In this puzzle, we are presented with a series of crossword clues “compressed” together. This suggests that the first step is to split up the clues, undoing the compression, and solve them.
Helpfully, the answers (typically multi-word phrases) are given in alphabetical order, including spaces. In addition, the number of words in each answer is often the same as the denominators of the fractions. For example, “A picture is worth a thousand words” has length 7, and “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” has length 3. There are a few exceptions (namely “Milliliter” is not actually 2 words long) but we ignore that for now.
| Clue | Answer | Number |
|---|---|---|
| ADAGE FOR DENSITY OF A DRAWING | A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS | 2/7 |
| MARVEL SHOW | AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. | 1/3 |
| CRUX OF AN ARGUMENT | APPLE OF DISCORD | 3/4 |
| VERY NEAR | AROUND THE CORNER | 1/3 |
| PLACE FOR PAINTINGS | ART GALLERY | 1/2 |
| ARGUING OR FIGHTING | AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS | 2/4 |
| EARTHBENDING CITY | BA SING SE | 2/3 |
| NOSTALGIC REMINDER | BLAST FROM THE PAST | 2/4 |
| FANTASY SHOW NAMED FOR BOOK | GAME OF THRONES | 2/3 |
| OBVIOUS | GOES WITHOUT SAYING | 2/3 |
| FAIRY TALE ENDING | HAPPILY EVER AFTER | 3/3 |
| PERFORM COMPLEX PROCEDURE | JUMP THROUGH HOOPS | 1/3 |
| BURGER OR ICE CREAM | JUNK FOOD | 1/2 |
| FRENCH SAINT MONIKER | MAID OF ORLEANS | 1/3 |
| VOLUME UNIT | MILLILITER | 2/2 |
| SEMI-SPHERICAL KITCHEN TOOL | MIXING BOWL | 1/2 |
| HANGOVER | MORNING AFTER | 2/2 |
| UNSURE | ON THE FENCE | 1/3 |
| VERY RARELY | ONCE IN A BLUE MOON | 4/5 |
| UNFORTUNATE | OUT OF LUCK | 1/3 |
| MONEY REQUIRED | PAY TO PLAY | 3/3 |
| AMERICAN BARBECUE MEAT | PULLED PORK | 2/2 |
| BETTER TO EXACT VENGEANCE LATER | REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD | 6/7 |
| DESIRABLE ABS | SIX PACK | 2/2 |
| SHELLED BITING REPTILE | SNAPPING TURTLE | 1/2 |
| PERFECT PARTNERS | SOUL MATES | 2/2 |
| INTRODUCES A TOPIC (BRIT) | STARTS A HARE | 1/3 |
| MONEY BORROWED FOR COLLEGE | STUDENT LOAN | 1/2 |
| SLEEVELESS SHIRTS | TANK TOPS | 2/2 |
| OSCAR WILDE BOOK | THE SELFISH GIANT | 2/3 |
| REVERSED THE TREND | TURNED THE TIDE | 1/3 |
| PIXAR FILM | TURNING RED | 1/2 |
| TEAM SPORT | ULTIMATE FRISBEE | 2/2 |
| HOMECARE PROFESSIONAL | VISITING NURSE | 1/2 |
| HAVE EMPATHY | WALK A MILE IN SOMEONE ELSES SHOES | 3/7 |
| SITE FOR SIPPING | WATER FOUNTAIN | 2/2 |
| YLVIS LYRIC | WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY | 4/5 |
| PRESIDENT'S RESIDENCE | WHITE HOUSE | 2/2 |
| BROWSING | WINDOW SHOPPING | 1/2 |
| PUZZLING GRID | WORD SEARCH | 1/2 |
Next, we can split up the paragraphs in the same way, ignoring punctuation. Each of these clues a pun on one of the crossword answers: for example, “Genetic copy of scholar” is a “student clone” (student loan), while “second-to-last flying plastic toy” is a “penultimate frisbee” (ultimate frisbee).
Once we’ve matched up the puns, we should notice the denominator always matches exactly with the punned phrase, implying that we can index the numerator into the pun. In particular, note that we cannot index into the non-pun clue answer due to the existence of clues like “Milliliter” / “Millie Leader”, since only the pun phrase here has the correct length.
