Can you crack these fiendish GCHQ puzzles?
It’s Christmas’s surprise bestseller. Now you can pit your wits against the brainboxes who decoded Enigma
GcHQ is the top-secret intelligence agency that recruits the brightest brains in the country. This year it published a devilishly difficult puzzle book — based on challenges they like to set for each other for fun — that has become a surprise bestseller.
It’s packed with fiendish brainteasers, and the authors challenge you to ‘pit your wits against the people who cracked enigma’ — the German wartime code. So, how many can you solve?
Here are 20 sample questions from the book, plus two christmas-themed puzzles, written specially by the code-breakers for the daily Mail.
HOW TO DO IT: Think like a code-breaker! Keep an eye out for hidden patterns of letters such as words within other words, anagrams, or alphabetical sequences, and pay close attention for double-meanings. If the wording of the question seems peculiar — that’s probably key to getting the right answer.
The GcHQ book gives a clue for each question if you need it, which we’ve provided here — although sometimes these are almost as baffling as the questions. So if you’re really stuck, we’ve added an extra hint on how to get the answer.
THE QUESTIONS: 1. Limerick
THIS limerick has a different five-letter word missing from each line. what are the missing words? The words form a 5×5 square [that is, the answers will fit both horizontally and vertically]. A man from the East, name of - - - - - , Would - - - - - give people red roses, But he had an odd - - - - - , A strange - - - - - glare, Which is why they would - - - - - , one supposes.
CLUE: The first word is MoSeS
DAILY MAIL TIP: If the clue offered by the brains at GcHQ is insufficient, the Mail offers another to make it easier. Apart from making educated guesses as to which words will fit the rhyme, write out the 5x5 grid and fill it in as you go — the answers will fit both horizontally and vertically, so if you know the first word is ‘Moses’ you know which letter the subsequent words will begin with, eg, the missing word in the second line will begin with an ‘o’.
2. Where next?
wHAT follows Vienna, Brussels, Prague, copenhagen, Tallinn, Helsinki, Athens ...? CLUE: which countries are these the capitals of?
DAILY MAIL TIP: Think which countries these cities are in. Then, can you spot an alphabetical sequence anywhere in those words?
3. Aha
A: Which canoe, created by the Inuit, is propelled by a doublebladed paddle? B: Which note is equivalent to two crotchets? C: What is another name for midday? D: According to the Bible, what was the name of the first woman? E: What do you call a female sheep? How would you ‘refer’ to these answers? CLUE: Read the answers backwards and forwards.
DAILY MAIL TIP: All the answers to these general knowledge questions are a particular type of word that is the same whether you read it forwards or backwards. on the tip of your tongue? It begins with a ‘p’.
4. Concealed animal
HeRe is a list of animals. But which other animal is hiding? RACCOON, PARROT, LEMMING, KOOKABURRA, AARDVARK, LINNET, OTTER CLUE: Have you got double vision?
DAILY MAIL TIP: The double letters in each word will spell out the answer.
5. When, how, what?
A: In which year will the olympics be held in Tokyo for the second time? B: How is perfect vision described? c: what is the shortest form of international cricket? CLUE: The answers are very similar. DAILY MAIL TIP: The answer is a number.
6. Odd words out
FInd the odd word out in each of the following lists: A: ARM, ELECTRIC, LEAGUE, PUSH, ROCKING, VICE, WHEEL B: ART, DOG, FREE, HALFWAY, PUBLIC, PUBLISHING, ROSE C: DANCE, GLASS, GROUND, OCEAN, SECOND, SHOP, TRADING CLUE: Look for words which could follow those in the question.
DAILY MAIL TIP: All but one of the words in each group can precede another word to make new ones. can’t work out what the extra word should be? a) Think of something you sit on. b) Somewhere you live. c) where you would lay a carpet.
7. A round of drinks
wHAT could follow Mojito, eggnog, Riesling, Lemonade, ouzo ...? CLUE: where would you START with this wine?
DAILY MAIL TIP: Take a look at the first letter of each drink. what do they nearly spell?
8. Cheek
A: Which Carla Lane sitcom concerned the Boswell family and their attempts to keep solvent? B: What was the surname of the British Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010? C: The institution which produces British coins is called the Royal... what? D: Which fruit has varieties beef, cherry and plum, and is normally served as a vegetable? E: Which county was merged with Herefordshire in 1998? wHAT connects these answers? CLUE: Look in the larder. DAILY MAIL TIP: You add them all to food.
