Solution to ★
First we try to solve the clues. After researching a few of them we'll realize the following things:
- Each of the answers can be described as some kind of "miracle".
- The numbers of symbols in the parentheses are the number of words in each of the answers.
- ★—which is always the first symbol—always represents the word MIRACLE.
- Numbers represent words of the corresponding enumeration.
- The clues are sorted alphabetically by the final word of each answer—represented by one of nine unique symbols.
The answers are as follows:
Clue | Symbols | Answer |
---|---|---|
This fruit’s signature effect works via a protein that binds to certain mouth receptors in low pH environments. | ★ ✜ | MIRACLE BERRY |
The coiner of this term credits the result to a group of men who studied at his university and subsequently returned to their home country to implement economic reforms. | ★ 2 ✤ | MIRACLE OF CHILE |
This event was made possible in part by a lengthy halt order made by the leader of the opposition, which was considered to be an enormous tactical blunder. | ★ 2 ◉ | MIRACLE OF DUNKIRK |
Despite the fact that the vehicle involved in this incident sunk fully, it was eventually recovered and is now on display in a museum in North Carolina. | ★ 2 3 ‡ | MIRACLE ON THE HUDSON |
Although this event refers to a critical game played between the two geopolitical rivals, the underdog didn't clinch the gold medal until two days later. | ★ 2 ✿ | MIRACLE ON ICE |
This bird managed to survive the incident that made it famous largely because its jugular vein and brain stem remained intact and the wound itself clotted over. | ★ ⌘ | MIRACLE MIKE |
This local-area bar is known for its distinctive menu which is formatted like a periodic table. | ★ 2 ☉ | MIRACLE OF SCIENCE |
This condiment made its debut at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and quickly became a huge success. | ★ ❊ | MIRACLE WHIP |
Of the papers published during this time period, the author is best known for the last two, but won his Nobel Prize for the first. | ★ ◈ | MIRACLE YEAR |
Now we can turn our attention to the Sudoku. It's titled "★ Sudoku", and since we've realized that ★ represents "Miracle," we can conclude that it in fact is a Miracle Sudoku, a variant Sudoku format popularized by a viral Cracking the Cryptic YouTube video.
A Miracle Sudoku adds two constraints on top of the usual Sudoku ones:
- No two of the same number can be either a King's move or a Knight's move away from each other.
- No two consecutive numbers can be adjacent to each other.
If we treat our given grid (ignoring the symbols for now) like a Miracle Sudoku with two given digits, we can in fact solve it uniquely:
3 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 |
7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 6 | 8 | 5 | 2 |
2 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 6 |
6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 1 |
1 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 8 | 5 |
5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 6 | 3 | 9 |
9 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 7 | 4 |
4 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 8 |
8 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 6 | 3 |
Finally, we can turn to the symbols in the Sudoku grid:
◉ | ✤ | ✿ | ⌘ | ❊ | ✜ | ‡ | ◈ | ☉ |
◉ | ❊ | ✜ | ||||||
☉ | ||||||||
⌘ | ‡ | |||||||
◈ | ||||||||
✤ | ✿ | |||||||
The numbers in the positions of the nine red symbols in the first row obviously span the numbers 1 through 9, and can give us an ordering. The numbers in the positions of the nine blue symbols can then act as indices into the word corresponding to the symbol:
Order | Symbol | Index | Word | Letter |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ◈ | 4 | YEAR | R |
2 | ✜ | 2 | BERRY | E |
3 | ◉ | 1 | DUNKIRK | D |
4 | ‡ | 3 | HUDSON | D |
5 | ❊ | 3 | WHIP | I |
6 | ✿ | 3 | ICE | E |
7 | ☉ | 1 | SCIENCE | S |
8 | ⌘ | 4 | MIKE | E |
9 | ✤ | 4 | CHILE | L |
The indexed letters in order give us our answer: RED DIESEL.