| Pun Clue | Pun Answer | Clue Answer | Number | Extracted Word |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genetic copy of scholar | STUDENT CLONE | STUDENT LOAN | 1/2 | STUDENT |
| operators prone to surrender | AGENTS OF YIELD | AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D. | 1/3 | AGENTS |
| bleat, warble, and talk | BAA SING SAY | BA SING SE | 2/3 | SING |
| forbidden fruit made from the indicated rope | APPLE OF THIS CORD | APPLE OF DISCORD | 3/4 | THIS |
| worship before starting video game. | PRAY TO PLAY | PAY TO PLAY | 3/3 | PLAY |
| Second-to-last flying plastic toy | PENULTIMATE FRISBEE | ULTIMATE FRISBEE | 2/2 | FRISBEE |
| created using French city parts; | MADE OF ORLEANS | MAID OF ORLEANS | 1/3 | MADE |
| historical ships spar | MAST FROM THE PAST | BLAST FROM THE PAST | 2/4 | FROM |
| crab titan. | THE SHELLFISH GIANT | THE SELFISH GIANT | 2/3 | SHELLFISH |
| Canceled political favors | PULLED PORK | PULLED PORK | 2/2 | PORK |
| retaliate using aged entreé, | REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED OLD | REVENGE IS A DISH BEST SERVED COLD | 6/7 | SERVED |
| skips the bill and leaves | GOES WITHOUT PAYING | GOES WITHOUT SAYING | 2/3 | WITHOUT |
| very long rod for blending. | MIXING POLE | MIXING BOWL | 1/2 | MIXING |
| Gave back detergent brand | RETURNED THE TIDE | TURNED THE TIDE | 1/3 | RETURNED |
| for the rest of time as Italian football club | NAPOLI EVER AFTER | HAPPILY EVER AFTER | 3/3 | AFTER |
| handbag traveling from afar, | VISITING PURSE | VISITING NURSE | 1/2 | VISITING |
| low on courage, | OUT OF PLUCK | OUT OF LUCK | 1/3 | OUT |
| to the home of the undead. | WIGHT HOUSE | WHITE HOUSE | 2/2 | HOUSE |
| Moving baguettes, in a circular motion | TURNING BREAD | TURNING RED | 1/2 | TURNING |
| behind the official investigating deaths, | AROUND THE CORONER | AROUND THE CORNER | 1/3 | AROUND |
| amble for long period of time with stolen sneakers from | WALK A WHILE IN SOMEONE ELSES SHOES | WALK A MILE IN SOMEONE ELSES SHOES | 3/7 | WHILE |
| snoozing Donatello. | NAPPING TURTLE | SNAPPING TURTLE | 1/2 | NAPPING |
| Idiot inside navy satellite's | DUNCE IN A BLUE MOON | ONCE IN A BLUE MOON | 4/5 | BLUE |
| hunt for avian | BIRD SEARCH | WORD SEARCH | 1/2 | BIRD |
| commences a strand of fur | STARTS A HAIR | STARTS A HARE | 1/3 | STARTS |
| located in swapped ships | AT EACH OTHER'S BOATS | AT EACH OTHER'S THROATS | 2/4 | EACH |
| many a nip from a beak. | SIX PECK | SIX PACK | 2/2 | PECK |
| A meal composed of—refuse | JUNK FOOD | JUNK FOOD | 1/2 | JUNK |
| a question about bovine language. | WHAT DOES THE OX SAY | WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY | 4/5 | OX |
| Baseball player equals a loquacious essay, perhaps, | A PITCHER IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS | A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS | 2/7 | PITCHER |
| or sport for mobile devices | GAME OF PHONES | GAME OF THRONES | 2/3 | OF |
| bouncing between panes of glass | WINDOW HOPPING | WINDOW SHOPPING | 1/2 | WINDOW |
| display of bits and pieces. | PART GALLERY | ART GALLERY | 1/2 | PART |
| Underfoot friends or AIs | SOLE MATES | SOUL MATES | 2/2 | MATES |
| are standing over reseller of stolen goods' | ON THE FENCE | ON THE FENCE | 1/3 | ON |
| large liquid hill, | WATER MOUNTAIN | WATER FOUNTAIN | 2/2 | MOUNTAIN |
| the upper halves of armored fighting vehicles. | TANK TOPS | TANK TOPS | 2/2 | TOPS |
| Hop in and out of chicken cages | JUMP THROUGH COOPS | JUMP THROUGH HOOPS | 1/3 | JUMP |
| belatedly expressing grief | MOURNING AFTER | MORNING AFTER | 2/2 | AFTER |
| for Bush's spaniel chief. | MILLIE LEADER | MILLILITER | 2/2 | LEADER |
This gives us a new set of words, which when grouped by sentence, can be interpreted as new clues. We can recursively match these to the crossword clues at the bottom of the page.
| Pun Clue | Pun Answer | Clue | Clue Answer | Number | Extracted Word |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STUDENT AGENTS SING THIS PLAY | SPY SCHOOL MUSICAL | YOUNG ADULT MOVIE SERIES | HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL | 3/3 | MUSICAL |
| FRISBEE MADE FROM SHELLFISH | LOBSTER DISK | SEAFOOD SOUP | LOBSTER BISQUE | 2/2 | DISK |
| PORK SERVED WITHOUT MIXING | BACON NOT STIRRED | SPY CATCHPHRASE | SHAKEN NOT STIRRED | 3/3 | STIRRED |
| RETURNED AFTER VISITING OUT HOUSE | BACK FROM THE SHED | RESURRECTED | BACK FROM THE DEAD | 2/4 | FROM |
| TURNING AROUND WHILE NAPPING | ROLLING IN THE SLEEP | ADELE SONG | ROLLING IN THE DEEP | 4/4 | SLEEP |
| BLUE BIRD STARTS EACH PECK | EVERY KISS BEGINS WITH JAY | JEWELER'S SLOGAN | EVERY KISS BEGINS WITH KAY | 1/5 | EVERY |
| JUNK OX | TRASH COW | PROFITABLE VENTURE | CASH COW | 1/2 | TRASH |
| PITCHER OF WINDOW PART | FRAME THROWER | CHARIZARD'S MOVE | FLAMETHROWER | 2/2 | THROWER |
| MATES ON MOUNTAIN TOPS | FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES | PALS WITH POLITICAL POWER | FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES | 4/4 | PLACES |
| JUMP AFTER LEADER | LEAP SECOND | SHORT TIME ADJUSTMENT | LEAP SECOND | 2/2 | SECOND |
We repeat this process again…
| Pun Clue | Pun Answer | Clue | Clue Answer | Number | Extracted Word |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MUSICAL DISK STIRRED FROM SLEEP | WOKEN RECORD | IT'S ON REPEAT | BROKEN RECORD | 1/2 | WOKEN |
| EVERY TRASH THROWER PLACES SECOND | ALL THAT LITTERS IS NOT GOLD | DON'T JUDGE BY LOOKS | ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD | 3/6 | LITTERS |
…and one final time, solving the pun WOKEN LITTERS for a CONDIMENT and the answer CATSUP.