Comments on: Conundrum: Pic Tac Toe in 3D, Part III

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 09:45:44 +0000

I'm back home now, and ready to post the answers. I had a lot of fun with this one; I hope you did too. I was very pleased to see that more people are starting to get involved with solving these, and I think Neel was too.

Answers

A1-A2-A3: FLYING (Captain Hero, Harry Potter, Interplanet Janet) A4-A5-A6: DOCTORS (Dr. Jeckyl, witch doctor, Dr. House) A7-A8-A9: SMITH (Mr. Smith, Mephistopholes Smith, Maggie Smith) A1-A4-A7: BLACK AND WHITE (Toot Braunstein, Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) A2-A5-A8: THE OCCULT (wizard, witch doctor, Mephistopholes) A3-A6-A9: HOUSE (Schoolhouse Rock, House M.D., House of York) A1-A5-A9: ROYALTY (Princess Clara, The Lion King, English royal family) A3-A5-A7: POLITICS (how a bill becomes a law, "anointing" a new king, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington) B1-B2-B3: WINGED CREATURES (bat, parrot, eagle) B4-B5-B6: MOVIE BATMEN (Kilmer, Keaton, Clooney) B7-B8-B9: EXODUS SIBLINGS (Miriam, Aaron, Moses) B1-B4-B7: RELATIONSHIPS (Courtship, Father/Son, Miriam's Daughters) B2-B5-B8: SHAKESPEARE VILLAINS (Iago, Don John, Aaron) B3-B6-B9: MOTORCYCLES (each picture features a motorcycle) B1-B5-B9: POLICE (Police Commissioner, Dogberry the Constable, Police Academy 3) B3-B5-B7: STARS (stars on the flag, movie stars, Star of David) C1-C2-C3: PAIRS (Fiennes and Paltrow, Spade and Farley, Mickey and Donald) C4-C5-C6: GALE (Gale Hansen, Dorothy Gale, Dr. Catherine Gale) C7-C8-C9: LEGEND (I Am Legend, Life/Death/Legend, Legends of Rock) C1-C4-C7: WILL (Will Shakespeare, Robin Williams, Will Smith) C2-C5-C8: DIED OF A DRUG OVERDOSE (Chris Farley, Judy Garland, Jim Morrison) C3-C6-C9: TRADEMARK HATS (of Lincoln, John Steed, Slash) C1-C5-C9: JUDI, JUDY, JUDY (Judi Dench, Judy Garland, Judy Nails) C3-C5-C7: CLOUDS (in the background of all three pictures) A1-B1-C1: LOVE (Foxxy Love, Batman Falls in Love, Shakespeare in Love) A2-B2-C2: GOLD (Golden Snitch, gold lamp, gold-colored wall) A3-B3-C3: BILL (I'm Just A Bill, Bill W., Donald's duck bill) A4-B4-C4: GLASS (Glasses on the table, Windows, window) A5-B5-C5: LION (The Lion King, MGM Lion, Cowardly Lion) A6-B6-C6: HANDLES (Cane handle, handlebars, umbrella handle) A7-B7-C7: YELLOW-TINTED BACKGROUNDS (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Miriam's Daughters, I Am Legend) A8-B8-C8: CD COVERS (Mephistopholes Smith, Aaron Neville, Jim Morrison) A9-B9-C9: THREE SUFFIX IN TITLE (Richard III, Police Academy 3, Guitar Hero III) A1-B4-C7: BUILDINGS IN THE BACKGROUND (Drawn Together, Joe the King, I Am Legend) A7-B4-C1: JOE/JOSEPH (Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine, Joe the King, Joseph Fiennes) A2-B5-C8: NEW YORK TIMES (the text "New York Times" appears in all three pictures) A8-B5-C2: RICHARD (Richard O'Brien, Richard Briers, Richard Hayden) A3-B6-C9: ROCK (Schoolhouse Rock, Rockface, Legends of Rock) A9-B6-C3: GEORGE (George Plantagenet, George Clooney, George Washington) A1-B2-C3: DISNEY ANIMATION (Disney Princess spoof Princess Clara, Iago from Disney's Aladdin, Disney icons Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck) A3-B2-C1: LIGHT SOURCES (torch, lamp, sunlight) A4-B5-C6: JOHN (John Barrymore, Don John, John Steed) A6-B5-C4: ROBERT SEAN LEONARD (pictured in House, Much Ado About Nothing, Dead Poets Society) A7-B8-C9: PLAY (Screen play, "Everybody Plays the Fool," Playing the guitar) A9-B8-C7: NEVILLE (Cecily Neville, Aaron Neville, Robert Neville) A1-B5-C9: HERO (Captain Hero, character Hero, Guitar Hero III) A3-B5-C7: DOG (Mrs. Jones's dog, Dogberry, Sam the dog) A7-B5-C3: WASHINGTON (Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Denzel Washington, George Washington) A9-B5-C1: SHAKESPEARE AT THE MOVIES (Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare in Love)

