The Devil's in the Details
by Austin Lei, Brian Shimanuki, Bryan Lee, Ivan Wang, and Olga Vinogradova
Answer: UNDERWOOD
This puzzle consists of a set of printer’s devilry clues as clued by the title. By solving the clues, we find a number of strange-looking words. Some googling will reveal that all of these are a single letter off from a real demon name, specifically the demons in the Ars Goetia.
| Clue | Solved Clue | Missing String | Demon | Missing Letter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A chime ate maybe a buck or lion. | A chimera mate may be a buck or lion. | RAM | RAUM | U |
| Asa Cheerleader is my favorite team. | As a cheerleader, I spur on my favorite team. | PURON | PURSON | S |
| Created by a competitor of NK, nightfall's victim Tom: agog and gog. | Created by a competitor of DC, Arabian Knight falls victim to Magog and Gog. | DCARABIA | DECARABIA | E |
| Theo tin the wood win D-section play sing. | The oboist in the woodwind section plays in G. | BOIS | BOTIS | T |
| The "V" on my keyboard is attached to a bomb, so that makes it a letter. | The "V" on my keyboard is attached to a bomb, so that makes it a lethal paster. | HALPAS | HALPHAS | H |
| The soldier, ser, sat a chute failed to deploy. | The soldier’s ersatz parachute failed to deploy. | ZPAR | ZEPAR | E |
| The table top (L, à la L) and fan-like stop ain't Mödling's. | The tabletop La La Land fan likes to paint model Goslings. | ELGOS | ELIGOS | I |
| The laborers formed a uni-run ethical work. | The laborers formed a union over unethical work. | ONOVE | RONOVE | R |
| The magic Ian with just ice make sand. | The Magician with Justice makes a tarot hand. | ATAROTH | ASTAROTH | S |
| Beware off lung's tool when you strike yo fan edible fruit. | Beware of flung stool when you strip a monkey of an edible fruit. | PAMON | PAIMON | I |
| The Silver Line has ably take when Uber prices are high. | The Silver Line has a bus I only take when Uber prices are high. | USION | GUSION | G |
| I really like jewelry, so I bring my peng with me wherever I go. | I really like jewelry, so I bring my pendant along with me wherever I go. | DANTALON | DANTALION | I |
| My room, as I lyre, moves dust. | My roomba easily removes dust. | BAE | BAEL | L |
| Unlike Tibet heads, Undar has black hair. | Unlike Tim, Alphabet head Sundar has black hair. | MALPHA | MALPHAS | S |
The missing letters in order spell out USE THEIR SIGILS, a clue to look at the Ars Goetia sigils. At this point we can use the remaining alpha-sorted descriptions in the second half of the puzzle. Each description clues a letter hidden within a sigil. By matching the descriptions to the sigils, we find the final cluephrase:
| Demon | Sigil | Description | Extract |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAUM |  | Container surrounding the accordion | D |
| PURSON |  | Bottom half of the equipped tool's edge | E |
| DECARABIA |  | Partition surrounding the right-facing celestial body | V |
| BOTIS |  | Object knocked over below table with lamps | I |
| HALPHAS |  | The corner attachment extending from the circuit | L |
| ZEPAR |  | Right of the third downward funnel | E |
| ELIGOS |  | Tip of the snake-piercing weapon | D |
| RONOVE |  | Connections between inner valves of instrument | H |
| ASTAROTH |  | Upper half wedged between pillars supporting rings | A |
| PAIMON |  | Torsos of the central figures | M |
| GUSION |  | Leftmost dangler attached to chandelier | L |
| DANTALION |  | One of four hoverers around a cross | O |
| BAEL |  | Under the top, the animal's horn on the left | G |
| MALPHAS |  | Junction of slanted beams in an isolated environment | O |
Googling the DEVILED HAM LOGO brings up the logo of the William Underwood Company, which contains the answer UNDERWOOD.