, Riesling, Lemonade, Ouzo, ?
Answer: Tea, or any drink beginning with T. The initial letters spell MERLOT.
02/08/2019 - Identify and divide into pairs
(a) Band from Wigan
(b) Word that is the theme of this question
(c) Surname of former Foreign Secretary
(d) 1961 film that marked the final appearance of two Hollywood legends
(e) Novel by Stephen King
(f) Band who debuted in May 1979 supporting Scritti Politti
(g) Best picture Oscar winner of the '70s
(h) European city
(i) ASBO superheroes
(j) REM single
(k) Singer, born in 1951
(l) Band from Wigan
Answer:
(a) Verve paired with (l) The Verve
(b) The paired with (f) The The
(c) Hague paired with (h) The Hague
(i) Misfits paired with (d) The Misfits
(j) 'Stand' paired with (e) The Stand
(k) Sting paired with (g) The Sting
26/07/2019 - What next?
UNSAID, RANDOM, SALUTED, DANEWEEDS, DRAUGHTS, AFRAID, ?
Answer: QUADRATS. The words are anagrams of SUNDAY, MONDAY, FRIDAY and SATURDAY with the Y changed to another letter.
15/07/2019 - The early bird
What can be African, Emperor, Little or Macaroni?
Answer: These are all species of penguin.
01/07/2019 - Don't be hasty
(a) What is a 100th of a dollar called?
(b) Which county is known as the garden of England?
(c) What is the period of fasting that precedes Easter called?
(d) What has types including Bell, Frame and Oxygen?
What links these answers - and which author created these creatures?
Answer:
(a) Cent
(b) Kent
(c) Lent
(d) Tent
They all end ENT, and Ents were created by J. R. R. Tolkien in The Lord of the Rings.
17/06/2019 - In common
What do the following have in common?
ADIER AIN ERAL EREAN IRAL OMMANE OMMOO ONEL OR ORAL RIVA
Answer: They are military ranks minus their relevant abbreviation:
brigADIER captAIN genERAL sERgEANt admIRAL cOMMANdEr cOMMOdOre colONEL majOR corpORAL pRIVAte
10/06/2019 - Identify the following
Identify the following
(a) London football team
(b) Boundary between military powers
(c) Soviet intelligence
(d) Swindon band
(e) Radio band
(f) Boy band
(g) Facility in Aldermaston
(h) Promissory note
(i) What city is left over?
Answer: The answers to a-h are eight trigraphs, using 24 of the 26 letters of the alphabet, with N and Y left over.
(a) QPR
(b) DMZ
(c) KGB
(d) XTC
(e) VHF
(f) JLS
(g) AWE
(h) IOU
(i) NY = New York
03/06/2019 - Please Stand
In the following, what does the ? stand for?
UNITED KINGDOM 3435
AUSTRALIA 794
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 3486
NEW ZEALAND ?
CANADA 16
Answer: 3637 or 3435. These are the number of letters in the words in the title of New Zealand's national anthems, 'God Defend New Zealand' and 'God Save The Queen'. The others are Australia: 'Advance Australia Fair'; USA: 'The Star-Spangled Banner'; Canada: 'O Canada'; UK: 'God Save the Queen',
27/05/2019 - Are you good at Scrabble?
What is the shortest word that can legally be played in a game of (British) Scrabble, but which can never appear on a Scrabble board?
Answer: PIZZAZZ. There is only one Z and only 2 Blanks, so a word with 4 Zs is impossible to play.
20/05/2019 - Which animal?
A town in southern England has something in common with two cities in Italy, one in Greece, one in Lebanon and an animal. Which animal?
Answer: SHREW, All references are t the title of Shakespeare play: The Merry Wives of WINDSOR (a town in southern England); The Merchant of VENICE and Two Gentlemen of VERONA (two cities in Italy); Timon of ATHENS (a city in Greece); Pericles, Prince of TYRE (a city in Lebanon) and the Taming of the SHREW
01/04/2019 - What number comes next?
9, 14, 11, 8, 16, 7, 19, 3, 17, 2, 15, ?
Answer: 10, these are numbers in order around a dartboard
25/03/2019 - Explain the order
2018, 2024, 2027, 2026, 2016, 2021, 2019, 2023, 2020, 2017, 2025, 2022
Answer: Dog/2018, Dragon/2024, Goat/2027, Horse/2026, Monkey/2016, Ox/2021, Pig/2019, Rabbit/2023, Rat/2020, Rooster/2017, Snake/2025, Tiger/2022
18/03/2019 - Fill in the gap
Harrison Johnson Jackson Washington
Singers George Holly Janet Geno
US Presidents Benjamin Andrew Andrew George
Actors Rex Don Gordon DENZEL
11/03/2019 - Where next?
What follows:
Vienna, Brussels, Prague, Copenhagen, Tallinn, Helsinki, Athens ?
Answer: The answer is Budapest. The European countries of which these are the capitals begin with A, B, C, ... Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary
04/03/2019 - Underground
What follows:
MORDEN, MILE END, MOORGATE, MONUMENT, MAIDA VALE, MANOR HOUSE, MOOR PARK, MANSION HOUSE, MARYLEBONE, MILL HILL EAST, MARBLE ARCH, ?
Answer: The answer is Mornington Crescent. The list is of London Underground stations beginning with M in order of Scrabble score then alphabetically. Morden/9, Mile End/10, Moorgate/11, Monument/12, Maida Vale/15, Manor House/15, Moor Park/16, Mansion House/17, Marylebone/17, Mill Hill East/17, Marble Arch/19, Mornington Crescent/25.
25/02/2019 - Odd one out
Which is the odd one out?
February 2nd, April 4th, June 6th, August 8th, October 10th or December 12th?
Answer: February 2nd, February 2nd is a Saturday where all the other dates are a Thursday.
18/02/19 - Replace the Stars
What is missing?
Picture Menance, Khan Clones, * * , Home Hope, Frontier Back
Answer: Spock Sith. The sequence is formed from the last words in the titles of Star Trek/Star Wars films, in order. The Third films in each series are The Search for Spock and Revenge of the Sith.
11/02/19 - What completes the list?
SORE
KEEL
COSH MARK
Answer: The words are anagrams of ROSE, LEEK, SHAMROCK and THISTLE, which are the symbols of the parts of the UK. THE LIST is an anagram of THISTLE.
04/02/19
What's the final member of this sequence? Central, Circle, District, Bakerloo, Piccadilly, Hammersmith and City and ????
Answer: The answer is NORTHERN. The colours of the tube lines are red, yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black and these are the order of the colours in snooker.
28/01/19
Which of the following words is the odd one out?
CHAT, COMMENT, DIRE, ELF, FORT, MANGER, PAIN, POUR
Answer: The answer is ELF. This is German, the rest are French
21/01/19
What links: D, X, 4th, Y?
Answer: They are British rivers: Dee, Exe, Forth, Wye
14/01/19
What is the only number in English that, when spelled out, has all its letters in alphabetical order?
Answer: Forty
07/01/19
Gary has friends in countries all around the world including Argentina, Denmark, Russia, Sudan and the United States. Which country is Gary in?
Answer: Gary is in hunGARY. His friends are in argenTINA, denMARK, RUSSia, suDAN and the uniTED states.
