COULD YOU FOR BRITAIN
It’s the test set by GCHQ’s codebreakers — and it’s fiendishly tricky. But with a few clever clues ...
SOLVING puzzles for a living doesn’t sound too hard a job. The ‘spooks’ at GCHQ in Cheltenham, one of the UK’s most secretive organisations, keep our country safe by cracking the most fiendish of codes. In their new book, Britain’s cleverest codebreakers have set their own puzzles for you to try. Test yourself and see if YOU have got what it takes to be a spy . . . 1. THE EARLY BIRD
What connects Skipper, Mumble, Wheezy, Pinga, Tux and Feathers McGraw?
CLUE: Think of the publisher.
2. JANE’S NOVELTY DECORATIONS
Last night Jane was decorating an unusual birthday cake. Her ingredients were 3oz marzipan, 6 juniper berries, 5oz mayonnaise — and 4 of what sort of fruit?
CLUE: Begin by using a calendar.
3. BRAVO FOR THE MOVIES!
Complete the following: a) The Grand Budapest
_____ b) A Passage To ______ c) The Treasure Of The
____ Madre d) ______/Victoria e) ______ Doodle Dandy f) ______ a-e did. f didn’t. What?
CLUE: It’s as easy as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie
4. DIVIDE INTO PAIRS
Pair the following: AN, BLACK, EX, LIVER, NEW, NOR, OX, PORTS, SOU, TOR, WAT, WEN
CLUE: Try using a map.
5. WHAT THE . . ?
Which is the odd one out? Bleak, Great, Hard, Little, Twist CLUE: It was the best of puzzles, it was the worst of puzzles.
6. A GIMME
Does your mother know why: Ring + Money = I Do? CLUE: Mamma Mia. Here we go again.
8. TICKETS 7. THREE’S A CROWD
Arrange into pairs: BLIND, CIRCUS, DAY, EVENT, FRENCH, HENS, ISLAND, LEGGED, LINE, MICE, MILE, MONKEYS, POINT, RACE, RING, TURN, WHIP, WISE CLUE: Actually two’s company — three’s a red herring. If a train ticket from Wigan to Ripon costs £1, a ticket from St Ives to Tiverton costs £4 and a ticket from Hove to Sevenoaks costs £5 then how much is a ticket from Poole to Aylesbury — and why might going by road seem more appropriate?
CLUE: It looks like the Romans have left something in all these towns.
9. MSSNG VWLS
Divide the following items into 7 sets of 7: BL CLSSS CNDL FRC FRDY FRTN FRTYNN FRTYTW GRN
GLTTNY GRD GRDNS KLGRM KLVN LGHTHS LST ML MNDY MPR MSLM MTR NDG NRTHMRC NTRCTC NVY PRD PYRMD RD RNG RP S SCND SLTH SNDY STHMRC STRDY STRL STT SVN THRSDY THRTYFV TMPL TSDY TWNTYGHT TWNTYN VLT WDNSDY WRTH YLLW
CLUE: You could sing a rainbow to find one of the groups.
10. THE PICK OF THE LITTER
What connects: A capital city in Oceania? A European country bordering Turkey? A river flowing through Colombia and Venezuela? A Channel Island whose capital is St Anne?
CLUE: Underground, overground.
11. SOME SUMS
a) If R + B = P and R + Y = O, then B + Y =? b) If R + B = M and B + G = C, then R + B + G =? c) If Y + Y = B, Y + G = B, R + P = B and G + B = B, then R + R =? CLUE: Try colouring in the letters.
12. ODD ONE OUT
What word or phrase is the odd one out in each group? a) Disappear, Grapple, Peace, Pondicherry, Sublime b) Crewe, Hootenanny, Kitchen,
Nightmare, Tomato c) Firenze, Gilead, Jargon, Marigold,
Pumpernickel d) Catwoman, Deus ex machina, Parishioner, Pyromania, Scuba
CLUE: It is the beginning of the end.
13. SUPERMAN
If I shrivel up in Trowbridge and find connections in Lincoln, idiots in Reading and smart young men in Aylesbury, where might I sleep?
CLUE: You can ‘county’ on us for a clue!
14. DOORS
Divide the following words into two sets: AB, COP, FANCY, FLUX, HIDE, KING, RAG, VEST, WARD, WIPE
CLUE: Think about the ins and outs of the puzzle.
15. WHAT’S THE ANSWER?
a) What is the first letter of the Greek alphabet? b) What sort of rain did Guns N’ Roses sing about? c) What Spanish word means a range of mountains? d) What are Ardbeg, Glenfiddich and Talisker? e) Which nymph faded away until all that was left was her voice? f) Which Shakespeare character completes this answer? CLUE: It’s still as easy as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie.
16. SEQUENCE
What word could follow: SQUABBLE, ANECDOTE, WAVEFORM, TOUGHEST, DEMIJOHN, RECKLESS? CLUE: It’s not the beginning or the end.
17. CHICKENS IN THE GALLERY
The dog’s in the canal, the cat’s on the fell and the sheep is over there. Is the pig in the cellar, the larder or on the porch?
CLUE: Don’t wh-ine, it’ll be f-ine.
Taken from THE GCHQ PUZZLE BOOK II, published this week by Penguin at £12.99 © Crown 2018. To order a copy for £9.74 (offer valid to November 3, 2018; p&p free on orders over £15), visit mailshop.co.uk/books or call 0844 571 0640. Funding from the proceeds of this book will support the mental health charity Heads Together, headstogether.org