Each answer can be split into two pieces, which can become a pair of synonyms with the addition of one letter.
A third synonym can be found in the title of a different puzzle, which gives a chain ordering.
Reading off the added letters in this order, and starting with You Took the Fifth gives SYNONYM TOAST.
| Puzzle | Answer | First half | Second half | Added letter | Third synonym |
|---|
| You Took the Fifth | STAND TALL | STAND | (S)TALL | S | booth |
| Projection Booth | BROADWAY | B(Y)ROAD | WAY | Y | path |
| Wooded Path | PINE LOG | PINE | LO(N)G | N | itch |
| The 4500 Year Itch | CAT FUR | C(O)AT | FUR | O | hide |
| Nowhere To Hide | MIDBRAIN | MI(N)D | BRAIN | N | head |
| Head For The Kitchen | EGG CRACKER | (Y)EGG | CRACKER | Y | thief |
| The Mlystery Hlunt, as Told By a Thief of the Bases | BOB LEMON | BO(M)B | LEMON | M | turkey |
| Diced Turkey Hash | ONE-STEP | (T)ONE | STEP | T | second (the musical interval) |
| On Second Thought | STARTUP FUNDING | STARTUP | F(O)UNDING | O | opening |
| Opening Bids | CONTRACT BRIDGE | CONTRACT | (A)BRIDGE | A | trim |
| Trim Designs | BOOT JACK | BOO(S)T | JACK | S | hike |
| Nature Hike | POACHED SOLE | POACHED | S(T)OLE | T | took |
Author's Note
This meta idea has been kicking around my puzzle ideas file for a few years. It was inspired by me noticing that the word STARGAZE could take an E to become STARE + GAZE. It turns out that there were a handful of reasonably good options for adding an E, but it was tough to come up with some of the feeder answers giving other letters. Then STARGAZE itself didn't make the cut when we settled on the E-less SYNONYM TOAST as the Plot Device component (I originally put the meta through testsolving with the answer phrase A BED OF ROGET'S). The idea of hiding a third synonym in the title to provide a chain ordering came about after one or two rounds of testsolving suggested that stronger teams might short-circuit this meta a little more than we were comfortable with, since the meta mechanism is about as "pure" as a pure meta can get, requiring not only no shell, but no specialized knowledge either. In a handful of cases, the ordering mechanism led to puzzles in Reference Point having titles that didn't have a very strong "click" with their content or solution, for which I apologize to the constructors of those puzzles. In at least one case, though, the extra constraint on the title for CONTRACT BRIDGE suggested a framework for how the bridge puzzle should workâso at least I did myself a favor!
