Brainfood Page Archive: 2009
You can browse the selection of puzzles and problems below, or choose other options from the navigation bar to the right.
| Word Ladder - From FAKE to PULLED
The end of the school year is at hand, so this is going to be our last puzzle of the summer. I'll grade all solutions at the end of the summer.
Start with a word that means FAKE and change one letter at a time to get words that mean:
ABOVE AND BEYOND
SKELETON
CONTAINERS
FIGHTER
ARBOR
PINNACLE
PULLED
view solution |
May 24, 2009 | A Place for Promenading
I'm an oversized mallet,
A beating or bruising,
A place for some shopping
Or for promenading.
What am I?
5 points - one for each clue, plus one for the correct answer.
view solution |
May 17, 2009 | Word Ladder - From Numbers To Numbers
Start with a word which is a NUMBER, and change one letter at a time to create the following:
FORCIBLY DIVIDE
A SICKNESS
SOME MONEY
ANOTHER NUMBER (PLURAL)
REPAIRS
ANOTHER NUMBER (PLURAL)
view solution |
May 10, 2009 | What Am I?
Sometimes I'm feeling kind of blank
And other times I'm simply wet.
You'll find me at a sports event;
Have you divined my nature yet?
1 point for the correct word, 1 point for each clue explained, for a total of 4 points.
view solution |
May 3, 2009 | Spoonerisms - Missing Pastries
Reverend Spooner, who often mixes up the beginning consonants in his words, seems to be talking about the fact that the pastries are missing.
What do you suppose he was really talking about?
view solution |
Apr 26, 2009 | Synonym Ladder - FRAGILE to DRINK
Changing one letter at a time, start from a word for something FRAGILE, and create:
FLOWERS
PRODS
AMPHIBIANS
SYCOPHANT
A DRINK
view solution |
Apr 19, 2009 | Synonym Ladder - SWIMMING to STATUES
By changing one letter at a time, start with someone who SWIMS, and create
A BODY OF WATER,
SOMETHING TORN,
AN EASTER WORD,
WHAT THE TEMPERATURE DOES IN SUMMER,
SUBTERFUGES,
VEHICLES,
and end with STATUES.
view solution |
Apr 12, 2009 | Easter Eggs!
An "Easter Egg" is a hidden treat. Many people search for Easter Eggs on Easter morning. Hidden features on a DVD are also referred to as "Easter Eggs".
And on this site (The Problem Site) there are also "Easter Eggs" - hidden pages with fun facts and jokes and trivia. This site contains 13 Easter Egg Pages.
How many can you find?
The number of points awarded will be determined Saturday afternoon when I grade the solutions.
NOTE: If you find an Easter Egg while you're logged in to your account, the site keeps track of how many you've found, so all you need to do is submit a nice comment about how much you appreciate this site, and at the end of the week I'll look at your profile page to find out how many Easter Eggs you've found. (Thanks, Tis, for that suggestion!)
view solution |
Apr 5, 2009 | Spoonerisms - Child's Play at Sea
Reverend Spooner (who often mixes up the initial consonant sounds of words he is saying) seems to be talking about a children's game that you might play while out to sea.
What do you suppose he was really talking about?
view solution |
Mar 29, 2009 | Synonyms Puzzle
Although none of the following words are in any way related to me, each of them has a synonym which is related to me.
PURCHASE
FLOAT
EXTERIOR
LOFTY
What word am I?
view solution |
Mar 22, 2009 | Word Ladder - Extensive to a Football Team
Start with a word which means EXTENSIVE, and change one letter at a time to obtain words which mean each of the following:
SINGLE
ROAD
HAIR
SPOUSE
COVERINGS
And then end up with a FOOTBALL TEAM
view solution |
Mar 15, 2009 | Agitating a Skyscraper
I was talking to Reverend Spooner (who often mixes up the beginning consonants of words he says) and he seemed to be telling me that he was planning to agitate a skyscraper.
What do you suppose he was really planning to do?
view solution |
Mar 8, 2009 | Beat, Pile and Slice - Synonymous verbs
beckyh gives us the following riddle:
BEAT
PILE
SLICE
None of these verbs describe things that are commonly done to me. Nevertheless, they are all synonyms of verbs which are commonly done to me. What am I?
Don't forget to fully explain your solution.
4 points possible
***NOTE: There was a problem with the login system this week, which has prevented people from submitting solutions. That issue should be resolved now. I'm going to leave this puzzle up for an extra week. Sorry for the inconvenience!****
view solution |
Feb 22, 2009 | Synonym Ladder - From MOUNT to SHINE
For those who showed up early on Sunday AM and didn't find a new problem, my apologies. Here's your new problem; this one will stay up for two weeks, because many students and teachers (including me!) are on vacation next week.
Here's another synonym word ladder. I give you a list of words, and you have to come up with synonyms/related words such that only one letter changes from each word to the next in your sequence.
MOUNT
FIRE
LIES *
BANNERS
BEATS
RUNS
STRING
SHINE
* somewhat obscure word!
view solution |
Feb 8, 2009 | Fatigue, Scarf, Grasp, Snout
FATIGUE
SCARF
GRASP
SNOUT
I am made up of many components, none of which are listed above. However, the words above are synonyms of some of my components. What am I?
Don't forget to fully explain your solution.
5 points possible
view solution |
Feb 1, 2009 | Spoonerism - Cashiers in Chinese Restaurants
Reverend Spooner would often mix up letters in words when he was speaking. For example, he might say "fanned cruit" when he meant to say "canned fruit." If Reverend Spooner seems to be talking about the cashier at a Chinese restaurant, what did he intend to say?
view solution |
Jan 25, 2009 | Word Ladder from an animal to a household chore
This is slightly different from the Word Ladders we did last year. You aren't given a starting word or an ending word. Instead you are given definitions.
Start with an ANIMAL, and change one letter at a time to obtain: a DAILY ACTIVITY, a WEATHER CONDITION, a GOOD TASTE, and a HOUSEHOLD CHORE.
Important Note: Please submit solutions by noon on Saturday (EST); solutions posted later than Saturday noon might not get graded!
view solution |
Jan 18, 2009 | Synonymous Verbs
SHOVE
STOMP
BEAT
GORGE
None of these verbs describe things that are commonly done to me. Nevertheless, they are all synonyms of verbs which are commonly done to me. What am I?
Don't forget to fully explain your solution.
5 points possible
view solution |
Jan 11, 2009 | A Dance and a Game
I'm a dance and a game and a person not careless,
In addition to that I am just shy of hairless.
5 points possible
This riddle should look familiar; it is a poem riddle similar to the ones we did last fall. Starting next week I'm going to try out three different types of riddles, and we'll see how you do with those.
view solution |
Jan 4, 2009 |
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