Picture Credits

Picture A1 Picture A2 Picture A3 Picture A4 Picture A5 Picture A6 Picture A7 Picture A8 Picture A9 Picture B1 Picture B2 Picture B3 Picture B4 Picture B5 Picture B6 Picture B7 Picture B8 Picture B9 Picture C1 Picture C2 Picture C3 Picture C4 Picture C5 Picture C6 Picture C7 Picture C8 Picture C9

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:29:57 +0000

PAIRS and LIGHTS are correct, so there’s two more.

I’m also content with how much of the puzzle has been solved. The remaining themes are nothing exciting. Thanks to all who played. Answers will be posted tomorrow.

By: Neel Mehta

Neel Mehta — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 22:12:11 +0000

Some final guesses.

C1-C2-C3: PAIRS? Or maybe ACCESSORIES? (earring/necklace, tie clip, Disney pin)

A2-B2-C2: BOY? (the boy who lived, Aladdin tune “Proud of Your Boy,” Tommy Boy)

A3-B2-C1: LAMP? (Lady Liberty’s lamp, Genie’s lamp, lamp light)

A3-B5-C7: ROBERT? (Robert Neville, Robert Sean Leonard, “When Robert Fulton made the steamboat go…”)

That’s all I got. Frankly, I’m quite content with identifying 33 of these themes.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 17:09:07 +0000

All three are correct. Nice work!

For the record, the following nine themes are still unsolved:

A3-A5-A7
B1-B4-B7
B3-B5-B7
C1-C2-C3
A2-B2-C2
A1-B4-C7
A3-B2-C1
A7-B8-C9
A3-B5-C7

I’ll be back in New York tomorrow and will post all of the answers.

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 08:16:06 +0000

B7-B8-B9: Not LEGACY. Actually, this is one of my favorite themes in the puzzle. Bubba’s relevant, but only for his character’s name.

B1-B5-B9: Not HAIR. If you don’t know Much Ado very well, look at the other two pictures and extrapolate.

C1-C5-C9: Not HOMOSEXUALITY. Check out Wikipedia. Did you know the characters in Guitar Hero III have names?

A7-B4-C1: JOE/JOSEPH is correct. Point for Neel!

A3-B6-C9: ROCK is correct. Point for Billie!

A3-B5-C7: Alternate answer credit for Billie for NEW YORK CITY. This one might be easier after you’ve solved B1-B5-B9.

A7-B5-C3: WASHINGTON is correct. Point for Billie! I would have expected this to be one of the first to go, but I guess with 49 themes, it’s easy to overlook a multi-level diagonal.

By: Neel Mehta

Neel Mehta — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 08:10:42 +0000

B7-B8-B9: Not LEGACY. Actually, this is one of my favorite themes in the puzzle. Bubba's relevant, but only for his character's name. Wow. That is impressive. B7-B8-B9: BIBLICAL SIBLINGS (Miriam, Aaron, Moses) B1-B5-B9: Not HAIR. If you don't know Much Ado very well, look at the other two pictures and extrapolate. Oh, I know the play. But 49 themes, man. It's hard for me to focus. B1-B5-B9: POLICE (police car, constable, police academy) C1-C5-C9: Not HOMOSEXUALITY. Check out Wikipedia. Did you know the characters in Guitar Hero III have names? Huh, I would have never thought to look that up. That might make me a video game snob. C1-C5-C9: JUDI/JUDY (Judi Dench, Judy Garland, Judy Nails)

By: Neel Mehta

Neel Mehta — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 03:14:44 +0000

Billie’s probably right with those 3, so I’ll tackle the other 4.