9. Missing and not missing
eRIc, Graham, John, Michael, Terry. which name is both missing and not missing? CLUE: nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more. DAILY MAIL TIP: Two people from this comedy group had the same first name.
10. Somewhere
A: What does UV stand for? B: Which Duke Ellington jazz standard has also been recorded by Annie Lennox and Nina Simone? C: Which boy band represented the UK in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest? D: Which piece of music is believed to have been written by Henry VIII? E: In which U.S. national park is Old Faithful?
F: What do the bells of St Clements say? G: Which horse won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977? wHAT might you find at the end? CLUE: Think in colour.
DAILY MAIL TIP: each answer should contain a colour — what do these colours make up all together? once you’ve worked that out, you should remember what is traditionally found at the end of it.
11. Friends in other countries
GARY has friends in many countries including Argentina, denmark, Russia, Sudan and the United States. which country is Gary in? CLUE: Look within country names.
12. Link
wHAT links: d, X, 4th, Y CLUE: Speak them out loud and go with the flow. DAILY MAIL TIP: The Thames could also go in this list.
13. Pairs
THe answers to these questions come in pairs, where each pair differs only in their first letter. work out the pairs. The pronunciation may not always be the same. 1. One half of a titular TV sitcom couple.
2. British budget clothing and homeware retailer. 3. Type of hat. 4. One of the Channel Islands. 5. River that passes through northern English city. 6. TV space alien. 7. Capital of country with a coastline on the Persian Gulf. 8. Surname of an England football captain. 9. An Irish county. 10. An English city that is a county town. 11. One of the official languages of the fourth largest country in Europe. 12. District of South-East London. CLUE: One of the pairs is 8. Beckham and 12. Peckham
DAILY MAIL TIP: this one could take a while. Write down your answers and try to come up with several options for each until pairs emerge. there will be red herrings. for instance, the Irish county is nOt Cork, the english city is nOt nottingham, and the sitcom character is nOt June (though that’s the right couple). If it helps, the capital with a coastline on the Persian Gulf is Manama (the capital of Bahrain).
14. Missing word
What word is missing: aaGKn, aBBIRt, eeeORy, eGGIRt, eGILPt, LOW, OOR CLUE: try jumbling the letters to get some familiar friends.
DAILY MAIL TIP: you would find them all in the hundred acre Wood. Once you’ve worked out who’s missing, jumble the name up again to make a different word.
15. Odd one out
WhICh is the odd one out: fIRM, heLM, SOaK, WaSh CLUE: Can you see the wood for the trees? DAILY MAIL TIP: focus on three letters in each word.
16. Which word?
the following list of words can be divided into two sets, of equal size, on the basis of another word: AWE BODY DAY FEAR HAND HOW LONE ONE THING TIRE WHAT WHERE WHOLE WIN What is the other word? CLUE: SOMe questions don’t need clues. DAILY MAIL TIP: What happens if you add ‘some’ to the beginning or end of these words?
17. Explain
If 355 equates to 524, and 1235 to 2521, what does 850 equate to? CLUE: Look at the clock.
DAILY MAIL TIP: try saying the first number out loud as if it were a time of day — think traditional, rather than digital clock. now look at the second number again and say that aloud, too.
18. How many people?
If 1 person can be considered LOneLy, but 2 are a netWORK, how many do you need for them to become thReatenInG? CLUE: Look within the words. DAILY MAIL TIP: What number is hiding in the word ‘threatening’?
19. Premier locations
If C=SB, CP=SP, e=GP, MU=Ot and th=WhL, what does L= ? CLUE: Kick this question around. DAILY MAIL TIP: the initials stand for football teams and their respective home grounds.
20. For the ears
What links the following and where might you find them all together? Ear, Champagne, Shoe, Bermuda, Ear — and Super CLUE: What words might follow the words in the question?
DAILY MAIL TIP: a different word can follow each word above to make a common pairing. together they make something musical.
Puzzles taken from The GCHQ Puzzle Book, published by Michael Joseph at £12.99. © Crown copyright 2016. To order a copy at £9.74 (offer valid to 17/12), visit www.mailbookshop.co.uk or call 0844 571 0640. P&P free on orders over £15. The fee for this article and all proceeds from sales of the book will be donated to Heads Together, the campaign spearheaded by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry to end stigma around mental health.