The Cubs Scout
by Ian Tullis
Answer: I BET
How to Solve
The flavor text suggests Cub Scouts and baseball. The four colored squares correspond to
these old Cub Scout badges:
The ????*? text highlights letters from bobcAt, woLf, beaR, tigEr. These (A, L, R, E) are standard baseball statistics that are commonly abbreviated by a single letter (ASSISTS, LOSSES, RUNS, ERRORS). Choose "feeder" answers that are the appropriate statistic plus a letter. Realizing that the four diamonds correspond to the four bases on a field, you can order the answers:
Critter | "Feeder" |
---|---|
beaR | RUINS |
bobcAt | BASSISTS |
woLf | LOESSES |
tigEr | ??? |
We know that the Tiger word is ERRORS with a letter inserted; TERRORS is the only word that fits.
Reading the added letters in base order yields I BET, something which would certainly get him in hot water.