November 2008 Puzzle Solution
The set of pictures works like a cryptogram, where every picture always stands for a certain letter. Using the single-letter words and words with apostrophes as a guide, and with a little trial and error, you can get the following message:

I'M A FAIRLY USELESS MESSAGE AS YOU'LL SEE ONCE THE CLUE'S FINAL LAYERS KICK IN

Below the message are five sets of three pictures. When you combine the common name of each picture with the letter it represents in the cryptogram, you can sound out a new word or phrase, as follows:

  • Set 1: G + ring = jeering, A + tea = eighty, F + fort = effort
  • Set 2: E + terbium = ytterbium, L + bow = elbow, Y + clef = Wyclef
  • Set 3: C + horse = seahorse, M + bed = embed, I + shadow = eyeshadow
  • Set 4: K + bull = cable, N + lightning = enlightening, O + Claire = Eau Claire
  • Set 5: R + cane = arcane, U + tube = YouTube, S + crow = escrow
In turn, take the first letters of each of the three words in a set. Sounding that out gives you a letter as follows:
  • JEE = G
  • YEW = U
  • SEE = C
  • CEE = C
  • AYE = I
Your answer is GUCCI.

Back to puzzle    Back to archives