ENIGMA

A word or phrase is clued indirectly through wordplay.

ENIGMA (*6 5)

In the city I run, up north quite a ways, If you take the gold, you’ll get thirty days. You can call me Your Honor, but I’ll warn you, son -- If you take my gold, you’ll get thirty-one.

=Atlantic

The solution: Juneau mayor. (If you take the AU from Juneau -- Au being the chemical symbol for gold -- you’ll get June. If you take or -- the heraldic term for gold -- from mayor, you’ll get May.)

Like most flat bases, enigma answers should be dictionary entries. “Juneau mayor” is not an entry: now and then a puzzle that breaks a rule is so clever, with a verse so lively and well clued, that the editor finds it irresistible. But not often.

There is no hard and fast distinction between an enigma and a riddle. Generally, a riddle describes a thing and an enigma a word; riddles have deceptive descriptions, enigmas some form of wordplay. An occasional flat can fairly be classified as either.

 RIDDLE

Something is described enigmatically in verse. Riddles are not enumerated -- any synonym of the solution is acceptable as long as it satisfies the clues. A riddle describing a matchstick, for example, can also be answered with “a match.”

RIDDLE

He fixes crowns of kings, I’m told, When they are showing wear. He patches them with shiny gold; He’s expert at repair. You needn’t be a monarch, though -- He’ll also fix your cap. But though at work he’s quite a pro, He’s still a boring chap.

=Manx

The solution: a dentist.

There is no hard and fast distinction between a riddle and an enigma. Generally, a riddle describes a thing and an enigma a word; riddles have deceptive descriptions, enigmas some form of wordplay. An occasional flat can fairly be classified as either.

This page was last updated on Thursday, June 18, 2015. /webmaster