CiSRA Puzzle Competition 2009 - Solutions

This is the archive of the 2009 Puzzle Competition. Please visit the current competition site for information about the latest Puzzle Competition.

B.4 White Elephant

Each sign of the zodiac appears as an anagram in the puzzle text, but each of the anagrams is off by one or two letters. (Ten have an additional letter, one has two additional letters, and one has a letter missing.)

scorpion	=	Scorpio	+	N
bailor	=	Libra	+	O
roving	=	Virgo	+	N
aquariums	=	Aquarius	+	M
guitarists	=	Sagittarius	-	A
role	=	Leo	+	R
Kaiser	=	Aries	+	K
reciprocant	=	Capricorn	+	E T
Imagine	=	Gemini	+	A
arbutus	=	Taurus	+	B
splices	=	Pisces	+	L
creance	=	Cancer	+	E

The letters spell out the answer, NONMARKETABLE. (Which, of course, describes a white elephant.)