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.

D.3 Cranial Cryptics

Solving this puzzle relies on noticing that each clue mentions a group of people who wear a distinctive type of headwear. Each clue also alludes to another item, with similar spelling. The letter or letters that need to be removed from the headwear to form the second word are important.

Swedish muppet's foot digit. A Swedish muppet is chef, who wears a toque. A foot digit is a toe. The difference between these words is QU.

A princess' Irish hilltop home. A princess wears a tiara. The Irish royal family lived in a hilltop fort at Tara. The difference is I.

Deadly sin of the ancient Olympians. The ancient Olympians were awarded a wreath for winning an event in the games. One of the seven deadly sins is wrath. The difference is E.

Sikhs and the city. A Sikh can be recognised by his turban. The city is urban, giving T.

Monarch of the clock daemons. A monarch wears a crown. A clock daemon (computer program that watches the clock) is cron. This gives W.

Shakespearean academic on her graduation day admires a (drystone) wall. An academic wears a mortarboard hat when graduating. The term "drystone" refers to a wall that is built without mortar; this clue tells us to drop these letters and arrive at board. Shakespeare is known as the Bard. This gives O.

A female deer? Whip It! (lethargically). The 1980s pop band Devo are known for their song Whip It!, and wear distinctive "energy dome" hats. The "lethargically" clue tells us to consider the hat name without "energy", arriving at dome. A female dear is a doe. This gives M.

Frank Spencer and Ernie's friend. In the TV series Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em, the character Frank Spencer appears in a beret. In the TV series Sesame Street, Ernie's friend is Bert. This gives E.

Michael Jackson vs the (decapitated) tennis player. A tennis player's typical item of headwear is a headband. The "decapitated" clue tells us to remove the "head", leaving us with band. Michael Jackson's famous 1987 album is Bad. This gives N.

Together, the generated letters spell QUIET WOMEN. A well known group of quiet women with distinctive headwear are nuns; the headwear of a nun is known as a WIMPLE. Since the puzzle is all about headwear, this is the answer.