Which word answers this riddle of numbers?
That word has four possible representations along the course of this puzzle.
123456 – as the word would appear in the puzzle text,
double coded
1991316125 – as the word could appear, if single coded
ABCDEF – as it would show up while solving,
after the first decryption
SIMPLE – as it answers the question, doubly decrypted
This is understood via
a short deciphered story,
a middling solution story,
and a long worksheet.
(Double-coded words are in bold capital letters,
always composed from the same six letters.)
During my five MILE walk I brought along some food with me:
A PIE and a LIME.
These did not last long for I soon ate them while I was resting in
the shade of an ELM at the two MILE mark.
As I reached the four MILE mark I was worn out.
There was some SLIME in the middle of the road,
which I managed to SLIP on
and break my leg.
When I reached the MILE mark there was a SMILE on my LIPS.
I knew that I would make it! I began the slow LIMP to...
...the end.
Yum. Ow! And hurray!
But is this a true story?
Do you need a ride to the clinic?!
(Or was this your journey there?
Sometimes a little slime is exactly what’s needed
just to get some medical attention.)
Taking this at face value as a puzzle,
the first step — after
noticing that lone 1s and 9s look suspiciously
like our two favorite 1- letter words — was
to put gaps after numerals
that could not be the tens’ digits of letters:
0,3,4,5,6,7,8,9.
Then let’s hear it for programmable text editors!
An ad hoc keystroke macro took the nearest digit or pair
and replaced it with its corresponding letter.
Ambiguous number combinations became, in effect,
a video game
of taking multiple pot-shots at digits /pairs
while re-aiming amounted to editing how digits are/aren’t paired.
That left 12 cryptic words with recurring letters,
apparently A,B,C,D,E,F
after guessing that
C B E F is M I L E.
The final 6-letter substitution became a simple key.
What a fun way to embroider a small group of letters
into many different words within a narrative!
This puzzle is clued excellently,
from straightforward initial clues
to enjoyable fill-in-a-word clues,
to double-decode-in-context clues — all
maintaining a balance between mystery and progress.
Composite worksheet from edit history:
Initially Letters from First pass Double-coded
apparent spacing after of ambiguity words as
"words" 0,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 guessing A,B,C,D,E,F Final
421189147 D 2118 I 14 G D U R I N G d u r i n g
1325 13 25 M Y m y
69225 F I 225 F I V E f i v e
3256 C 25 F * C Y F * C B E F M I L E
2311211 23 11211 W A L K w a l k
9 I I i
21815217820 218 15 217 H 20 B R O U G H T b r o u g h t
11215147 11215 14 G A L O N G a l o n g
1915135 19 15 13 E S O M E s o m e
615154 F 15 15 D F O O D f o o d
239208 23 I 20 H W I T H w i t h
135 13 E M E m e :
1 A A a
426 D 26 * D B F * D B F P I E
1144 114 D A N D a n d
1 A A a
5236 E 23 F * E W F * E B C F L I M E.
2085195 20 H E 19 E T H E S E t h e s e
494 D I D D I D d i d
141520 14 15 20 N O T n o t
1211920 12119 20 L A S T l a s t
1215147 1215 14 G L O N G l o n g
61518 F 15 18 F O R f o r
9 I I i
19151514 19 15 15 14 S O O N s o o n
1205 120 E A T E a t e
208513 20 H E 13 T H E M t h e m
2389125 23 H I 125 W H I L E w h i l e
9 I I i
23119 23 119 W A S w a s
18519209147 18 E 19 20 I 14 G R E S T I N G r e s t i n g
914 I 14 I N i n
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
198145 19 H 14 E S H A D E s h a d e
156 15 F O F o f
114 114 A N a n
653 F E C * F E C * F E C E L M
120 120 A T a t
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
202315 20 23 15 T W O t w o
3256 C 25 F * C Y F * C B E F M I L E
1311811 13 118 11 M A R K m a r k .
119 119 A S a s
9 I I i
18513854 18 E 13 H E D R E A C H E D r e a c h e d
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
6152118 F 15 2118 F O U R f o u r
3256 C 25 F * C Y F * C B E F M I L E
1311811 13 118 11 M A R K m a r k
9 I I i
23119 23 119 W A S w a s
23151814 23 15 18 14 W O R N w o r n
152120 15 2120 O U T o u t .
2085185 20 H E 18 E T H E R E t h e r e
23119 23 119 W A S w a s
1915135 19 15 13 E S O M E s o m e
15236 15 23 F * O W F * A E B C F S L I M E
914 I 14 I N i n
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
13944125 13 I D 4 125 M I D D L E m i d d l e
156 15 F O F o f
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
181514 18 15 14 R O A D r o a d ,
238938 23 H I C H W H I C H w h i c h
9 I I i
131141754 13 114 17 E D M A N A G E D m a n a g e d
2015 20 15 T O t o
1526<--1524? 15 26 * O B F * A E B F<--D S L I E<--P
1514 15 14 O N o n
1144 114 D A N D a n d
2185111 218 E 111 B R E A K b r e a k
1325 13 25 M Y m y
1257 125 G L E G l e g .
238514 23 H E 14 W H E N w h e n
9 I I i
18513854 18 E 13 H E D R E A C H E D r e a c h e d
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
3256 C 25 F * C Y F * C B E F M I L E
1311811 13 118 11 M A R K m a r k
2085185 20 H E 18 E T H E R E t h e r e
23119 23 119 W A S w a s
1 A A a
13256 13 25 F * M Y F * A C B E F S M I L E
1514 15 14 O N o n
1325 13 25 M Y m y
5241 E 24 A * E X A * E B D A . L I P S .
9 I I i
1114523 1114 E 23 K N E W k n e w
208120 20 H 120 T H A T t h a t
9 I I i
231521124 23 15 21124 W O U L D w o u l d
131115 13 1115 M A K E m a k e
920 I 20 I T i t .
9 I I i
257114 25 G 114 B E G A N b e g a n
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
19121523 19 1215 23 S L O W s l o w
5234 E 23 D * E B C D * E B C D L I M P
2015 20 15 T O t o
2085 20 H E T H E t h e
5144 E 14 D E N D e n d
The 6-letter keyword, which answers the title question
and decodes the last-pass double-coded words,
turned out to be conveniently...
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
V
A B C D E F |
|
V
... S I M P L E !