A7-B4-C1: JOE/JOSEPH (Sen. Joseph Harrison Paine, Joe Henry, Joseph Fiennes)

B1-B5-B9: SHOULDER-LENGTH HAIR? (on Magda, Hero/Beatrice, Bubba Smith)

B7-B8-B9: LEGACY? (Miriam’s daughters, song remake, threequel)

I don’t think I’m going to come up with anything better than ROCK BANDS, so…

C1-C5-C9: HINTED HOMOSEXUALITY (Ben Affleck, friends of Dorothy, Slash fiction)

By: billie

billie — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 02:41:05 +0000

a3-b6-c9 rock? (b6 appears to have a “rocky” wall background)

By: billie

billie — Sat, 29 Dec 2007 02:07:54 +0000

a7-b5-c3 Washington (Mr. Smith Goes to.., Denzel, monument)
a3-b5-c7 New York (Statue of Liberty, New York Times review, Brooklyn Bridge)

By: Bill

Bill — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 23:36:56 +0000

Billie, that’s not what I had in mind, but I looked up your references and it holds up. I’m not sure how big of a tent it is, but I’ll give you an alternate answer credit, because my answer isn’t nearly as interesting.

With that in mind, it might be more fun to focus on these seven themes, and then we can call it a day:

B7-B8-B9
B1-B5-B9
C1-C5-C9
A7-B4-C1
A3-B6-C9
A3-B5-C7
A7-B5-C3

By: billie

billie — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:03:04 +0000

a3-a5-a7 subject of Simpson’s spoofs (episodes “The Day the Violence Died”, “Round Springfield”, “Mr. Lisa Goes to Washington”)

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:56:12 +0000

Yes, that’s correct. Welcome back, Billie!

By: billie

billie — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 22:35:02 +0000

a2-a5-a8 “otherworldliness” (wizard, shaman, devil)

By: Bill

Bill — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 06:54:53 +0000

Correct on ROYALTY and RICHARD. I wasn’t sure if anyone would get the latter, since Richard Briers isn’t in the cast photo, but is pictured below. So very nicely done!

As for A2-A5-A8, I’d suggest looking at the three pictures in a more holistic sense, rather than trying to pick out a common element.

By: Neel Mehta

Neel Mehta — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:50:27 +0000

A1-A5-A9: ROYALTY? (Princess Clara, Lion King, royal family)

A2-A5-A8: ANIMAL FEET? (unicorn, lion, cloven hooves)

A8-B5-C2: RICHARD (Richard O’Brien, Richard Briers, character Richard Hayden)

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 13:02:27 +0000

The following 18 themes are still unsolved:

A2-A5-A8
A1-A5-A9
A3-A5-A7
B7-B8-B9
B1-B4-B7
B1-B5-B9
B3-B5-B7
C1-C2-C3
C1-C5-C9
A2-B2-C2
A1-B4-C7
A7-B4-C1
A8-B5-C2
A3-B6-C9
A3-B2-C1
A7-B8-C9
A3-B5-C7
A7-B5-C3

By: Bill

Bill — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 12:56:44 +0000

Sorry, too much of an Internet addict not to check my e-mail daily.

Your guess for A4-B4-C4 is close enough. I was going for GLASS.

By: Bill

Bill — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:40:57 +0000

My apologies – I did mean A4-A5-A6. And it is DOCTOR. The A4-B4-C4 theme is not HENRY. It’s a theme you’ve used in the past.

I have access to the Internet at the apartment here in Barcelona, so I should be able to check in on a daily basis.

By: Neel Mehta

Neel Mehta — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 20:20:29 +0000

The A4-B4-C4 theme is not HENRY. It’s a theme you’ve used in the past.

Well, it’s not SEAT, then. How about REFLECTION? (wine glass, side mirror, spectacles)

I have access to the Internet at the apartment here in Barcelona, so I should be able to check in on a daily basis.

Also important: checking out Barcelona on a daily basis. If you skip a day or seven on the Internet, so be it.

By: Neel Mehta

Neel Mehta — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 22:37:55 +0000

Don’t you mean A4-A5-A6, and not A4-B4-C4?

If so, then A4-A5-A6: DOCTOR (Dr. Jekyll, shaman doctor, Dr. House)

Now, as for A4-B4-C4: HENRY? (Henry Jekyll, Joe Henry, oft-quoted Henry David Thoreau)

Hmm. With you off in Spain for a week and blogging sporadically, if at all, I should probably strike a balance between:

1. Giving this Pic-Tac-Toe a deserved amount of attention; and
2. Getting over-anxious with the likely lack of responses.

We’ll see how that goes. Enjoy your trip.