This is arguably a word search, except we are first searching for clues to each word that have been hidden in the grid. The clues are hidden vertically or horizontal (no diagonals). They also appear a little off. A full clue is actually composed of two smaller clues that have been “sliced up” and woven back together. Rearranging the letters of the smaller clue answers in the same order as the full clue gives the answer for the full clue, minus one letter in the position of the numbered cell.
The first value in the numbered cell gives an ordering for the missing letters. Reading these letters in order gives the clue phrase MATCH COMMON WORDS AND ORDER BY GRID.
In total there are 30 full clues. In the grid there were also 30 words that were unused in any clue. Each may be semantically related to one of the interwoven words. Taking the second value in the numbered cells as an index into the related word, and reading in grid order gives the phrase RECEIVES BLOOD FROM PULMONARY VEIN. The answer to this clue phrase is LEFT ATRIUM.
The following shows where the clues are found. Colors mark clues found in vertical down (red), vertical up (orange), horizontal right (green), horizontal left (blue).
| atmosphere | sailors | presides | large | beatles | cold | northern | region | film | without | 6 (1) | or | trees | aid | decree | scientist | period | planted |
| 14 (5) | dislike | digit | team | rightmost | of | 22 (6) | basketball | pro | place | phoenix | graveyard | cakes | personified | secure | fish | minute | land |
| make | sudden | powerful | microbial | movement | decay | from | 2 (1) | sign | tide | deceit | tents | to | former | hearing | slippery | last | produced |
| smaller | reliable | island | group | jump | 26 (1) | societal | short | rich | and | powerful | perform | water | force | from | flower | historical | a |
| surrounding | small | juicy | natural | 30 (3) | part | metal | of | discussion | bearing | minerals | jokers | alternatives | of | fielders' | of | 19 (2) | 24 (1) |
| an | employed | conflicted | business | private | metal | travel | containers | modes | 7 (1) | with | contents | into | 10 (4) | organs | 4 (2) | hard | with |
| in | in | one | 8 (2) | strong | of | but | great | not | lakes | emphasized | defenestrates | pastry | pupil | in | a | distinct | chicken |
| individual | particle | fountain | speed | tests | 11 (3) | that | gods | norse | of | competition | greatest | 1 (5) | inspiration | actions | leaf | study | seed |
| thickness | 12 (3) | guacamole | manner | labored | prefix | sweet | 28 (10) | in | or | breathe | colon | line | of | 21 (6) | colored | not | egg |
| warrior | exchange | created | set | of | 20 (7) | finger | displayable | equivalents | typography | for | feet | throw | college | head | like | target | long |
| prefix | of | 13 (2) | it | would | appear | that | something | was | sliced | up | and | put | back | together | brightly | actually | supporting |
| ascendant | a | or | what | make | someone | one | does | overly | happy | in | 18 (2) | with | something | casinos | fragile | in | old |
| 16 (2) | substance | cow | sonnet | spiderman | zeros | buffoonery | and | 17 (2) | using | ones | work | computer | dramatic | comic | when | 27 (4) | |
| nautical | for | game | belonging | 25 (6) | loud | tantrums | to | speaking | that | are | in | group | public | surface | lightning | playing | metal |
| or | wages | computer | mother | innocent | sums | caused | of | to | money | 15 (7) | ignite | once | as | penalty | more | cola | female |
| fictional | legend | describes | conceal | sometimes | more | bundle | paper | is | 9 (4) | or | it | hay | poor | yeast | vacuum | 3 (1) | bar |
| dynamic | toothpaste | first | linguistics | four | can | wheeled | 23 (4) | describe | railroad | car | ear | undercarriage | or | tube | document | golf | relative |
| school | 5 (2) | friend | crossing | or | warning | sign | female | name | structure | 29 (1) | skilled | specially | roofed | wooden | some | simple | informally |
| Full clue | Clue 1 | Clue 2 | Word 1 | Word 2 | Full word | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| throw line 1(5) pastry into alternatives water to cakes | throw line into water | pastry alternatives to cakes | CAST | PIES | CAMPSITES | M |
| sudden powerful microbial movement decay from 2(1) sign tide | sudden powerful movement from tide | microbial decay sign | SURGE | ROT | SURROGATE | A |
| not target actually in when playing cola 3(1) golf | not actually in cola | target when playing golf | COCA | HOLE | CHOCOLATE | T |
| brightly like colored leaf a 4(2) of flower slippery fish | brightly colored leaf of flower | like a slippery fish | PETAL | OILY | POETICALLY | C |
| school 5(2) friend crossing or warning sign female name | school crossing warning sign | friend or female name | SLOW | ALLY | SHALLOWLY | H |
| large beatles cold northern region film without 6(1) or trees aid | large cold northern region without trees | beatles film or aid | TUNDRA | HELP | THUNDERCLAP | C |
| business private metal travel containers modes 7(1) with contents | business private travel modes | metal containers with contents | JETS | TINS | JETTISONS | O |
