6
$\begingroup$

Quite simple. Find the odd one out, follow the instruction to give you a letter and then give me the code word.


Two pieces of advice first:

1) They gradually get harder (in my opinion)

2) Don't forget to check the tags!


i) Beijing ; Moscow ; Italy ; Vienna ; Sicily ; Shanghai (added to clarify)

(First letter - use this letter twice)

ii) O ; Q ; M ; S ; U ; C (added to clarify)

Hint:

This one is visual, not phonetic.

(use the odd one out)

iii) Flock ; Squabble ; Band ; Parliament ; Clowder (First letter)

iv) Monopoly ; Battleships ; Articulate ; Trivial Pursuit ; Scrabble

(Use the last letter)

v) Giraffe ; Horse ; Sheep ; Cow ; Bison

(First letter)

vi) H ; U ; C ; I ; O ; S ; Y ; W ; V ; K ; N ; B ; P (You need the letter that is missing)

vii) 4 ; 6 ; 17 ; 32 ; 50 ; 100 ; 101 ; 245

(Sum of digits minus one gives position in the alphabet e.g. 2 = A)

$\endgroup$
7
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I would recommend you remove the answers from the question itself, as it would make the puzzle useless to future viewers once it is completely solved. Once all clues are deciphered, the one who got most of the parts right can compile one complete answer that you can accept. $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:16
  • $\begingroup$ Sum of digits: 100= 1+0+0= 1. Subtracting 1 gives 0. Is it correct? $\endgroup$
    – user14352
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:42
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @jaydm26 There's a free clue. Can't be 100 since 0 doesn't correspond to any position in the alphabet. $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:44
  • $\begingroup$ @Inazuma hahaha $\endgroup$
    – user14352
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:45
  • $\begingroup$ For vii) does the letter case make a difference? $\endgroup$
    – user14352
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:56

6 Answers 6

9
$\begingroup$
  1. Italy. It is the only country.

  2. M. Only letter without a curve.

  3. Clowder. Only collective noun which is not used for a bird.

  4. Battleships. Only one that is not a board game.

  5. Horse. All other have very common hoof patterns (thanks M Oehm)

  6. F. Only single letter element not present.

  7. E. Don't know why. Reason below.

The anagram is

I I M C S H F E

Resulting in

MISCHIEF

I solved the anagram for 7

So the code word could be

Mischief Managed (from Harry Potter)

$\endgroup$
15
  • $\begingroup$ Correct. Any clues on the title? $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 14:01
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ It's Harry Potter $\endgroup$
    – user14352
    Jun 3, 2016 at 14:02
  • $\begingroup$ What is the actual reason for E in vii)? $\endgroup$
    – user14352
    Jun 3, 2016 at 14:05
  • 8
    $\begingroup$ Battleship is a boardgame... $\endgroup$
    – Klyzx
    Jun 3, 2016 at 14:25
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @CaelanO'Toole thank you for pointing it out. I just had a look at the Wikipedia image and made the deduction. I think inazuma must have meant in the first form only, which was a pad and pencil game as you said. $\endgroup$
    – user14352
    Jun 3, 2016 at 14:28
4
$\begingroup$

Partial answer:

v)

These animals, with the exception of horses, have cloven hooves. (First letter: H)

$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Correct answer, correct reasoning. $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:34
4
$\begingroup$

Partial answer:

ii)

O is the odd one out as it is the only letter which when written on paper, starts and ends at the same point.

iv)

Battleships is the only game in the list which is played by 2 players at a time. The others can be played by at least 4 players simultaneously. Last letter is S.

$\endgroup$
3
  • $\begingroup$ My reasoning was slightly different, but this partial answer is correct. $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:11
  • $\begingroup$ @Inazuma: I've taken a crack at ii) $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:35
  • $\begingroup$ Unfortunately O isn't the answer, I could have included D, just as easily. $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:47
4
$\begingroup$

partial answer

i)

Beijing, Moscow, Vienna and Shanghai are cities
Of course, there are cities called Italy and Sicily as well, but that's not the first thing that pop ups my mind when I think of locations with that name (rather a country and an island, respectively)

ii)

i'm not sure, but it might be something like

the letter pronounced is a proper english word. oh, queue, am, as, you, see?

or, taking the hint about being a visual riddle

it might be Q, as that one does not have any vertical axial, horizontal axial and rotational symmetry

vi)

F

because

it is the only chemical element with a single letter symbol missing from the list

$\endgroup$
7
  • $\begingroup$ Thought this one would be harder, lol. I underestimate you all. Yes F is correct. $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:02
  • $\begingroup$ Your reasoning for i) is correct, but would you be able to clarify which item you are choosing (since even if your reasoning is different to mine if you've found it to be an odd one out I can't exactly mark you wrong). $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:20
  • $\begingroup$ well, if I really have to choose, I'd go for Italy being the odd one out, as the city Sicily is better known than the city Italy, but then this reasoning isn't really rigorous any more $\endgroup$
    – elias
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:29
  • $\begingroup$ Italy is the correct answer . I considered the Sicily referred to here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicily as a city, but now I see I may have just been ignorant :/ $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:33
  • $\begingroup$ Definitely not a city. $\endgroup$
    – fqq
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:39
4
$\begingroup$

Partial answer:

i)

Beijing is the odd one out. All the others are in Europe, Beijing is in China.

ii) EDIT: New answer

M is the odd one out. It is the only one of the letters that has corners, the others all just have curves.

iii)

Squabble is the odd one out. The others all refer to groups of animals: a flock of sheep, a band of gorillas, a parliament of owls, a clowder of cats.

vi)

These are all the periodic table elements with one-letter symbols. F, for fluorine, is missing.

$\endgroup$
5
  • $\begingroup$ i), ii) are logically correct, but not what I was thinking of. vi) is correct. For iii), squabble also refers to a group of animals (think seagulls). $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:05
  • $\begingroup$ @Inazuma I looked the names up because my first instinct was that parliament wasn't one, but you learn something new everyday. $\endgroup$ Jun 3, 2016 at 13:07
  • $\begingroup$ I have refined i) and ii) - hopefully that clarifies things a bit. $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:10
  • $\begingroup$ Beat me to it on ii) ;) $\endgroup$
    – user14352
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:51
  • $\begingroup$ Yes!! M is correct :) $\endgroup$
    – Inazuma
    Jun 3, 2016 at 13:53
1
$\begingroup$

I know @Inazuma already explained his reasoning behind the answer for (vii), but another reason that

6 (E) is the odd one can be attributed to the fact that it is the only number divisible by 3 in the list. Well, at least that was my initial thought until I discovered his comments below :)

$\endgroup$

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.