BrainBashers - Hard Puzzles

Puzzle 1

The Miller's Puzzle - 'The Canterbury Puzzles And Other Curious Problems' by Henry Ernest Dudeney (1907).

The Miller next took the company aside and showed them nine sacks of flour that were standing as depicted in the sketch.

"Now, hearken, all and some," said he, "while that I do set ye the riddle of the nine sacks of flour.

And mark ye, my lords, that there be single sacks on the outside, pairs next unto them, and three together in the middle thereof.

By Saint Benedict, it doth so happen that if we do but multiply the pair, 28, by the single one, 7, the answer is 196, which is of a truth the number shown by the sacks in the middle.

Yet it be not true that the other pair, 34, when so multiplied by its neighbour, 5, will also make 196.

Wherefore I do beg you, gentle sirs, so to place anew the nine sacks with as little trouble as possible that each pair when thus multiplied by its single neighbour shall make the number in the middle."

As the Miller has stipulated in effect that as few bags as possible shall be moved, there is only one answer to this puzzle, which everybody should be able to solve.

workings hint answer print

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Puzzle 2

Below are thirteen 5 lettered, everyday words, each of which has had two of its letters removed.

In total these 26 letters are A-Z. The remaining letters in each word are in the correct order.

There are no words that are spelled differently based on location (favour / favor, etc) and there are no plurals.

Can you determine the original words?

APE
BAE
BOD
ANC
ROE
ELL
RAY
BUC
ORA
UMB
SUA
LOL
GES

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Puzzle 3

Hidden in the grid below are 6 hidden animals, once you have crossed off the hidden animals, you should be left with seven letters, which spell another animal.

The letters are hidden in sequence using the move of a chess knight.

For example, if the first letter of one of the animals was the top-right F, then the second letter could only be either F or A.

workings hint answer print

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Puzzle 4

Below you can find 8 words that have had their beginnings and endings removed. In each case, the same two letters can be found at the beginning and the end. For example REspiRE.