10
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A big crossword development exists, for Gerbil has indeed journeyed knowingly long, may now openly present, quickly, really strange tales under very weird xeric young zips...

enter image description here

$1$ is simply the indefinite article
While $2$ is existing, such as any particle
$3$ can be worn, it’s a type of hat
$4$ is an entrance, such as that to a flat
Now $5$ is next, it is to go in
$6$ means weak, such as being hit on the shin
$7$ is moan and 7 is whine
$8$ is funny, 8 is good times
$9$ isn’t real, its all a dupe
$10$ is a writer who looks for scoops
Unit of pressure to $11$ is tied
$12$’s running lengthwise, from side to side
$13$ of many cells is made
Under 100 nm is $14$, a tech upgrade
$15$ is emotional, but over the top
$16$ are fossil scientists, the ground is their shop
$17$ is 10 to the power of one-five-three
$18$ is a measure of reflectiveness on a sample, and to what degree
$19$ is great concentration on a particular skill
$20$’s relating to rock formations after a tectonic thrill
And lastly $21$ is belonging to 10 to the power of one-five-six
You’re not finished yet, up my sleeve are some tricks

Spot the patterns in the crossword you see
And tell me, what would the answer to $22$ be?

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3
  • $\begingroup$ So... was the border irrelevant? $\endgroup$
    – Deusovi ♦
    Mar 30, 2018 at 22:55
  • $\begingroup$ The answer to 25 would be "yesterday-today-and-tomorrow," (the name of Brunfelsia pauciflora), although its dashes would make it tricky to fit into a crossword. $\endgroup$
    – user
    Mar 30, 2018 at 23:11
  • $\begingroup$ @Deusovi well, it didn’t add anything to the puzzle no. It was more just decoration $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 31, 2018 at 10:17

5 Answers 5

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8
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The pattern is:

The word's number equals the length of the word along with the position of the first letter according to the English alphabet

Completed crossword (credit to buildstarted, Sid, and pfg for several of these answer):

Completed crossword puzzle

And tell me, what would the answer to 22 be?

vaginoperineorrhaphies, as it is the only 22 letter word beginning with V (again thanks to pfg!) [OPs Note: Impressively, some others were found but in research this was he only one which seemed to be valid, and was the only one I found when I made this puzzle]

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8
  • $\begingroup$ 6 and 9 wrong... rest correct $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:28
  • $\begingroup$ Btw, it will probably be easy to solve the other clues by filling in some of the crossword $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:29
  • $\begingroup$ Buildstarted's answer has quite a few correct answers you could add. Good progress! $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:39
  • $\begingroup$ All right in latest update $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:54
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I wanted to add another layer of encryption for a definite final answer, but it’s hard to include too many other patterns when you are dealing with 20+ letter words having to start with letters such as u and v :) $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 21:23
4
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First:

The gimmick is that Clue no.1 starts with "a', clue no.2 with "b" and so on. Next, the clue number suggests their respective enumeration. The initial lines of the puzzle which appear gibberish but I think those have all the letters of the alphabets which point to these ideas. Now,

Here's what I have done so far:

enter image description here

Remaining Clues:

5 is most probably "ENTER" which is a bit odd since that's what the clue says.
13 is probably microglobular or something biology-related but I can't seem to figure it out right now.
I am completely stuck on 15, 20 and 21 though.

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3
  • $\begingroup$ 17, 14, 9 are wrong, otherwise you have most of the puzzle. (5 is right, I'll recheck the wording. Probably wrong cos I tried to make it rhyme) $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:43
  • $\begingroup$ Got 9. Hilariously 17 has just the right cross-letter for 19 to be correct in spite of being wrong. :P $\endgroup$
    – Sid
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:51
  • $\begingroup$ pretty unbelievable :P $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:53
4
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1

a

2

be

3

cap

4

door

5

enter

6

flimsy

7

grumble

8

humorous

9

imitation

10

journalist

11

kilocalorie? not pressure

12

longitudinal

13

multicellular

14

nanotechnology

15

orthopsychiatry

16

paleoclimatology

17

quinquagintillion

18

retroreflectometer

19

superspecialization

20

tectonostratigrapher/tectonostratigraphic

21

unquinquagintillionth

22

vaginoperineorrhaphies

I hope this is right

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1
  • $\begingroup$ 6, 9, 11, 15, 16, 18 are wrong. Second guess for 20 is correct $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:52
3
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My original guess which I thought fit the pattern and the rhyme

vigintioctingentillion Spot the patterns in the crossword you see And tell me what would the answer to 22 be it will be 10 to the power of 2-4-6-3

Actual answer by @pfg:

vaginoperineorrhaphies

1

1

2

be

3

cap

4

door

5

enter

6

feeble?

7

grumble

8

humorous

9

imaginary

10

journalist

11

kilopascals

12

longitudinal

13

multicellular

14

nanotechnology

15

oversentimental

16

palaeontologists

17

quinquagintillion

18

representativeness

19

superspecialization

20

tectonostratigraphic

21

unquinquagintillion

22

vaginoperineorrhaphies

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3
  • $\begingroup$ Ony 13 wrong out of answered clues $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:28
  • $\begingroup$ 17 right, 21 two letters off (my mistake, edited question now) $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:39
  • $\begingroup$ @BeastlyGerbil 10^2463 vigintioctingentillion is not a valid word? :) $\endgroup$
    – user47403
    Mar 30, 2018 at 19:56
1
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1 is

'a'

12 is

Longitudinal

19 is

Superspecialization

21 is

unquinquagintillionth

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3
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Nope. Once you spot the pattern by solving the easier ones, then the slightly more ambiguous ones will become obvious $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 17:21
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ Number 1 is simple. Look up 'indefinite article' $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:03
  • $\begingroup$ 19 right, 13 wrong $\endgroup$
    – Beastly Gerbil
    Mar 30, 2018 at 18:38

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