| one 8(2) strong of but great not lakes emphasized | one of great lakes | strong but not emphasized | ERIE | BOLD | EMBROILED | M |
| hay it or 9(4) is paper bundle more sometimes | hay or paper bundle | it is more sometimes | BALE | LESS | BLAMELESS | M |
| personified former force of 10(4) pupil inspiration of college | personified force of inspiration | former pupil of college | MUSE | ALUM | MAUSOLEUM | O |
| greatest competition of norse gods that 11(3) tests speed | greatest of norse gods | competition that tests speed | ODIN | RACE | ORDINANCE | N |
| small employed in particle 12(3) exchange of a substance for wages | small particle of a substance | employed in exchange for wages | SPECK | HIRED | SHIPWRECKED | W |
| first describes computer game cow or 13(2) created guacamole | first computer game created | describes cow or guacamole | PONG | HOLY | PHONOLOGY | O |
| atmosphere 14(5) make smaller surrounding an in individual thickness | atmosphere surrounding an individual | make smaller in thickness | AURA | THIN | ARTHURIAN | R |
| sums caused of to money 15(7) ignite once as penalty more | sums of money as penalty | caused to ignite once more | FINES | RELIT | FRIENDLIEST | D |
| dynamic fictional or nautical 16(2) ascendant prefix warrior | dynamic or nautical prefix | fictional ascendant warrior | AERO | VIN | AVERSION | S |
| comic dramatic computer work ones using 17(2) and buffoonery zeros | comic dramatic work using buffoonery | computer ones and zeros | FARCE | BITS | FABRICATES | A |
| what make someone one does overly happy in 18(2) with something casinos | what one does in casinos | make someone overly happy with something | DICES | ELATES | DELICATENESS | N |
| study distinct hard 19(2) historical last minute period | study hard last minute | distinct historical period | CRAM | AGE | CARDGAME | D |
| set of 20(7) finger displayable equivalents typography for feet | set of displayable typography | finger equivalents for feet | FONT | TOES | FOOTNOTES | O |
| secure hearing from fielders' organs in actions 21(6) head | secure from fielders' actions | hearing organs in head | SAFE | EARS | SEAFARERS | R |
| phoenix place pro basketball 22(6) of rightmost team digit | phoenix pro basketball team | place of rightmost digit | SUNS | ONES | SOUNDNESS | D |
| four can wheeled 23(4) describe railroad car ear undercarriage or tube | four wheeled railroad car undercarriage | can describe ear or tube | BOGIE | INNER | BIOENGINEER | E |
| planted land produced a 24(1) with chicken seed egg | planted land with seed | produced a chicken egg | SOWN | LAID | SOLARWIND | R |
| belonging 25(6) loud tantrums to speaking that are in group public | belonging to speaking group | loud tantrums that are in public | OURS | SCENES | OBSCURENESS | B |
| perform powerful and rich short societal 26(1) jump group | perform short jump | powerful and rich societal group | HOP | ELITE | HELIOTYPE | Y |
| long supporting old 27(4) metal female bar relative informally | long supporting metal bar | old female relative informally | BEAM | GRAN | BEGGARMAN | G |
| colon breathe or in 28(10) sweet prefix labored manner | colon or sweet prefix | breathe in labored manner | SEMI | PANT | SPEARMINT | R |
| simple some wooden roofed specially skilled 29(1) structure | simple wooden roofed structure | some specially skilled people | SHED | PROS | SPHEROID | I |
| juicy natural 30(3) part metal of discussion bearing minerals | juicy part of discussion | natural metal bearing minerals | MEAT | ORES | MODERATES | D |
| Full word | Related word in grid order | Index | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEAFARERS | SAILORS | 6 | R |
| MODERATES | PRESIDES | 3 | E |
| ORDINANCE | DECREE | 3 | C |
| BIOENGINEER | SCIENTIST | 4 | E |
| AVERSION | DISLIKE | 2 | I |
| MAUSOLEUM | GRAVEYARD | 4 | V |
| FABRICATES | DECEIT | 2 | E |
| CAMPSITES | TENTS | 5 | S |
| SOUNDNESS | RELIABLE | 6 | B |
| SHIPWRECKED | ISLAND | 3 | L |
| CARDGAME | JOKERS | 2 | O |
| EMBROILED | CONFLICTED | 2 | O |
| JETTISONS | DEFENESTRATES | 1 | D |
| CHOCOLATE | FOUNTAIN | 1 | F |
| DELICATENESS | FRAGILE | 2 | R |
| POETICALLY | SONNET | 2 | O |
| FRIENDLIEST | SPIDERMAN | 7 | M |
| HELIOTYPE | 1 | P | |
| SHALLOWLY | SURFACE | 2 | U |
| THUNDERCLAP | LIGHTNING | 1 | L |
| SURROGATE | MOTHER | 1 | M |
| BLAMELESS | INNOCENT | 4 | O |
| ARTHURIAN | LEGEND | 5 | N |
| OBSCURENESS | CONCEAL | 6 | A |
| BEGGARMAN | POOR | 4 | R |
| SPHEROID | YEAST | 1 | Y |
| SOLARWIND | VACUUM | 1 | V |
| SPEARMINT | TOOTHPASTE | 10 | E |
| PHONOLOGY | LINGUISTICS | 2 | I |
| FOOTNOTES | DOCUMENT | 7 | N |
The mechanic for this puzzle was a rejected idea from the Alloy of Words puzzle the Office round. After all, each word could be thought of as an “alloy” of two other words. But unable to work in the theming we wanted in the Alloy puzzle, the idea was tabled until it got resurrected for this puzzle.
Oddly enough considering the constraints, the first clue I ever came up with to demonstrate this idea was: “bathroom strong for a knot small child making material.”