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This is an entry into the Fortnightly Topic Challenge #36


Here is a partially filled in Sudoku-like board involving the five vowels:

enter image description here

As with real Sudoku, no vowels in any 9-square box or along any 9-square line can be repeated. Now, since there's 5 vowels instead of 9 digits, there are just a few blank spaces, so here's the challenge:

  1. Fill in yellow squares with vowels to maintain the Sudoku-ness of the board
  2. Using every consonant except 'Q' once, fill in the grey squares such that every 3 letter span within each red box is a valid word. 20 consonants, 20 words ('Y' is a consonant here).

Words are valid if they have an definition on https://www.merriam-webster.com or http://www.dictionary.com/, are not capitalized, and are not abbreviations. Rare words are fine and perhaps necessary.

There is at least one solution.

The first solution of any kind gets the win and the check. Good Luck!

EDIT: The 'R' may be moved if desired and at your own peril.

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    $\begingroup$ since you have already added "R", I presume that can't be used anymore? $\endgroup$
    – Sid
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 18:30
  • $\begingroup$ I put the R there to help explain the rules, and also to give a jumping off point as this is where the R is in my solution. If you want to move it to a different grey square I'll still accept the answer all other things equal $\endgroup$
    – TwoBitOperation
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 18:54
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    $\begingroup$ Just to be explicit: longer spaces don't need to be words? E.g., U--- at bottom right doesn't need to be a word, but the --- it contains does? $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 19:14
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    $\begingroup$ The center square is an O. Does that suggest that we should fill the centers of each corner square with vowels (which also need to obey sudoku rules)? $\endgroup$
    – user27014
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 19:59
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    $\begingroup$ @Mnemonic i'd say no since there would need to be 7 voyels in thoses lines then and we won't be able to obey sudoku rules $\endgroup$
    – Joey Dionne
    Commented Jun 29, 2018 at 20:03

1 Answer 1

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This seems to work:

enter image description here

Keen-eyed readers may notice remnants here and there of my workings-out. Sorry. I've mostly tidied it up.

OP's solution, for comparison's sake:

enter image description here

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  • $\begingroup$ Nice! Vum, yez, and hok are awesome words that I'd never seen. Will share my solution when I have access to the computer it is on tomorrow. $\endgroup$
    – TwoBitOperation
    Commented Jul 1, 2018 at 14:04
  • $\begingroup$ I just tacked my solution onto yours if that's alright. Again, great work! $\endgroup$
    – TwoBitOperation
    Commented Jul 2, 2018 at 12:53
  • $\begingroup$ Yup, definitely all right. I like your solution better than mine -- it uses much more ordinary words. $\endgroup$
    – Gareth McCaughan ♦
    Commented Jul 2, 2018 at 13:31

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